0:00

>>Kevin Patton: Fellow St. Louisan,

0:02

the late Yogi Berra, once said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

0:12

>>Aileen Park: Welcome to The A&P Professor. A few minutes

0:14

to focus on teaching human anatomy and physiology with a veteran educator and teaching mentor,

0:20

your host, Kevin Patton. >>Kevin Patton:

0:26

It's episode 153, where we do our annual debriefing and predictions for the coming year.

0:44

Longtime listeners to this podcast know that I'm a big believer in regular debriefings.

0:51

When teaching, shortly after the end of every semester, I make sure to spend some time

0:57

reflecting about how things went. Usually, I made sure to record things I'd need for

1:04

a future evaluation process or a promotion or an award nomination. And well, of course,

1:14

that inevitable memoir of a lifetime of teaching. You got to get your ducks in a row before you

1:22

start that. And I always took time during these debriefings to sort out what worked well and what

1:31

needed tweaking or what needed a complete overhaul. So I reflected and got ready for,

1:40

got my mindset in the right place for what was coming next. So now it's time to do the

1:48

debriefing for this podcast's last season. It was season seven, which means that the podcast

1:57

episode you're listening to now is the first episode of season eight. Yikes, eight. We're in

2:05

the eighth year of this podcast. That's pretty long for any podcast, so I'm glad I held on.

2:16

This year was another year of a few widely spaced episodes, but wow, those few episodes turned out

2:26

to be awesome. The guests, the audience, and I all really, really enjoyed them. Wait a minute.

2:36

They really, really, really, really enjoyed them. That's four reallys, which is my highest rating.

2:44

The first one, episode 147, was last year's debriefing. As usual, besides the rundown of the

2:52

previous season, I analyzed the previous year's predictions and made new predictions for the

2:58

coming year, which was this past year, of course. I'll do the same later in this episode. Then,

3:07

after episode 147 came episode 148. No surprise there. And in that one, Justin Shaffer swung by to

3:16

convince us that high-structure classrooms aren't just about strict rules and tight schedules.

3:24

They're actually a lifeline for students navigating the rough seas of post-pandemic

3:29

learning. Who knew that clear expectations and structured interactions could make

3:37

learning anatomy and physiology feel less like survival training and more like smooth sailing?

3:46

In episode 149, well, that brought Greg Crowther and Ben Wiggins into the hot seat,

3:52

where they boldly claimed that exams don't have to feel like medieval torture. Instead,

4:01

assessment could actually, hold your breath, help students learn. They showed us ways to

4:10

transform stressful testing into moments of meaningful insight. Revolutionary? Possibly.

4:19

Practical? Yeah, absolutely. By the time episode 150 arrived, Brenda Ulrich put on

4:28

her metaphorical boxing gloves to give us an education on copyright for educators,

4:35

especially when we're using illustrations and photographs in our teaching slides.

4:40

Now, Brenda is an intellectual property attorney who works with schools and faculty and publishers

4:47

all the time regarding these kinds of things. So she's like the expert in these matters. And

4:54

Brenda reminded us that fair use isn't a license to steal, but knowing your rights

5:01

and the rights of the copyright holders that can be empowering. Her practical tips probably saved

5:09

more than a few of us from accidentally becoming academic copyright outlaws.

5:16

By the way, if you listened to that episode, that boxing metaphor makes more sense because

5:24

we talked about Brenda's upcoming first match in her new sport of boxing. I'm happy to report

5:33

that Brenda won against a very tough opponent. It was a great match. Then, in episode 151,

5:42

featured by the powerhouse trio, Jennifer Stokes, Rachel Hopp, and Abbey Breckling,

5:49

introduced the brand new HAPS Accommodations Handbook. They unpacked the beauty of universal

5:57

design and made clear that inclusive teaching isn't just good ethics. It's good education.

6:06

That handbook is a lifeline for anyone who's ever felt lost navigating accommodations. It's

6:14

like having your own GPS for teaching anatomy and physiology. And then, finally, in episode 152,

6:22

Dr. Kate Oland Galligan completed a full-circle journey from sitting in my classroom decades ago

6:31

to now teaching anatomy and physiology herself at the same university. And boy, did she school us

6:40

all on fascia. Turns out, in a way, we're not really separate systems and organs after all.

6:49

We're more like one big, glorious, interconnected web of collagen

6:56

and elastin and coffee-stained textbooks. After Kate's passionate deep dive, none of us

7:05

will look at fascia or life in the same way again. And there you have it. Six episodes packed with

7:15

wisdom, humor, practical tips, and fascinating insights from some really knowledgeable and

7:22

enthusiastic educators. Who knew anatomy and physiology teaching could be this entertaining?

7:32

A little debrief there covered six episodes, which really had a lot more topics in them

7:39

than I could cover in a few minutes. So, if you haven't listened to any of them,

7:43

you can always go back and do that. And not only that, but you can go back

7:48

to any of the episodes over seven years of The A&P Professor. Now, yeah, there's a couple of little

7:58

brain breaks in there that are talking about something that's happening that month or that year

8:04

or whatever, but most of the content and most of the episodes is what we call evergreen. That is,

8:13

it's always useful. So you might want to go back and browse a little bit, not just for those of you

8:20

that maybe joined us in a later season, maybe just joining us right now for the first time, but also

8:27

those who have heard those early episodes. You might go back and find something like,

8:32

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this. I'm glad I was reminded of it." My point is is that

8:38

there's this huge virtual library of episodes just waiting for you. Now, you can just browse

8:45

through whatever podcast or audio platform that you're using right now. Maybe it's a podcast app,

8:53

maybe it's Audible, or you might be going to the website. If you go to theAPprofessor.org/podcast,

9:02

you're going to see the more recent episodes listed there. And if you scroll down toward

9:07

the bottom, you're going to see, season by season, each collection of episodes.

9:13

And not only that, if you go way up to the top, along the top navigation ribbon,

9:19

and under the podcast tab, you're going to see a bunch of different options for browsing through

9:27

those past episodes. There is a list of podcasts. There's what we call the jukebox. It's kind of

9:34

a virtual jukebox there where you can scroll through and pick which ones you want to listen to,

9:40

and the player for each one is built right into the page. And there's lots of other options there

9:46

too. So lots of different ways to browse through. And don't forget, at theAPprofessor.org, if you

9:53

scroll down to the bottom, there's a search bar. And so if there's a particular topic, you want to

9:59

see if I've covered it in other episodes, or if you're looking for a particular past episode,

10:05

that might be a shortcut to find it quickly. So it's theAPprofessor.org/podcast.

10:16

If I'm going to be honest about doing a debriefing, I have to go back to the predictions

10:21

that I made last year and see whether they came true or not, or got close to coming true,

10:26

or came true a little bit, or we went in the opposite direction I said we were going to go in.

10:31

Remember, it wasn't just me, but contributors Mike Pascoe and Jerry Anzalone both had phoned in with

10:38

their own predictions, and some of them were the same, some of them weren't the same, some of them

10:42

were similar. Usually, what I do is just do like a self-analysis, which I always thought was okay,

10:48

but I'll tell you, I'm a biased judge. I'm a biased judge about my own work. Now, yes,

10:54

I'm a perfectionist too, so I do find things that need to be fixed all the time in the things I do.

11:00

But if I call it finished, then usually, in general, I think that it's pretty good.

11:05

And so, I kind of do that, whether I intend to do it or not do that with these predictions.

11:11

And yeah, that was close. Even if it wasn't close, I'm going to call it close. I do that

11:16

when I play Horseshoes too, and that maybe we need a third party. So what I decided to do was

11:26

use artificial intelligence and have artificial intelligence analyze the whole set of predictions

11:33

we did in our episode last year. So mine and Mike's and Jerry's put them all together, put

11:38

them into the artificial intelligence chat, and asked it, "You know, really, did we get close?"

11:45

And then it gave me some answers. And then I thought, "Well, really, or is artificial

11:52

intelligence just making that up?" So I said, "Can you give me at least a couple of citations

11:59

for references that have happened within this last year that have been published within this

12:04

last year that support or give an example of your analysis of each prediction?" And so it did that,

12:14

and I thought, "Wow, that's a lot better than me just winging it." And I didn't... I'm not going

12:22

to go through all of the references it gave. And those were just a couple of what I'm sure many

12:27

examples that could be found on these topics. But the point is I took that extra step,

12:33

which I think gives a little bit more credibility to the results. So let's go through those results

12:39

and see what you think. See whether you agree, whether we got close or not. So,

12:45

prediction number one was there's going to be more augmented reality and virtual reality tools

12:53

being used in teaching labs and simulations to create a more immersive A&P learning experience.

13:01

And the result is, yes, adoption of these things has grown, but there's a caveat, and that is,

13:10

it's happened very unevenly across institutions. There are some institutions or some departments

13:18

within institutions, or maybe even just individual instructors within institutions that have really

13:23

embraced, or at least in the first stages of embracing augmented and virtual reality tools.

13:30

But there are many, even within the same institution, but certainly there are whole

13:35

institutions that really aren't even looking at it yet, at least not seriously. So yeah, there's been

13:41

some growth, but not a big explosion or as big an explosion as there could be. It's not universal.

13:48

Prediction number two was that there would be an increased use of artificial intelligence to

13:55

tailor learning, to adjust learning, to make learning better, that we as educators could

14:01

use artificial intelligence to increase learning, and students could use artificial intelligence to

14:07

help with their studying and understanding of the concepts. We also mentioned that AI could raise

14:15

some concerns and challenges regarding academic integrity. So there's sort of the good and the

14:22

bad, but there's going to be increased use of artificial intelligence. So, has there been? Well,

14:27

yeah, there's been a lot of increased use in artificial intelligence in education,

14:33

in particular anatomy and physiology education. And it's become a major force.

14:40

It's become a major force in not only helping us create new and better learning experiences

14:46

for our students and help us do other tasks that we have to do as educators,

14:52

but we also see a lot more debate about academic integrity and what does that really mean now in

15:00

the world of artificial intelligence, and how do we ensure that our students are being honest

15:10

in the work that they are doing and presenting to us and that we may be grading them on or used

15:17

to construct their performance in some way or to analyze or assess their performance in some way.

15:26

So yeah, that's still happening and that's kicked up too. So I think we're spot on with that.

15:34

Prediction number three is that there would be a growing dependence on technology and that that

15:41

could reduce the human touch and maybe even widen inequities. Artificial intelligence says, "Yeah,

15:50

that caution was spot on." Technology benefits and equity issues continue to coexist. So yes,

16:01

the human touch may be in danger if we don't hold on to it. And also equity issues continue

16:10

to coexist along with the increased use of technology. We need to acknowledge that and

16:15

deal with it. Okay, prediction number four is that there would be lower in-person attendance,

16:23

especially in lectures, and so that that would spur more hybrid approaches to learning.

16:29

And artificial intelligence says that, "Yeah, that many courses have seen this trend,

16:35

and hybrid models are starting to get to the point where they're almost the norm in some places."

16:42

Prediction number five, expansion of online hybrid courses. That is, there'd be a lasting

16:51

shift toward online and hybrid course delivery. And this kind of overlaps the previous prediction,

16:56

number four. And yeah, that shift has accelerated during this post-pandemic period,

17:03

and that kind of confirms the prediction. And then prediction number six was that

17:09

digital textbooks will integrate augmented reality and virtual reality, interactivity,

17:16

data analytics, and new subscription models. And artificial intelligence says that, "Yeah,

17:24

digital and interactive resources are evolving rapidly, but the transition's still underway."

17:31

We still don't see a lot of the higher level technology being built into some of these

17:38

digital textbooks, but we're further along that path of digital textbooks dominating. And then

17:45

we get to prediction number seven, which we said courses would blend science with soft skills.

17:54

That is with the humanities and other disciplines, non-science disciplines included. And artificial

18:01

intelligence says that interdisciplinary elements are increasingly common, although

18:07

not without some resistance. Now, it turns out that my own education background is that

18:15

I had a lot of interdisciplinary aspects to the courses and programs that I took all throughout

18:22

my college years, even some in high school, but especially in my college years. So I could sort

18:27

of come out of that. For me, that's not new. But even back then, where it was being done in

18:33

these little pockets, there was resistance. There were some educators who felt like that

18:40

was wrong to do that, and that is still happening, that resistance is still happening. But apparently

18:47

there is this trend to widen that that experience of an interdisciplinary approach to anatomy,

18:56

physiology, and other sciences. So prediction number eight, what did we say there? Well,

19:01

we said that we're going to see more competency-based models for courses

19:07

and grading systems, or ungrading systems, if you will, with digital badges and other

19:15

kinds of digital credentials gaining ground. Now, these digital credentials have started to

19:22

catch on, but how much they're implemented really varies a lot by institution and by individual

19:31

courses and instructors. Once an institution really signs on to the digital credentials,

19:38

usually it spreads pretty rapidly throughout that institution. But even in institutions

19:44

where that has not happened, there are a lot of individual instructors or even

19:47

whole departments that have signed on to the idea of these badges or digital credentials.

19:55

So yeah, that prediction was kind of happening, still kind of happening, I guess. And then

20:02

prediction number nine was that there would be ongoing debates over DEI, over things like

20:10

inclusive language in A&P, and how do we handle gender and sex in A&P. And what about diverse

20:19

representation in A&P? So we said that there would be not only ongoing debates but there'd be more of

20:26

these things that we'd get more inclusive in our language in addressing gender and sex issues.

20:32

And we'd be more inclusive in our diversity of representation in A&P, not just in textbooks,

20:40

but in what we're doing in the course. And yeah, okay, so those are still hotly debated,

20:48

and yeah, they're continuing to evolve. And they didn't really evolve completely in the

20:54

way I thought. I'll admit that. Just today, yet another colleague posted an announcement

21:03

in social media that her large institution was dismantling their organized DEI efforts, which

21:09

were pretty rich and comprehensive, and they did that in order to comply with federal regulations,

21:15

which we're seeing a lot of that now. We're seeing all kinds of things that and even

21:22

like keywords, like if it says DEI, throw it away. If it mentions inclusivity or inclusion, throw it

21:31

away. If it includes any aspect of gender, throw it away. Diversity of representation,

21:37

throw it away. So, it's this backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion. And I'm sure

21:46

you feel the same way, and I don't want to go down this rabbit hole right now. But really,

21:51

aren't diversity and equity and inclusion just basic instances of kindness and love and

22:00

compassion? Can't we work out any differences we have in specific policies or initiatives?

22:11

Do we really think that just throwing it all away at once is productive? Maybe we should just change

22:19

the name from DEI to kindness and love. Maybe that'll take care of it. Then the filters looking

22:27

for those keywords won't find anything, and we can still stay on that road of evolution toward

22:34

a kinder, more loving type of education that we offer our students. But then, somebody's going

22:42

to have the idea that we need to ban kindness and love. I mean, how would you like to stand

22:47

for that? "What's your position? Oh, my position on everything is I'm against kindness and love."

22:55

Oh, what a world do we live in. Well, let's move on to the next one, perhaps something a

23:00

little more optimistic. Oh, shoot. The next one is number 10, faculty life and burnout. Oh, no.

23:11

In our last year's episode, we said that faculty would face more precarious work conditions,

23:19

and so, therefore, there'd be more burnout, and there'd be more reliance on adjuncts. We'd see

23:25

fewer and fewer full-time faculty. We'd see people retiring or being fired, maybe en masse like we're

23:32

seeing in some places, and being replaced with no one or being replaced with adjunct faculty.

23:38

And as I said in that year's episode, I'm not against... I've been adjunct faculty almost my

23:44

whole career, and I've also been full-time faculty, and those are both valuable roles,

23:50

but I don't think we should have only one or only the other. I don't think that's

23:54

good for learning. I don't think it's good for the profession of education. And well,

24:00

unfortunately, the challenges for faculty, they have grown exactly as predicted. Now I'm... Now

24:08

that is a quote from artificial intelligence, "Exactly as predicted." So that's kind of

24:15

heartwarming in a way that I was exactly right. But it's not heartwarming when you consider what

24:22

it is. There's more burnout. No, I didn't really want that to happen. I thought it would happen,

24:28

but I didn't want it to happen. Well, let's go on to number 10. I said that there'd be a greater

24:35

push for clear communication of scientific ideas that is sometimes... comes under the

24:42

umbrella of what we call science communication or public communication of science. And I said that

24:48

there'd be a greater push for that, both within academia and coming in from the public asking for

24:55

more of that. How did we come out on that? Well, I think it has become more important.

25:01

AI thinks it has become more important. And it seems clear that there are many more scientists

25:09

now engaging actively in public communication of science and in outreach than ever were before. I

25:18

mean, it's always been a thing, but it's never been the big thing it is now. And a lot of the

25:24

activity I see going on is actually activity in encouraging other scientists to get more active

25:30

in that area. So it's kind of... we're kind of like in a evangelistic mode, if you will, trying

25:37

to convert more professors and more scientists to buy into this whole science communication effort.

25:46

And then our last prediction had to do with fibers and threads and tubules in the body.

25:55

We predicted that there'd be a surge in research and teaching about the roles of various cellular

26:01

and connective tissue fibers. And we even had an episode this year with Kate Oland Galligan,

26:09

who came in and talked about fascia, and she's got a lot more to say about fascia,

26:14

by the way. So I think we're going to have another episode this year

26:17

featuring Kate and maybe some others. If you want to get involved in that,

26:21

you're welcome to join in. Just contact me. AI says, "Yeah, research in this area is expanding,

26:30

but it does continue to remain a niche topic in many A&P courses." So yeah, I see that.

26:37

I see where some people are really expanding on their appreciation of and interweaving of

26:44

fascia and related topics in their course, and others have not yet gotten there. So overall,

26:52

AI says that my colleagues and I largely hit the mark. Many of the trends, especially in

27:00

educational technology, AI, hybrid learning, and faculty challenges have proven very accurate.

27:07

Some areas like full adoption of AR and VR tools or micro-credentials, they're still in progress,

27:17

but the overall set of predictions was impressive. So yeah, I'll take that. I think that's good.

27:29

Let's take a quick break from our main topics because I want to tell you about something

27:35

I've just added to our A&P Professor website. That's at theAPprofessor.org,

27:44

and it's a virtual AI assistant that I've added in there. Well, you know me, I like

27:51

to play with new things, and this is something that became available in the Jotform platform.

27:58

Now, Jotform is actually a whole collection of products, and I use their forms for you to be able

28:04

to claim your digital credentials. So that's how I started using Jotform. And then I start using it

28:09

for other things. And I really like it. It's kind of like Google Forms, but it does a lot more and

28:15

different things, and they have other products that you can integrate with it. And so they've

28:20

just rolled out their AI virtual assistant, and it's actually like this huge collection of

28:29

templates for different kinds of AI assistants. And they're also completely customizable. And

28:35

well, again, being the kind of guy I am, I customized mine. So, the AI assistant that you

28:42

will see on theAPprofessor.org website is not one of these stock photo people that they have in most

28:54

of their templates. It's just a little character that I've used in my courses for decades,

29:01

actually. He's an ass. And I know, especially because you're listening here with sort of an

29:10

anatomy filter on, what I mean by that is this character is a donkey, and his name is Manuel.

29:20

And so, for my students, he's known as Manuel My Ass, and he's a semi-fictional character that I

29:29

use. Actually, he has his own webpage. If you go to lionden.com, that's L-I-O-N-D-E-N.com/manuel,

29:40

M-A-N-U-E-L.htm, don't put an L at the end, it's just htm, then you'll see where I send

29:50

my students when they have complaints about the way I do things in the course,

29:54

especially complaints that are like, "Well, that's not the way so-and-so does it in their class."

29:59

Or, "That's not the way we did it in AP1. And here I'm in AP2,

30:02

how do you expect me to do things differently?" Things like that. And so anyway, this is where

30:08

I send my student complaints usually, and it's real playful. Follow all the... If you go there,

30:14

follow all the links because it just gets really silly. So anyway, so I thought, "Well, I already

30:20

have this character that is sort of associated with my work, and so I'm going to use..."

30:28

And plus, this... they said, "Give a name for your customized assistant here, your virtual

30:34

assistant." And well, I mean, what better for an assistant than an actual ass, right? And so that's

30:44

Manuel. And so you will see a little picture of Manuel at the bottom left of any of the pages

30:51

at the website. Now, right now he's in the lower left. Usually you see these things in the lower

30:57

right, but I already have something there, and I'm trying to figure out how to move him around.

31:02

So if he's not on the left, look on the right. And I think those are my only two choices. We'll see

31:07

if I get... can get some things moved around, but just look around for him and click on the

31:13

little profile picture of Manuel and a dialog box will pop up like you see in... You've used these

31:22

things in other websites. They're all over the place. And so this is early days. So what kind

31:28

of answer he's going to give you for questions you have or information you're looking for is

31:33

questionable. And well, he's ass an after all, so you just never know what he's going to say.

31:42

But he's in training. So I would love it if you would go there and see... ask him some

31:49

questions. Even if you already know the answer to it, ask him questions about where to find things

31:53

on the website, things about the podcast, topics from the podcast, guests from the podcast. Just

32:00

think up some things to ask him. It'd be great if some of them were like realistic questions

32:05

that someone might ask, but if you want to ask him just some bizarre random question,

32:10

ask it and see what he says. And I get a printout of all of the conversations.

32:16

Now, unless you put your name or email into it, I don't know who it is doing it,

32:22

which doesn't really matter anyway. But I can go in there and see those conversations, and

32:29

if there's something he can't answer or he answers incorrectly, then I can go in and

32:35

correct it. And by doing so, that trains him for future questions of that type. I'm going to play

32:42

around with this and see what I can do with him, and he might get annoying and I'll get rid of him,

32:50

or maybe it's going to be really a great help. But wouldn't this be neat to use in a course and

32:57

have a lot of the questions that your students ask answered automatically? Like, "What is the exam

33:04

date? When is test four? What topics are going to be on test four?" You know, those kinds of...

33:12

"Where is your office, or how do I contact you?" Or things like that that are questions that really

33:19

don't need us and take time away from other things that we need to be spending our time on. So I

33:26

don't know, just a little toy here to play with. So just go to theAPprofessor.org and go to any

33:34

page or just stay there on the homepage and play around with Manuel for a while. And if

33:39

you have any feedback for me, let me know. In an earlier segment, I had mentioned that

33:48

my friend Jerry Anzalone, who's a long-time A&P instructor and is a long-time listener and

33:55

supporter of this podcast, he had contributed some predictions for last year. Well,

34:03

true to form and true to his unwavering support of this podcast, he has contributed his own

34:11

predictions for the coming year in this episode. Now, I didn't listen to them before I started

34:18

editing the podcast. So well, at the moment I'm recording this, I don't know what he's going to

34:25

say. And I did that on purpose because I didn't want any overlap between them to influence it,

34:33

and I didn't want to create overlap that would not have otherwise happened. It'll be interesting to

34:39

listen to this and then listen to my predictions and see where we're thinking the same way,

34:46

where our thoughts are diverging, and so on. So, let's get to Jerry's predictions right now.

34:55

>>Jerry Anzalone: Hi, Kevin. This is Jerry Anzalone calling

34:58

from Punta Gorda, Florida with my predictions for the coming year in the world of A&P teaching and

35:05

learning. First, these are my predictions for how current events may indirectly impact higher

35:14

education in general. The dismantling of the Federal Government's Department of Education

35:23

will result in the removal of college and university accreditors from the oversight process

35:29

or give states more authority in oversight. And this may lead to less regulation for colleges,

35:38

but fewer protections for students. And I based this on a February 7th, 2025 article from

35:47

Inside Higher Ed. Here's how it would play out. First, weakened civil rights enforcements could

35:55

result in delays in downgrading of student civil rights and student loan fraud cases.

36:03

Second, reduced disability rights support could increase the risk of improper implementation

36:12

of individualized education plans or IEPs and reduced enforcement of integration mandates.

36:22

Third, less accountability in distance education could result from fragmented state oversight,

36:28

potentially burdening online programs and limiting student access. Fourth, disruption of the triad

36:38

system, the historic relationship between the Department of Education, accreditors, and state

36:46

regulators by removing federal oversight, could lead to inconsistent accreditation standards and

36:54

weaker gatekeeping for federal aid. Fifth, laxer oversight might enable-low quality institutions

37:04

to access federal aid more easily, creating an environment conducive to predatory institutions to

37:12

profit at the expense of students and taxpayers. Six, states would inherit increased oversight

37:21

responsibilities, burdening their available resources. Seven, disruption to federal

37:28

student aid systems could delay disbursements and complicate borrower support. And lastly,

37:36

marginalized students would bear the brunt of weaker oversight and enforcement. But

37:43

because A&P has traditionally served as one of the prerequisite courses for

37:48

allied health science programs, we may be better positioned than, say, humanities courses. Next,

37:56

and on a more positive side, I asked the AI platform Perplexity for its predictions for

38:03

A&P instruction and learning in the coming year based on current trends in higher education.

38:09

And here's what Perplexity predicted. First, that technology would play a central role in

38:16

contemporary A&P education through the increased integration of interactive resources like virtual

38:23

dissection tables, augmented reality, virtual reality, and, of course, artificial intelligence.

38:31

These high-tech tools are purported to enhance student performance and engagement and enable

38:37

personalized learning through experimental and multimodal learning. Additionally,

38:44

the continued integration of AI into A&P education helps to automate mundane

38:51

administrative tasks and improve accessibility. Secondly, A&P curricula will place a greater

38:59

emphasis on practical skills and clinically relevant hands-on learning experiences. For

39:06

example, there's currently a growing emphasis on teaching skeletal muscle identification and action

39:13

while focusing less on details like attachments and innervation. Three, A&P education will expand

39:22

on interdisciplinary approaches. A&P education is currently incorporating broader scientific

39:30

fields like biotechnology and data science to better prepare students for interdisciplinary

39:36

careers and to enhance their ability to solve complex healthcare challenges.

39:41

For example, interdisciplinary integration combines anatomy with fields like art,

39:48

engineering, psychology, and ethics to foster holistic understanding and critical thinking.

39:56

Biotechnology is used for practical training, developments of medical device, and improving

40:03

patient outcomes through anatomic knowledge. And data science and AI enable automated analysis,

40:11

therapeutic target discovery, and virtual or augmented reality for integrative learning.

40:18

Perplexity identified a few challenges to these goals, including addressing AI limitations,

40:25

ethical considerations, and logistical barriers to effective implementation.

40:31

Perplexity also predicted declining student pools based on the current enrollment cliff. The

40:39

significant and predicted decline in the number of college-going students forcing institutions to

40:46

adapt by targeting diverse demographics, including adult learners through flexible online and hybrid

40:54

models. For example, more colleges are using collaborative course sharing, pooling resources

41:02

to ensure students can access A&P courses in formats that suit their needs. Also, citing data

41:11

from 2017 up to the present, Perplexity asserts that the demand for educators in gross anatomy,

41:19

histology, and embryology exceeds supply. This may lead to increased reliance on

41:26

technology-driven solutions or alternative teaching models to help bridge these gaps. So,

41:33

to recap, the coming year likely presents the challenges of reduced federal oversight

41:38

in accreditation, less protections for students, the continued elimination of diversity, equity,

41:44

and inclusion programs, and greater inclusion of high-tech tools in higher ed in general,

41:50

including A&P. But as Yogi Berra said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

42:00

I hope you're well. Take care. >>Kevin Patton:

42:05

I'm on LinkedIn, both as Kevin Patton, the individual, and as The A&P Professor, and you can

42:13

find me easily in the search function of LinkedIn. But what I want to mention right now is that

42:19

recently I've been seeing a lot of people that I'm linked to show up in my feed with an announcement

42:25

from LinkedIn telling us all what kind of certification that person has received. And

42:34

most of these are micro-credentials. That is, it's a little mini-course, it's a seminar, a webinar

42:42

that they've engaged in recently. And it lets all of us know the kinds of things that they're doing,

42:49

which is a really great way to stay in touch. And it also kind of spreads the word that these

42:54

things are happening. And you know, we have badges. We have micro-credentials at The A&P

43:01

Professor. You can earn a micro-credential when you listen to an episode of the podcast, when you

43:08

read one of the books in The A&P Professor book club, when you watch one of our online seminars

43:16

that you can... They're on demand, that you can watch at theAPprofessor.org. And when you

43:24

earn those badges, you can just send them right to LinkedIn as soon as you earn them. There's

43:30

a link in the show notes that walks you through how to do it, but it's like two or three steps.

43:36

You just click share and click social, and then pick LinkedIn,

43:41

and then it's done for you. You have to start at canvas badges or canvas credentials page.

43:48

It's in your backpack. And how to find the badges in your backpack and do all that stuff,

43:55

and how all of these badges work, that's all listed for you at theAPprofessor.org/education.

44:03

And you get taken back there every time you earn a badge. So you probably already know about it.

44:11

So when you're done with this episode, why don't you go ahead and claim your badge for listening

44:16

and then put that on LinkedIn, and maybe that'll spread the word that this episode's now out there

44:23

and available and might be something that somebody else might want to take a look at.

44:31

Well, it's time for my psychic forecast for the coming year. And when I use the term psychic,

44:38

what I mean is psychic. Literally, psych means mind, and the IC ending means relating to. So,

44:46

if something is psychic, it's relating to the mind. So, I'm using my mind to forecast what

44:54

might be happening in the coming year. And this time, I'm going to go a little bit further out on

45:00

the limb than I usually do. And well, let's see how that goes. Prediction number one is

45:08

the TikTok-ification of A&P education. Expect educators to begin to embrace micro-teaching.

45:19

That is delivering complex anatomical truths in a snappy, bite-size burst

45:27

tailored for short attention spans. Who knows, lectures may soon feature

45:33

captions like, "Five things your kidney wish you knew." Or, "Mitochondria,

45:40

not just your grandmother's powerhouse anymore." Prediction number two. Anatomy meets philosophy

45:50

and maybe a dash of poetry. As external pressures narrow the curricular scope, clever instructors

46:01

are going to start to disguise the broader interdisciplinary lessons under creative banners.

46:10

Get ready for, I don't know, Shakespearean anatomy. To dissect or not to dissect or

46:19

philosophical explorations such as is homeostasis, just biological stoicism. Prediction number three,

46:31

academic freedom. The musical. Responding to threats from authoritarian currents.

46:38

Some instructors may start to adopt innovative and maybe humorous methods to engage sensitive

46:47

topics under the radar, perhaps singing their histology lectures to avoid suspicion. I'm

46:57

thinking maybe some jazz for epithelial tissue. I don't know. Hey, Greg Crowther, we're going

47:05

to need your help with this. Prediction number four, virtual anatomy field trips.

47:13

Magic School Bus Version 2025. Advancements in immersive tech, like AR and VR won't

47:22

just augment lectures. I think they'll kind of teleport students inside the body. Picture this.

47:34

"Hey, seat belts, everyone. We're navigating the hepatic portal system today. Next stop,

47:41

Liver Central Station. "Prediction number five, digital detox in anatomy lab.

47:50

Ironically, after years of relentless digital expansion, and I mean relentless, hasn't it been,

47:58

expect a small but trendy wave of educators advocating so-called tech-free zones in A&P labs,

48:09

students will rediscover the tactile joys and gross realities of dissection without

48:18

notifications buzzing, proving that the dissection knife and the forceps

48:26

remain mightier than the smartphone. Prediction number six, grassroots peer-reviewed rebellion.

48:37

Frustrated by institutional politics and authoritarian micromanagement, faculty

48:44

may rally toward informal cross-institutional peer support and validation networks, providing

48:54

an underground market of curriculum reviews, solidarity, and covert pedagogy strategies.

49:04

Think fight club but for educators. First rule, you do not talk about learning styles. Okay,

49:15

prediction number seven, the rise of the anatomy influencer.

49:22

Expect charismatic educators to develop thriving personal brands, turning, I don't know,

49:30

anatomy with Andy or fascia fanatics into influential education channels just like

49:40

Wendy Riggs and Steve Sullivan have been doing for a while now. Institutions might even start

49:47

to offer tenure based partly on YouTube subscriber counts, bringing new meaning

49:55

to publish or perish. Prediction eight, stealth DEI, diversity through anatomy and physiology.

50:08

So, amid all this external pushback against explicit DEI initiatives, I think clever educators

50:19

will subtly infuse inclusive themes directly into their A&P lectures, highlighting human biological

50:28

diversity, normalizing anatomical variation, and emphasizing the interconnectedness of all people

50:38

through universal biological structures and functions. After all, nothing says inclusion

50:46

quite like the realization that we all share similar internal plumbing. Prediction number

50:53

nine, retro tech makes a nostalgic comeback. Just when you thought digital was unstoppable,

51:03

educators seeking to reengage screen-fatigued learners will embrace charmingly retro methods,

51:12

expect vintage anatomical models, hand-drawn lecture notes, overhead projectors, and even

51:21

resurrected transparencies. I shouldn't have thrown all of those away. Proving again that

51:29

everything old eventually becomes hipster cool. Prediction 10, hot topics get hotter. Brace

51:39

yourself for another year of fascination with fascia, marvel at the mysteries of the human

51:48

microbiome, and continue unraveling the intricate dance of diet, exercise, and metabolism.

51:57

Expect breakthrough after breakthrough in understanding these concepts and

52:04

expect A&P curricula to increasingly incorporate these themes, moving beyond

52:11

isolated organ systems toward a truly holistic understanding of human biology. After all,

52:20

nothing sparks student interest quite like discovering that they're essentially a walking

52:27

ecosystem wrapped in a stretchy connective tissue sweater. Well, put a pin in those,

52:34

and let's see how we do over the next year. Hey, instead of my usual episode wrap-up,

52:43

I want to take just a few minutes to talk about something serious,

52:48

something we all need to consider carefully as a A&P professors, especially in the current climate.

52:57

As educators, we often tend to be optimists. We believe deeply in the potential good that

53:04

comes from the pursuit of knowledge and learning. But history shows us repeatedly that educators,

53:13

particularly professors, are often the first targets in times of rising authoritarianism.

53:22

Think about it. In nearly every modern society that's veered toward authoritarian rule, from

53:31

Russia in the early 20th century to Western Europe in the 1930s to Latin America in the 70s and 80s,

53:41

and then Russia again in the early 21st century to more recent events worldwide, professors

53:50

and intellectuals have faced enormous pressure. They've lost jobs, faced censorship, and sometimes

53:59

far worse simply because they posed questions, sought truth, and encouraged critical thinking.

54:10

Authoritarian systems thrive on control of information and suppression of dissent.

54:18

Professors, by the very nature of our jobs, stand in direct opposition to that. We don't

54:26

just deliver content. We cultivate independent thought. We challenge assumptions, and we

54:35

encourage open dialogue. These are precisely the things authoritarian systems can't tolerate.

54:45

And let's be clear. We've seen troubling signs closer to home recently. Pressure on curricula,

54:54

restrictions on academic freedom, even direct attacks on the integrity of educators themselves.

55:03

So what am I saying? I'm saying that it's essential we remain watchful, aware, and prepared.

55:14

Let's not dismiss these patterns lightly. We need to recognize the signs of erosion

55:22

in academic freedom early when we still have the strength and numbers to speak up.

55:31

It's also important that we remain empathetic not only to our colleagues who are immediately

55:37

impacted but also to those who may not yet realize what's affecting others today might well affect

55:45

them tomorrow. Now, more than ever is the time to support one another across institutions,

55:55

disciplines, and even differences of opinion. Yeah, we might disagree about certain details,

56:04

certain approaches, certain philosophies of teaching. But let's never forget that

56:11

beneath these differences lies our shared purpose: educating, guiding, and protecting

56:19

the integrity of scientific knowledge itself. We're all in this together, and our collective

56:27

strength depends on our solidarity. Let's commit to standing together,

56:35

speaking up when we see injustice, and remembering always that our greatest power lies in unity,

56:44

empathy, and the unwavering pursuit of truth. History has taught us these lessons clearly.

56:53

Sometimes painfully. Let's ensure that we heed them today. Well, thanks for listening. I think

57:03

it's important to remind ourselves of this. Now, let's move forward together into a new year of

57:12

love and kindness. I'll see you down the road. >>Aileen Park:

57:20

The A&P Professor is hosted by Dr. Kevin Patton, an award-winning professor and textbook author in

57:27

human anatomy and physiology. >>Kevin Patton:

57:34

The content of this episode is for entertainment purposes only.