1.      Activity focus and purpose :

In order to continue developing the teaching observation activities of Peer Observation of Teaching (POT), a mechanism is administered for teachers to learn and advance by means of teaching peer observation, and POT is practiced to establish a process mechanism of teaching observation. The observers are provided with the opportunity of direct peer classroom observation wherein they, as learners, grasp the operation of along with merits and demerits of different teaching methods, and give themselves the chance of reflection on their own courses. The observed are, on the other hand, offered the objective information to realize their actual teaching situations and problems.

2.      Activity features and implementation :

(1)       Course introduction:

The topic Flow Cytometry is listed in the course Contemporary Research Techniques in Biomedical Sciences (EMI). This course is a required course for graduate students at the Institute of Medicine. It includes techniques for detecting nucleic acids, proteins and cell functions, and Flow Cytometry is one of the techniques analyzing cell functions.

(2)       Course feature:

Flow Cytometry is a basic biomedical research technique. This course mainly introduced technical principles and related applications. Due to the different backgrounds of students in this class, some students have never entered a laboratory and some students are clinicians. Therefore, the class process included the following design:

a.           Preview before class: Selecting a YouTube animation short film of this technique (the content was simple and shorter than five minutes). It was recommended that students watch it at home and try to understand its content.

b.          During the class:

(a)       Ice-breaking activity: Using the interactive tool Slido to investigate students’ understanding of this technique.

(b)       Pre-study test: Using the interactive tool Slido to answer questions on the YouTube content. In order to encourage students to participate, those who were willing to answer and had correct answers would receive extra points at the end of the semester.

(c)       Animation presentation: Important technical principles or concepts were presented in animation to enhance students’ understanding.

(d)       Teacher-student interaction: The course content was divided into four sections. After the important concepts of each section were explained, the interactive tool Slido could be used for quick interactive Q&A to achieve the purpose of key reminders and review.

(3)       Instructions to the observing teachers:

By the end of the course, students would be able to:

a.           Describe the basic components and principles of flow cytometry.

b.          Explain light scattering and cellular properties and how they relate to cell size and complexity.

c.           Select appropriate antibodies and fluorescent substances for experiments.

d.          Understand the applications of flow cytometry.

(4)       Satisfaction survey: 93%

3.      Activity Highlights

Figure 1: Lecture

Figure 2: POT

Figure 3: Discussion

Figure 4: Discussion