An analysis of the conceptual difficulties of the endocrinology domain andan empirical analysis of student and expert understanding of that domain

Background: Endocrine feedback systems are not considered too difficult to learn. This opinion is shared by both students and teachers. However, an an alysis of the domain suggests that this view might be too optimistic. Purposes: To investigate whether students do indeed have a good understandi ng of the mechanism and underlying subsystems of hormonal feedback systems. Methods: Three 3rd-year medical students of the Maastricht University medic al school and three gynecologists were asked to explain the regulation of t he female cycle. The explanations of the students and the experts were vide otaped. Verbatim transcripts of the sessions were analyzed into proposition s and were classified and compared with 5 inherent domain difficulties iden tified in a domain analysis. Results: Our analysis shows that students did not address the fundamental p rocesses that take place in the follicle and its cells. The students did no t follow a timeline in their explanations. The experts, however, did addres s the fundamental processes and did structure their presentations according to a timeline. Conclusions: Students underestimate the complexity of the regulation of the female cycle, probably because they are already partly familiar with it as a result of their high school studies. Copyright (C) 1998 by Lawrence Erlb aum Associates,Inc.