Historically, physiology teaching was content-heavy, dominated by didactic lectures and rote learning. I will discuss how much modern physiology education has departed from this practice.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that physiology is the cornerstone of medicine, but a notoriously difficult subject to learn. Therefore, a physiology student must be in want of an exceptional teacher. In the past, knowledge was transmitted passively from expert to learner (the so-called “Sage on the Stage”; King, 1993). There was limited consideration of how students learn. A modern, student-centred approach facilitates active, inquiry-based learning (the “Guide on the Side”; King, 1993), including case-based learning, which is integrated into the medical curriculum at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Research shows that active learning improves conceptual understanding and enhances student engagement (Freeman et al., 2014). Alongside, formative feedback and authentic assessments that emphasise reasoning, integration, and application of knowledge rather than memorisation, train students in key transferable skills required for future employment as part of the global workforce.
The modern physiology educator is increasingly a scholarly teacher. QUB researchers are using evidence to guide practice while preparing learners to apply physiological understanding responsibly across diverse health, environmental, and sociocultural contexts. For example, McGahon et al., (2026) integrated the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into physiology education, highlighting how a knowledge of physiology is relevant to a student body who care deeply about the world we live in and its people. This group’s work contextualises physiology learning to the societal and global issues of today, including global warming, health inequalities, and aging populations. Roe et al., (2024) describes an innovative arts-meets-science approach to teach hypofertility and behavioural skills (for example, respect, empathy, compassion, and interpersonal skills) to medical students, using final year Drama students as simulated patients. The research found that realistic simulations of doctor-patient interactions felt authentic and emphasised the importance of physiology to patient care, while also embedding “human factors” skills that enhance the overall educational experience.
Digital technologies, the use of which rapidly increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, have further reshaped physiology education into a “global village”. Collaboration between institutions is easier, and shared curricula and co‑teaching can be supported across borders and time zones. Virtual physiology laboratories and simulations have become more widespread, particularly in regions where laboratory infrastructure, funding and/or time is limited. More recently, learning analytics and artificial intelligence offer opportunities for a personalised learning experience no matter where you learn. The increased volume and velocity of information now enables rapid, worldwide interaction which the education community is harnessing. However, this hyper-connection comes not without its challenges. Our unpublished research suggests that educators struggle with the “always on” nature of work post-COVID-19 and the blurring of professional boundaries.
In summary, the physiology educators of 2026 must prepare students for a rapidly changing world where critical thinking and problem-solving are essential to the application of physiology to current and future global challenges.