1. Conceptual Frameworks: An Old Idea Helps Students Learn Cutting Edge Biomedical Science Tim Formosa, Janet E. Lindsley, and Matt K. Topham University of Utah School of Medicine

2. The expression is NOT “as easy as assembling a bicycle” Should I try to follow the bizarre instructions, or just head towards the outcome?

3. Types of WBC disorders recognized by the WHO. Simple Enough.

4. A classification scheme for Leukemias and Lymphomas (Help me organize new information as it comes in)
Leukemia
Acute
Chronic
Acute
Myeloid
(AML)
Acute Lymphoid
(ALL)
Chronic Myeloid
(CML)
Chronic Lymphoid
(CLL)
Lymphoma
Hodgkin
11%
Non-Hodgkin
Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Plasma Cell Dyscrasia; terms sound like English but bring no familiar images to mind when first encountered.
B-Cell
80%
T-Cell 9%
NK-Cell
(rare)

5. Seems reasonable, and it works!
Ausubel DP. The Use of Advance Organizers in the Learning and Retention of Meaningful Verbal Material. J Educ Psychol. 1960;51(5):
Compared standard “interest-enhancing” historical introduction to one “designed to serve as an organizing or anchoring focus” for learning an unfamiliar technical topic (metallurgy).

6. “Anchoring” principles: there are only two ways to get anemia (help me see stable, underlying principles that I will always know must be true)
Globin +
Heme
(Fe + protoporphyrin IX)
RBC precursors
Look here to determine if the
bone marrow is responding
Properly (“polychromasia”)
Reticulocytes
are young RBCs
Marrow
Underlying Cause of Anemia
Blood
120 days
Destruction
Catabolites
Diagnosis Tissue damage

7. Closing thoughts Ausubel:
“Even though this principle seems rather self-evident it is rarely followed in actual teaching procedures...”
“In the absence of clear and stable concepts which can serve as anchoring points and organizing foci...students are trapped in a morass of confusion and have little choice but to rotely memorize learning tasks for examination purposes.”