This will allow students to truly understand homeostasis and equilibrium as it relates to their own health and the state of their own bodies. In teaching kidney function, students will get to connect what is happening on the cellular level to what is happening within the entire organ system and then the entire human body. The purpose behind this unit is to show how osmosis and diffusion are vital to the health of entire systems and organisms it is not a rare occurrence that just happens in cells that have been isolated. This is usually shown with an arrow pointing in the direction that water will flow in relation to the cell membrane. It is hard for a student to understand the importance of equilibrium, when the process of diffusion is not linked to an idea bigger than a small two-dimensional drawing of a circle on paper to represent a cell. In my experience, osmosis and diffusion are taught in isolation, generally using one cell and the surrounding environment as the ultimate reference point. The concept of osmosis and diffusion is vital to understanding the nature of organisms and how they function, yet these have also proven to be among the most difficult concepts to get students to understand. The purpose of this unit is to teach students about the cellular processes of osmosis and diffusion. Imagine a middle schooler's, or even a high schooler's excitement, when they realize they have the capability and background knowledge to create their own version of kidney dialysis. However, the study of artificial kidneys provides an amazing opportunity to display how even the most fundamental and seemingly simple concepts in science can be used to revolutionize modern medicine. ![]() The study of artificial organs can seem intimidating and beyond the comprehension of those with only a general knowledge of science. In fact, the mechanism by which dialysis works involves simple diffusion and osmosis, which is generally taught to children in the United States as early as middle school. How can its function be duplicated, let alone explained to medical laypeople? Amazingly, kidney dialysis, which for all practical purposes is an artificial kidney that functions in removing solutes and toxins from the blood, is actually not as complex as one might imagine. The idea of an artificial kidney, or any artificial organ for that matter, seems like such a complex idea only to be understood by those that have specialized in fields such as nephrology or biomedical engineering. Teaching Osmosis and Diffusion through Kidney Dialysis by Amanda Reasoner Introduction
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