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Teaching New Words in New Ways: PhUn Week Outcomes in Elementary Students

Physiology Understanding (PhUn) week is organized by the American Physiological Society with the mission of promoting interaction between scientists and nonscientists, specifically through outreach to local schools to encourage science education. Elementary school students (n=27) from a local school participated in small group activities led by two undergraduate students, two graduate (masters) students, and a faculty member. The objectives of these activities were: 1) to teach basic physiological concepts, and 2) provide students an enjoyable, fun, and engaging hands‐on experience. Three separate lessons were created centering on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and muscular systems. Each lesson contained a short introduction, an individual small activity to illustrate the concept, and a larger demonstration indicative of laboratory activity. Students were given a worksheet for each station that highlighted important words related to the corresponding body system. After the completion of all 3 stations, elementary students completed a short worksheet. All three topics were evenly identified as the most interesting and fun. Less than half of the students reported being familiar with the term physiology before the event, and approximately 55% said they learned at least 3 new words over the course of the day. Students used a self‐reported 1–5 scale to assess their enjoyment (median=5) and learning (median=4). Free response answers identified key vocabulary used at the various stations (e.g. homeostasis, diaphragm). Overall, elementary students demonstrated an interest in physiology and laboratory methods when presented with this programming. Self‐reported data indicates this outreach activity was successful in achieving the intended objectives.