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Learning About Physiology is PhUn at an Elementary School in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Author(s) -
Cruz Myrella L,
Hernandez Siomara,
Isidro Raymond A,
Hernandez Anixa,
Vazquez Bethzaly,
Diaz Hector,
Lopez Abdon,
TorresReveron Annelyn,
Colon Maria,
Appleyard Caroline B
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.lb748
Subject(s) - outreach , enthusiasm , test (biology) , medical education , psychology , mathematics education , medicine , ecology , biology , social psychology , political science , law
Since 2010, members of the Puerto Rico Physiological Society at PHSU‐PRI have been involved in PhUn week, the annual K‐12 outreach program sponsored by The American Physiological Society. As part of the PhUn week 10th anniversary celebration, graduate students and staff from Ponce Health Sciences University ‐ Ponce Research Institute (PHSU‐PRI) took the “PhUn” to the elementary school students at Academia Santa María Reina in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Aim To assess the impact of a PhUn week activity in 3 rd and 6 th graders. Methods A team of graduate students, staff and faculty from PHSU‐PRI organized a half‐day workshop for a group of thirty‐eight 8–11 year old students and two science teachers. The workshop consisted of three short presentations (gastrointestinal system, circulatory system and nervous system) which included integrated videos, optical illusions, experiments and demonstrations. Next, the children were divided into smaller groups to rotate through five interactive stations featuring: histology, anatomy, emulsification, a life‐size neuron model and DNA extraction. At each station the PHSU‐PRI helpers explained what the purpose of the activity was and were available to answer questions. All activities were conducted in Spanish. Pre‐ and post‐tests evaluated student learning. Data was analyzed using an unpaired Student t ‐test and chi‐square test. Results Students were clearly excited, demonstrated lots of enthusiasm, and were very proactive in all of the activities asking a lot of questions. A significant increase in the number of correct answers for all questions occurred following the workshop (gastrointestinal system p<0.001, circulatory system p<0.05 and nervous system p<0.001). Conclusions Short presentations and engagement of students from 3 rd and 6 th grade in interactive hands‐on activities in their native language helped to significantly increase their knowledge of basic physiological concepts. Support or Funding Information Supported in part by R25GM082406