Category Archives: Outreach

We’ve come a long way, but K-12 students still need exposure to physiology

You know you are old when the elementary school part of your K-12 science education would likely disqualify a teacher if he/she tried the approach today. At the start of the week, my 8^th grade teacher wrote about 10 science factoids on the blackboard. On Friday morning, the blackboard was erased and we were given a quiz to see what we “learned” by reading these weekly science tidbits. Science was very boring, although I do recall one funny experience learning about the scientific process. We were asked to interpret some “data,” using inductive reasoning to discern a pattern, make a generalization, and come up with an explanation. We were told the following: “A man drank gin and tonic water and got drunk. He then drank vodka and tonic water and got drunk. And finally he drank rum and tonic water and again he got drunk.” The class enthusiastically and unanimously concluded that tonic water causes you to get drunk.

Despite these beginnings to my science experience, I chose to major in biology in college and learned about physiology thanks to a vertebrate physiology class I took my senior year. On my last day of college, I sat on the floor of the incredible instructor of this course and said, “What can you do with a degree in biology if you don’t want to go to medical school?” He quickly responded, “You seem to really like physiology, so you should get a PhD in physiology.” I blindly followed his advice even though I was clueless what this would entail, but I learned quickly and managed to get accepted into a graduate program where my passion for physiology grew, especially regarding neural control of the cardiovascular system.

The administration of several US Presidents since the late 1950’s has acknowledged that K-12 schools need to do more to educate our population in STEM fields by providing opportunities to ensure that tomorrow’s leaders have the skills needed to be innovative and to maintain a competitive economy. The acronym STEM was popularized in the 1990’s. This is also the era when some national organizations developed opportunities to include exposure to science outside of the classroom and into public arenas. For example, in 1996 The Dana Foundation spearheaded the development of Brain Awareness Week to “to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research.” It has evolved into a global education initiative with more than 5,600 partners in 120 countries. When I was on the APS Council in 2005, the APS Education Committee promoted an event that would rely on APS members to reach out to their communities to help increase awareness about physiology. This was the beginnings of Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week, an aptly named event since it was intended to show the public that physiology is fun. We were so lucky that APS Leadership saw a need and was willing to invest a relatively small amount of money (in recent years about $40,000 annually) to stimulate interest in physiology in what has become thousands of young children and hundreds of K-12 teachers each November.

Although I was an early advocate of the program (voting in favor of APS support for the event), my first time to be an active participant in a PhUn Week event was 2009. A teacher at a Jackson MI high school (Nancy Lefere, Lumen Christi High School) contacted APS after reading a notice about the program in a teacher’s magazine. She asked APS how she could find a physiologist who could come to her classroom to participate in PhUn Week, and APS contacted me, and I then reached out to Nancy. I was surprised to learn that she actually teaches a high school physiology course! My colleague Stephanie Watts and I have been going to Lumen Christi High School every year since then. I may be biased, but I think everyone enjoys learning about things that control your blood pressure and heart rate, so we use that as the theme for our PhUn Week activity.

The activity we use at Lumen Christi High School is designed with three goals in mind. One, the students will learn some basic cardiovascular physiology. Two, the students will engage in experimental design. Three, the hands-on activity will educate the students about the cardiovascular effects of drinking caffeinated beverages and aerobic exercise, especially combining the two. Provided one has access to automatic blood pressure and heart rate monitors, the hands-on activity can be done with minimal investment of money (purchase of beverages), and it can be completed in a typical class period.

In the week leading up to the visit by Stephanie and me, Nancy uses the K-W-L- approach to learning as students make lists of things that they Know and Wonder about blood pressure and heart rate. The Learn items are shared with us after our visit to the classroom at the end of the week. Our visit provides students with a valuable opportunity to learn more about blood pressure and heart rate by a Power Point® presentation and the hands-on activity. Some examples of K-W-L items we have gathered over the years are shown in the accompanied K-W-L Chart.

For the hands-on activity, students work in pairs, one being a “researcher” (collects the data) and one is the “subject”. Students receive instructions on the proper way to take their blood pressure using automatic blood pressure cuffs (proper placement of the cuff, arm resting close to heart level, feet flat on floor, relaxed, breathe normally, no talking, etc.). The researchers take and record the blood pressure and heart rate of the subjects on a chart we have prepared in advance. Measurements are made three times: at rest, about 30 minutes after drinking a beverage, and immediately after doing 3-minutes of aerobic exercise (e.g., running, jumping jacks, push-ups). We routinely bring a graduate student with us, giving him/her an opportunity to get engaged in a lively outreach event. And the more hands on deck, the more organized we can be to make sure the students are making the blood pressure and heart arte measurements correctly.

Because the teacher submits the Know and Wonder items in advance of our classroom visit, the presentation can include answers to many of the questions the students posed. The presentation also engages the students by gathering their responses to a variety of questions about blood pressure and heart rate. We used iClicker® technology to gather responses, but if clickers are not available one can do a manual tally of responses to the questions. Typical questions include “Do you know anyone diagnosed with hypertension?”; “Which of the following has the highest blood pressure (or heart rate): a hypertensive man, blue whale, giraffe, or bird?”; “Do you know anyone who had a stroke (or heart attack)?”; “What effect does caffeine (or exercise) have on blood pressure (or heart rate)?”; “Do you think your blood pressure is higher when you are standing, sitting, lying down, or it makes no difference?”

We also talk about the components of experimental design: formulating a hypothesis, developing methods to test a hypothesis, identifying the controls and variables, collecting and recording data, and making a conclusion based on the experimental results. We ask the students what they expect to happen to their blood pressure and heart rate if they consume caffeine and if they exercise. Usually most of the students say that “Drinking caffeinated beverages and exercise will increase my blood pressure and heart rate.”

All students had been asked to refrain from consuming caffeinated beverages for at least 24 hours prior to class. Students are asked in advance if they are sensitive to caffeine and if so, they would not be asked to drink a caffeinated beverage. Parental consent is required to be a subject. Students are divided into groups based on the caffeine-content of the beverage they drink. At a minimum, the study can be done with two beverages: a caffeine-free (0 mg/oz) soft drink and a caffeinated energy drink. We have used either NOS® (10 mg caffeine/oz.) or Rockstar® (15 mg/oz.) energy drink. If possible, all of the beverages used should have the same sugar content so that variation in sugar level is not a factor in the results of the experiment. Also, all students should drink the same volume. It is convenient to use 12-oz as this is the amount in most soft drink cans. The temperature of all of the beverages should also be the same; we use beverages at room temperature.

An almost uniform response is that students who had consumed the energy drink comment that they felt their heart racing after 3-min of exercise. The Figure to the left shows the combined results from our last two visits in which we were able to analyze results from 11 students that drank the caffeinated soft drink and 13 students that drank an energy drink. Systolic pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) are both significantly increased after exercise compared to baseline levels in both groups of students. Perhaps surprisingly the results were not significantly greater in those drinking the caffeine-free (CF) beverage versus the caffeinated (C) beverage. One caveat is that blood pressure in these young kids probably begin to correct fairly quickly after they stop exercising. By the time they get back to their seats and settle down to get their pressure and heart rate taken again, it might begin to fall. Students often say they learn not to drink a caffeinated drink before exercising!

In summary, this week-long experience of studying blood pressure and heart rate is a form of active, discovery learning that uses the K-W-L approach in conjunction with a hands-on activity. This format is well-suited to peak the students’ interest in physiology and research because they see for themselves the results of their own study. It mattered more that the students got to be involved in experimental design and conducting the experiments than in the actual results of the experiment. All participants – teachers and students – have PhUn!

The Future of PhUn Week

Many of the APS members who participate in PhUn Week events of other K-12 activities were disheartened to learn that the current APS Council has voted to halt the use of APS funds to support PhUn Week events beginning in 2019. I urge those interested to contact APS Council members to encourage them to reconsider this decision. These events could likely continue with about $20,000 each year. We can bypass the distribution of PhUn Week T-shirts for the APS members and teachers participating in the event and the sports bags given to the students. The trading cards and squeezy hearts could continue to be given as reminders to the kids of the “PhUn” they had on that day in November when a physiologist visited their school. Another option for support of this event is getting dedicated individuals or groups who would be willing to endow the program. Maybe this blog can be used to find APS members willing to help regain support for PhUn Week.

Sue Barman received her PhD in physiology from Loyola University School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois. Afterward she went to Michigan State University (MSU) where she is currently a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology and the Neuroscience Program. She has had a career-long interest in neural control of cardiorespiratory function with an emphasis on the characterization and origin of the naturally occurring discharges of sympathetic and phrenic nerves. She is also a Fellow of the APS and served as its 85^th President. She has also served as a Councilor of APS and Chair of the Women in Physiology and Section Advisory Committees of the APS. She is active in the Michigan Physiological Society, a chapter of the APS. She established a jeopardy-style Michigan Physiology Quiz in which teams of undergraduate students compete in answering questions about physiology. Students that participate say it is a great way to study for the MCATs. Sue has had a passion for mentoring young physiologists. She is also a recipient of an MSU Outstanding University Woman Faculty Award, a Distinguished Faculty Award, and a Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology.

A PhUn Week Experience Influenced by Excitement

I was initially asked to participate in PhUn Week by a staff member within the American Physiological Society (APS) headquarters. Reluctantly, I agreed to put one more activity on my busy schedule. As the time approached for the PhUn Week presentation to an elementary school group, an exceptional amount of thought came into what I would present to engage the students. I don’t exactly remember the minute details of what my first PhUn Week presentation was about; however, I will never forget the enthusiasm and excitement shown by the elementary students once they became engaged and participated in the presentation. I was immediately convinced that PhUn Week presentations delivered all over the United States were helping to dispel the myth that “science was boring and very difficult.” As I recall, the PhUn Week presentation caused the students to ask a lot of relevant and also irrelevant questions. The point was that they were not afraid to raise their hands and to make a comment or ask a question about cardiovascular or renal function. One memorable moment was the excitement that the participants showed when the trace of their EKGs were displayed upon a screen and their heartbeats were magnified over a speaker system. As the crowd watched the tracing and heard the sounds of the heartbeats from their brave classmate who volunteered, they simultaneously placed their hands over their heart to feel if their own hearts had a similar beat. As a result, the number of volunteers tremendously increased and so did their heart rates. During this and other PhUn Week presentations, the initial “ice-breaking” moments opened up the excitement and many possibilities and understanding of physiology.

My PhUn Week presentation experience was not only unique with elementary students, the excitement and engagement was exhibited throughout elementary, middle and high schools. During the various educational stages of the participants, there was something that made them more curious about understanding physiology, which resulted in questions, or something they could relate to and wanted to share with the group. The responses were observed in classrooms in Augusta, GA, the inner city of Washington, D.C and various suburbs in Maryland. In my experience, the excitement and curiosity for physiology did not significantly vary, whether the PhUn Week presentations were given to a science interest group or to a gym full of elementary or high school students. To my surprise, the PhUn Week presentations were also well-received by teachers and administrators. One would think that the PhUn Week presentations would be an opportunity for the teachers to take a well-deserved break, grade papers or simply prepare for the next class. Instead, the teachers watched intensely and on many occasions, interjected scientific principles previously discussed in the class.

My preparation and prompts utilized for PhUn Week have evolved over the years. Initially, the presentation depended upon WiFi connections to play videos, the transportation of electronic equipment that would display EKG tracings and speakers for the magnification of heart sounds, to the construction of a urinary system out of plywood, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and plastic containers. Out of all the PhUn Week presentations, the construction and transportation of the urinary system was the most eventful. Although, the system was tested, which included pouring a “small amount” of water through a funnel, which was connected to the aorta and the water was divided at an intersection of the PVC pipe to depict the renal arteries and filtered through additional funnels connected to polyethelyne (PE) tubing, to depict the ureters. The flow of the liquid through the kidneys (the filtering component) down into the ureters, which was connected by considerable amount of clay, was the area of most concern. On the day of the presentation, and after a brief introduction, I asked for a volunteer to come up on stage to assist me with the process. My instruction was: to please pour a “small amount” of water upon prompting. Little did I know that the fourth grader was very excited, and he poured almost a half-gallon of liquid into the urinary system display at one time. As expected, the ureters, which consisted of PE tubing, could not withstand the large of amount of volume and pressure exerted upon the system. As a physiologist, we are trained to “think on our feet.” My first action was to stop the flow of fluid, the second was to reinforce the PE tubing funnel connection with more clay. Paper towels were needed, of course, to clean up the “spill of excitement” on the floor. During that demonstration, the students were able to successfully see how red “blood” goes through the urinary system to produce a clear or “light-yellow tinted urine.” The class and teachers were very patient, excited, appreciative, and helpful during this certain PhUn Week presentation. Now, I often think about other ways in which a hands-on urinary system could have been presented to a group of elementary school students. Nevertheless, the excitement experienced by everyone that day will go down as one of my most memorable PhUn Week presentations in more ways than one.

Over the years, I have looked forward to the PhUn Week presentations and have been asked to return to certain sites on multiple occasions. The impact and appreciation exhibited by the students, teachers and administrators are tangible: you are making a lasting impression upon young students. I received numerous e-mails from the PhUn Week participants expressing their gratitude of my presentations, and excitement for the learning of physiology. My most prized possessions from the PhUn Week presentations are the hand-written cards and letters from the many students. The most creative cards also include a drawing from the particular presentation, possibly including a spill during the constructed urinary system. I must say that PhUn Week has generated an exposure to students of all ages for an excitement in the field/possibilities of physiology. Activities such as PhUn Week are vital for developing and continuing the “pipeline” for the biomedical workforce. Although the participation in these PhUn Weeks were considered an added event on my schedule, I am convinced that it is very important for the understanding and future of physiology. I am also energized by the excitement exhibited by the PhUn Week participants, and students.

Dr. Dexter Lee graduated from Jackson State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, proceeded to get a Masters’ of Sciences degree from University of Akron Ohio, and finally obtained a PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research focuses on the acquisition of hemodynamic data using mouse models of chronic hypertension to identify molecular markers and inflammatory cytokines that regulate blood pressure through renal-dependent mechanisms. Currently, his laboratory is studying the role of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-alpha and its regulatory effect on inflammatory markers during hypertension.

Years of PhUn Week!

My first foray into K-12 education was when I volunteered to my daughter’s second grade teacher to come and do science in her classroom during the year. Since that time thirty years ago and subsequently as the scientist-in-residence for our school district, I have routinely taught portions of first and second grade science, visited all of the seventh grade classrooms with science activities, and gone with my university students to teach renal physiology to high school students. Thus, getting involved in PhUn Week was not much of a stretch for me.

By this time, I have done PhUn Week with the entire seventh grade annually since 2006. I missed 2005 because I was a guest lecturer at Africa University in Zimbabwe during the fall semester when the PhUn Week pilot was launched. My initial involvement with PhUn Week was to visit the classrooms of my 7^th grade teacher colleague and former APS Frontiers in Physiology teacher Sally Stoll. Since she taught all 7^th grade science and life science was a large portion of her curriculum, we planned an entire unit on physiology that was supplemented by the exercise activities that we offered together for the students. We started with having the students measure their pulse before and after light exercise and expanded to having the students determine their heart rates, breathing rates, and skin temperatures before and after exercise. Adding measurement of skin temperature not only brings in the issue of where to measure skin temperature and the concept of where the body thermostat is but also exhibits true homeostasis as while heart and breathing rates increase with light exercise, skin temperature almost always decreases with exercise! During this collaboration, Ms. Stoll was teaching life science during the fall semester so we could plan PhUn Week around the same time as the national launch in 2005.

After Ms. Stoll retired, Maria May (a former student of mine when I taught animal physiology to biology majors) came on as the 7^th grade science teacher. She was perfectly willing to have me come to her classroom and do similar activities with her students; however, due to state and district curricular changes life science is not now the main topic for 7^th grade science. Thus, the effects of exercise on heart and breathing rates and skin temperature is not quite the culmination of an entire unit but still fits into the curriculum during the spring semester. For the last few years, we have conducted our PhUn Week activities in the spring but signed up for PhUn Week in the fall along with everyone else. I now spend one whole day doing the exercise activities with the students (teams of students are assigned different types of exercise like running in place, jumping jacks, step tests, and running in the hall), one whole day talking about careers in physiology, and one whole day doing a case study activity diagnosing kidney diseases with fake urine for Ms. May’s students. The kidney disease case studies were written for the APS by current Education Committee chair Jeff Osborn a number of years ago and I use them routinely with students from middle school through college.

Now as an experienced science outreach person, I can verify that all levels of students love science activities. I have even taken science activities to the non-profit day care center on whose board I serve as a summer activity for 3-year-olds on up. My college students have affirmed to me that they learned renal physiology better by having to teach it to advanced biology and anatomy and physiology high school students. All science professionals need to be able to communicate their science with others for the future of science and their careers!

Barb Goodman received her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Minnesota and is currently Professor in the Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences of Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota. She has been involved in numerous education and communication initiatives of the APS since 1990 including co-authoring two learning cycle units for the APS Frontiers in Physiology Curricular Development program, sponsoring numerous teachers in her laboratory, and serving as a physiologist-in-residence at a number of APS Summer Teaching Forums.

A Team Approach for a PhUn Experience that Applies Curriculum-Based Concepts

In the beginning:

From the time my children were in primary school, I visited K1-12 classes and engaged students in various science activities ranging from demonstrations to hands-on activities. In addition to presenting science demonstrations and explaining scientific principles, I wanted to share the discovery process with them and usually concluded my visit by talking about diversity of science careers and explaining how “the lesson” related to subjects they learned everyday in their classrooms. My science “outreach” continued with sporadic visits to schools, either by myself or with colleagues. Sometimes, they were in response to requests for faculty to speak to various groups or to help with a science fair. It was enjoyable to share my interests while working with a wider educational community, hoping to increase awareness of science and what physiology encompasses. The enthusiasm of the students and teachers made my outreach experiences fulfilling and fun! As PhUn Week came into existence, it was a natural extension to my classroom activities. It opened new vistas by providing a network of people, classroom lessons, educational resources and supportive information to increase awareness of physiology careers.

New vistas:

In addition to finding teachers and administrators that welcomed PhUn Week, it was essential to first meet with the teachers to develop a physiology-oriented activity. One of my goals was to work in parallel with the classroom teacher to get students to apply science and math they were being taught to the physiology that was presented. I had not done this to any extent previously and found that it worked very well with teachers who actively participated in the lesson with me. I introduced myself to the class, explained what physiology is and described various careers physiologists and other scientists have. A popular topic was how the lungs and heart function together. We constructed a model with a plastic bottle, tubing and balloons to demonstrate how the lungs inflate and deflate during normal breathing and formulated inquiry-based questions such as, “what causes air movement during normal inspiration and expiration.” This enabled us to illustrate the relevance of Boyle’s Law and discuss principles of pressure-volume relationships, airflow, ventilation, diffusion, gas exchange and even Bernoulli’s Principle using demonstrations, physical laws and basic math. Videos with animations downloaded from the internet were used to show gas exchange and how the lungs function together with the heart and vascular system. Students were divided into groups and guided to develop and discuss a hypothesis related to flow, velocity and pressure relationships in the lungs. The heart as a source of pressure for blood flow was discussed along with its role in systemic and pulmonary circulation. In a hands-on group activity, students were taught how to measure blood pressure and to calculate heart rate and breathing frequency. They speculated about changes they would expect with exercise, measured changes in heart rate and breathing frequency that occurred, and summarized data. We concluded by discussing benefits of a healthy life style and exercise on heart and lung function.

Following up:

A subsequent follow-up quiz comparing the ability to correctly answer curriculum-based concept questions (without reference to physiology) to questions based on our inquiry activity indicated a positive correlation. We also experimented with “Before” and “After” questions as a way to get students to apply what they learned to the solution of questions that they formulated. Responses to the questions were used to assess understanding of physiology and scientific principles that were presented. Scores indicated that hands-on activity increased the classes’ overall performance. Quizzes also helped to identify concepts that needed further explanation. Teachers provided perspective of the curriculum and accommodated our activity into their lesson plans. Our team gained new perspectives for developing ways to think about and teach physiology and enjoyed interacting with teachers and students. Students were very enthusiastic about their PhUn Week experience. The overall model that we used can provide experience with the scientific method, inferential reasoning, formulating questions, making observations, and collecting data while introducing students to future STEM careers. Our model is flexible and allows concepts to be taught in interesting ways that hold student’s interest and are relevant to every day life. It can be scaled up or down depending on the grade level and we learned that collaboration is important for developing and coordinating appropriate activities and questions for the grade level.

The strength of collaboration:

In addition to the classroom teachers, our Phun Week activity depended on the collaborative efforts of a diverse team consisting of a physiologist, a physiology graduate student, a graphic artist experienced with information technology and an experienced K1-12 teacher who has participated in APS teacher workshops and poster presentations, taken high school students through the exhibit hall at Experimental Biology meetings, talked to students and got them to talk about career plans. This team approach greatly supported and enhanced the transitions between demonstrations, video presentations and hands-on group activities. It also made it possible to work with three different classes sequentially on the day of the activity. The different perspectives of our team members helps to show that science careers also depend on effective communication skills and knowledge of the arts and humanities as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The University of Louisville is supportive of our community outreach. At the end of the school year, our PhUn Week activity was followed up by a field trip to the University where three classes visited my laboratory for a demonstration related to our activity and toured educational facilities in the Health Sciences Center.

Our experienced K1-12 teacher (Ann C. Roberts, who is also my wife) provided insight into teaching and learning styles, motivational techniques, incorporating PhUn Week lessons into school curricula, and co-authored our PhUn week perspective. She has good rapport with students and classroom teachers which helps to direct and guide students during presentations and group activities. Ann received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in education at Western Connecticut State College in Danbury, Connecticut. She received certification in New York, California and Kentucky, has many years of classroom experience in public and private schools and co-authored our PhUn week perspective.

Dr. Andrew M. Roberts received a Ph.D. in Physiology from New York Medical College. He completed postdoctoral training in heart and vascular diseases and a Parker B. Francis Fellowship in pulmonary research at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine. Afterwards, he was recruited by the University of Louisville, School of Medicine and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology. Dr. Roberts’ research focuses on integrative cardiopulmonary physiology, neural control mechanisms, alterations in microvascular regulation and inflammation. He has served on the Education and Careers Committees of the American Physiology Society and is a Fellow of the APS.

PhUn is What You Make It!

Each year, we celebrate PhUn (Physiology Understanding) Week at a local elementary school in Georgia. Reaching out to elementary-aged students allowed us to surprise and excite young students about the role of physiology in their daily lives. Our goal was to inspire them to have an open mind about who can become a scientist. Studies show that between the ages of 6 and 15, women and minorities lose confidence in their ability to thrive in mathematics and the sciences ^{(1, 2)}. Therefore, our goal was to demonstrate, to a diverse group of students, that PhUn is what you make it!

Our PhUn consisted of 4 phases: 1) Draw a Scientist, 2) Dress a Scientist, 3) Meet a Scientist and 4) The Scientist Within.

Phase 1: Draw a Scientist. This phase served as our “Scientific Bias Screening”. The goal was to dispel assumptions about who was and could be scientists.

Prior to our arrival, we requested teachers to encourage students to draw whatever they considered a scientist.
When we arrived, we allowed students to describe their pictures to the class.

This phase was necessary, as it is important to encourage teacher participation since teachers are on the forefront of motivating students daily. Teachers are responsible for shaping and encouraging students to pursue various career opportunities, so having an entire community of teachers to encourage students of all backgrounds (gender, race, socioeconomic, etc.) to pursue STEM fields is critical to promoting awareness of the opportunities and needs within STEM. Furthermore, allowing students to confront their implicit biases about scientists provided a teachable moment.

Phase 2: Dress a Scientist. This phase was important to de-mystify scientific tools and make them relatable.

Prior to our arrival, we assembled a “science” bag with laboratory tools (conical tubes, beakers, pipettors, etc.), personal protective equipment (gloves, lab coat, eye googles) and fun items (“crazy” wig). We included items that are used in the typical physiology lab – we decided to leave heavy analysis equipment out of the bag!
The teacher selected a volunteer student to be dressed as a scientist.
Classmates were asked to name items that the volunteer student needed to “look” like a scientist.
After removing the named items from the bag, students were then asked to guess the utility/function of said items. Guiding questions were used to assist.
We explained how each item is used and what other purposes it could serve.
The item was given to the student scientist to put on or hold.
After emptying the bag, students take group pictures with the scientist they dressed.

Many students feel overwhelmed and ignorant because they haven’t been exposed to laboratories. Our goal was to allow students to touch and learn about these tools. As a result, science became a lot less foreign and intimidating.

Phase 3: Meet A Scientist. The phase served to motivate students to consider themselves capable of contributing to scientific discovery.

We introduced ourselves as scientists and explained our areas of research.
A picture of a “Mad Scientist” was projected. Students were asked if we looked like mad scientists.
Pictures of scientists from diverse backgrounds were then projected.
We described our journey to becoming scientists from high school to college to graduate school. We also shared personal stories of our experiences at each level, explaining that determination is the key to success.
We posed the question “Do you ever ask why…why…but why?”
We explained that scientists use the scientific method to answer the “whys” and that each of them possessed the important quality of being inquisitive and that they were indeed “Scientists in Training”.

We were aware that there are multiple reasons students may not be excited about science and scientists – namely it can be seen as nerdy or dangerous. As we clearly do not typify what a “Mad Scientist” appears to be, we aimed to expand the definition what scientist appear to be. The goal was to help them realize that anyone with an interest in learning how things worked can be a scientist.

Phase 4: The Scientist Within. This phase was crucial for helping student internalize their ability to be scientists.

We described the cardiovascular system in health and disease.
Students were then instructed to form a hypothesis regarding blood flow in a healthy blood vessel versus and unhealthy blood vessel.
- Step 2- Measure 60 ml of the liquid into the cup.
- Step 3- Start the timer and use the coffee stirrer to suck up and drink all of the liquid from the cup. Be sure you drink until you reach the bottom of the cup. Do it as quickly as you can but only suck the liquid through the coffee stirrer. Stop the timer as soon as the liquid is gone.
- Step 4- Record the amount of time it took to drink the 60 ml of liquid.
- Step 5- Repeat steps 2-5 again but this time use the drinking straw to suck up the water.
- Step 6- Repeat steps 2-5 two more times so you have run each experiment three times. Record the amount of time it took to drink the 60 ml of liquid.
- Step 7- When you have recorded your data, go to the APS Physiology Understanding Week website (www.phunweek.org) and share your findings with other APS Junior Physiologists.
We assisted the students in performing the Healthy Heart Experiment II: Does What We Eat Matter to Our Hearts? http://www.the-aps.org/phun/pdfs/PhizzyPostcard.pdf

The students certainly enjoyed this Phase the most! This phase served to teach students about the cardiovascular systems and how science is already an active component of their lives. By showing the students a fun way to perform experiences, we removed some negative stereotypes about scientists and sparked interests in science we hope are lifelong. Most importantly, students were able to identify themselves as scientists and internalize their abilities to thrive in STEM.

Ultimately, we received plenty of participation and interaction with the students and teachers. We were able to surprise and excite students to re-evaluate who could be a scientist all the while, we were also able to encouraged students to believe that they all have the potential to become scientists themselves. Beyond being rewarding, this event was critical to demonstrating how diversity in STEM is critical for recruiting the next generation of scientists. Seeing two minority women be confident, capable, and qualified inspired the students to ask questions they may not have felt comfortable with in other environments. It also allowed them to believe that being a scientist is possible and that PhUn is what you make it!

References:

PURPOSE

Expose elementary students to scientist from diverse backgrounds

Debunk the myth of who a scientist is and looks like

Empower students to view themselves as scientists-in-training

Phase 1: Draw-A-Scientist – Scientific Bias Screening

Prior to arrival

Teachers will instruct students to draw a picture of a scientist

At arrival

Select students to describe their drawings

Phase 2: Dress-A-Scientist

Assemble a science bag
Select a volunteer
Ask ‘What items does he/she need to look like a scientist”
Select a student to provide an answer
Collect item from science bag
Give item to volunteer
Explain purpose/function of item
REPEAT
If items remain in science bag, pull item out…explain

Phase 3: Mad Scientist – Compare and Contrast

Show picture of mad scientist on PowerPoint

Introduction yourself as a scientist

Ask “Do I look like this?”

Explain that scientist look like the average person.

Show pictures of diverse scientists

Encourage students to view themselves as scientists

Dr. Clintoria R. Williams is a renal physiologist. She is a 2001 graduate of Clark University, where she completed a BS in biology. Dr. Williams continued her education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), earning her PhD in physiology in 2008. She returned to Atlanta and joined the Emory University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow, where she established her research program.

Dr. Williams’ research interest focuses on the pathophysiology of kidney disease. Her work has identified a key functional difference in the two isoforms of calcineurin, a family of ubiquitious calcium-dependent enzymes. These enzymes contribute to the regulation of sodium channels in the distal nephron and subsequently blood pressure. Notably, patients that take calcineurin inhibitors for immunosuppression frequently develop hypertension. Since current drugs that inhibit calcineurin do not discriminate between the isoforms of the enzyme, there is an opportunity to refine pharmacological interventions to selectively target calcineurin isoform(s) implicated in the immune system versus isoform(s) involved in salt regulation in the kidney. Her work is currently funded by the American Heart Association.

Dr. Williams has been recognized as an outstanding early career scientist by the American Physiology Society, where she has been an active member of several committees. In addition, she was a founding member of the Minority Postdoctoral Council at Emory University and is a passionate mentor of undergraduate and graduate student scientists.

Sherry Adesina received her B.S. from the University of Georgia and her PhD in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology from Emory University in 2015. As an R&D BIOMEDICAL SCIENTIST with 10+ years experience in academic and industrial settings, Sherry is solution-oriented and currently specializes in front-end preclinical technology innovation within the medical device industry. Her excellent public speaking, written, and verbal communication skills have been published in top scientific journals and presented at national and international conferences. She is a strategic thinker with extensive experience leading multi-functional teams composed of peers, key opinion leaders, and stakeholders. Sherry believes that it is a privilege to demonstrate the importance of science and science education in her daily life with students at all levels of education. In her spare time, she volunteers with Women in Bio, ASPET Education Division, and APS.

PhUn week 101: New Institution, New Partners

In 2011, I attended the PhUn week workshop at Experimental Biology, where I learned about the program and some of the steps to organize the program. Since then, I have organized a PhUn week activity every year for 6 years now, including at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Physiology Understanding (PhUn) week is the American Physiological Society outreach program looking to motivate K-12 students to choose science programs as their higher education path. In the past 5 years, we have developed a series the PhUn week activities from theater-like presentations to high technology hands-on experiments showing how physiology can be integrated to the science curriculum or promoting health care careers. These activities were performed in the Wabash Valley, IN, area and involved 50 to 100 K-12 students with 8 to 30 college-aged facilitators (undergraduate and graduate).

This year, we had to re-create PhUn week from scratch due to new institution (The University of Texas at El Paso-UTEP), new city (El Paso, TX), and new school district (El Paso Independent School District). Because of my new position at UTEP, I did not have any direct access to undergraduate and graduate students, except for one senior PhD student and one freshman undergraduate student. Therefore, we had to start with the basics of PhUn week 101. First, find a community partner within the school district. We found it at Dr. Hornedo Middle School’s 6^th grade science teacher and a class of 24 children. Second, recruit undergraduate students willing to dedicate 15 to 20 hours in training, design, and execution within 4-6 weeks. Six students were recruited from the Bachelors in Rehabilitation Sciences at UTEP. Third, design a production plan, which begins with a hierarchical model to evolve toward a ‘flat organization model’. My PhD student and I trained the ‘senior’ undergraduate student in the PhUn week purpose and use of applied technology (i.e. Biopac MP40). Then, the ‘senior’ trained the remaining 6 undergraduate students. Once they were all trained in the use of Biopac MP40, we had 2 meetings used for brainstorming and designing PhUn week activities. The design of 3 hands-on activities was decided horizontally, within our flat organization, which created a great discussion environment and great new ideas! Once everything was planned, we went to Dr. Hornedo Middle School for a 3-day session. On the first day, a general description of the program was given and data collected on a ‘reaction time’ activity. Day 2, data collection in cardiovascular responses to exercise and changes in the electromyogram related to increased workloads. Day 3, data analysis and review of the results. The outcomes were successful in many levels: at the school level, children were able to collect data in different physiologic responses (i.e. electromyogram, electrocardiogram, and reaction time) that was used within their science curriculum; at the undergraduate level, students were able to reinforce their social responsibility mentoring school-aged children as role models for a successful college career. In addition, undergraduate students were able to analyze some of the data and produce 2 abstracts for the PhUn week workshop at the upcoming Experimental Biology meeting and they registered on a UTEP undergraduate science course to explore new career paths within the STEM field; finally, at the Gurovich Lab level, we confirmed that PhUn week is not only fun but tremendously rewarding, as you can change lives and minds of younger generations.

Dr. Gurovich received his Physical Therapy degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 1990 and worked as a clinician for more than 15 years in different fields such as sports medicine, cardiovascular rehabilitation, and human performance. In 2006, he moved to University of Florida where he received his doctoral degree in Health and Human Performance in 2010, and a post-doctoral position at University of Florida College of Medicine, in the Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, where he learned in vitro and in situ techniques that strengthen his translational research background. In 2011, he attended the PhUn week workshop at Experimental Biology, where he learned about the program and some of the steps to organize the program. In 2012, he was recruited by Indiana State University to help developing the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Since then, Dr. Gurovich has organized a PhUn week activity every year for 6 years now, including elementary, middle, and high school students.

Dr. Gurovich is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Physiological Society, the International Society for the Advancements in Kinanthropometry, and the American College of Sports Medicine, from which he was granted Fellow member status in 2010.

A journey through my years of PhUn: lessons learned

PhUn Week is very dear to me as it has been an important part of my professional life for the past 15 years. I was fortunate to be elected to serve on the APS Education Committee in the early 2000’s. At that time, APS, and specifically that committee, were interested in increasing member outreach and I was charged with the task to develop an outreach program. There were other professional societies that promoted “awareness days” to increase their visibility to the public and it was thought that we should attempt to do something similar. After playing around with various acronyms, I pitched Physiology Understanding or “PhUn” Week to the committee. My thinking was that very few lay people I spoke with about my career knew what a physiologist was or did, so I thought increasing public understanding of the importance of physiology and physiology research would be a laudable goal and, in doing so, we could show people just how “PhUn” physiology can be!

According to my records, PhUn Week was officially rolled out by APS in 2005 and I have run a PhUn Week event every year since then, having just completed my 13^th event this past November. Over the years I have visited elementary, middle, and high schools. These schools have been in affluent suburban, middle-class urban, and high-poverty urban schools. I have done activities with a small class of about 20 and with groups as large as 100 students at a time. We have covered a wide range of topics, from cardiovascular adaptations to exercise and extreme cold, to DNA and transgenic animal models of disease. One of the things I love about PhUn Week is the ability to share the wonder of physiology with students of all ages and backgrounds and see the excitement in their eyes when they “get it”.

Looking back on the common denominators of my wide variety of experiences with this over the years and the ability to fit a PhUn Week visit into my busy professional life each November, successful PhUn Week participation seems to have come down to three important factors.

#1: Find an effective school partner

My first experience running a PhUn event was at my daughter’s middle school in 2005. The 8^th grade science department chair was extremely interested in providing new experiences for the students, so she was an easy sell when I approached her with this idea. However, she was adamant that whatever I planned needed to be for all the 8^th grade students, and not just selected students, such as the “gifted and talented” group. I completely agreed with her on that point as I am more interested in reaching the students who don’t think they like science or who don’t think that they “can do” science than working the whiz kids who already get it. The problem with that though was that I needed to present to a total of 300 students. We handled the situation by having 3 consecutive 1-hour sessions to 100 students in each session and used the school gym so that the students could spread out and do an activity on cardiovascular adaptation to exercise. It was a whirlwind but we made it work! The whole process was made so much easier by having a motivated school partner who came up with solutions to potential problems and was able to make the facility arrangements necessary to have a successful event.

Finding that school partner who is motivated to have you visit and is willing to do necessary shuffling of classes and room scheduling is extremely helpful. I have been lucky over the years to either have connections through my children’s schools or through colleagues. If you don’t have that luxury, try e-mailing science teachers from websites of local schools. Teachers will self-select by either replying if they are extremely motivated to assist you or not replying if they are not interested. One you find a great school partner, the rest is easy!

#2: Connect to the curriculum

Learning always works best by building upon an existing knowledge framework rather than starting from ground zero. In 2006, my daughter was now an 8^th grader at the middle school so I had already made the connection with the department chair and now I was aware of much of the science curriculum. That fall, the class had taken a field trip to a biotech company and learned how to transform bacteria so that they fluoresced in different colors. I had been a chaperone on the trip so I could see how it was presented to the students and how they were led through the activity. Were they successful in producing bacteria that glowed different colors? Yes, they were. Did they think it was cool? Yes, they did! Did they have any clue as to what they were doing or the significance of it? None whatsoever! As I was considering what to do for the PhUn Week visit that was coming up, I suggested that I might try to connect to that experience by digging a bit deeper with them and exploring what DNA was, connecting DNA to proteins and their multiple functions and ultimately to physiology! Back in those days, researchers in our department had recently been the first to develop a transgenic rat that expressed green fluorescent protein and thus glowed bright green. I connected the glowing bacteria that they had produced with the glowing rats the researchers had produced by working through the science behind both experiments. In the case of the transgenic rats, however, we were able to discuss the important potential of this new technology to biomedical research. Close connection to the curriculum is not required but it is helpful and gives what they are learning in school real-world relevance.

#3: Have PhUn!

The most important lesson I have learned over the years is to just have PhUn with it! The students are more engaged when you show them how excited you are about the subject. My daughter, who was an 8^th grader during my 2^nd PhUn Week event back in 2006, is now a 3^rd grade teacher at a high-poverty inner-city school. This past fall I visited her classroom for PhUn Week, which is the earliest grade level I had visited to date so I was a bit nervous about hitting the correct level. I got some ideas from the PhUn week activity book about “Phreezy Bear” and decided to focus on adaptations to cold in polar bears and in humans. My daughter prepped them for the visit by reading them a picture book on polar bears the week prior so they were able to begin the visit by teaching me about how polar bears stay warm. They then tested the effectiveness of these adaptations by wearing fur coats to protect them from the arctic wind (me fanning them), placing their hands in ice water with or without Crisco-lined baggies to demonstrate the insulation blubber provides, and measuring water temperature in small glasses wrapped in white or black paper and set in the sun for an hour showing that the black skin of polar bears absorbs more heat than light skin. We wrapped it up by discussing the different mechanisms that humans have that protect them from cold. Through it all, the students and I had great PhUn playing with the activities and learning through exploration!

Equally as important as having PhUn on the day of the event is making the entire preparation process PhUn, because if it is something you are dreading doing, you will be less likely to make time for it. What one considers PhUn will be unique to each APS member so I won’t presume to dictate what that might be for you. For me, I enjoy not having to reinvent the wheel each year because that it too time-consuming. I like to take what I have done before and build from that. At the same time, I would get bored doing exactly the same thing each year so I take what I did and tweak it to keep it PhUn for me. Some years I tweak it more than others. It varies depending on whether I’m going to the same school and grade level as the previous year or whether that is changing drastically. It also depends on how crazy my work schedule is each year as to whether I do something tried and true or take some time to tackle a new idea. Basically, the ability to conform the experience to my abilities and interest each year is what keeps it really PhUn for me!

Finally, why do I really keep doing this each year? I am a firm believer in the power of scientific exploration with children at an early age and that these experiences are long-lasting. Long before PhUn existed, I visited my daughter’s kindergarten class and explored lung function with them. At their 5^th grade graduation ceremony, each student in her class had to go to the microphone and say what their best memory of elementary school was. One boy said that he remembered when Dr. Munzenmaier came to his class 5 years earlier and taught them about lungs and that now he wants to be a doctor. We don’t need every child to go on to have a career in science, but we do need every child and future citizen to appreciate the importance of science in their life and in their world. I believe that we, as APS members, have the ability, and the responsibility, to do just that.

Diane H. Munzenmaier, PhD currently serves as Program Director at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in the Center for BioMolecular Modeling, specializing in the development of educational programs and resources, as well as professional development for middle school, high school, and college level bioscience teachers. Diane was previously a faculty member in the Department of Physiology and the Human & Molecular Genetics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Mississippi Museum Madness

We were first introduced to PhUn Week about a decade ago through our service to the APS Education (Mike) and Trainee Advisory (Jenny) Committees. We both began our involvement with this annual event by visiting our children’s schools in Mississippi and Florida, but in 2013, we combined efforts with other faculty, fellow, students and staff at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) to bring PhUn Week to a larger audience at the Mississippi Children’s Museum. Through this event every year, we reach over 300 children and parents, and we have over 40 volunteers who spend their Saturday operating 9 different stations.

In addition to being an outreach event for the Jackson, MS community, this PhUn Week event also provides professional-skill-building and team-building opportunities for our students and fellows. Although the first time we held this event at the museum, it required a lot of planning and preparation by faculty, now the event is almost completely run by fellows and students from the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology. We have also worked with the UMMC School of Graduate Studies that provides additional support for our event. Eight team leaders are responsible for recruiting a team of volunteers, training those volunteers on the activity for that station, and making sure all of the supplies are ready and within the budget for the event. Team leaders are responsible for setting up meetings before the event to discuss best practices for running the station and for ways to engage the children in the activities. This is a great way for students, fellows, and faculty to learn to talk about science with the public – sometimes the parents have more questions than their children!

The event was divided into 9 stations with 4 organ system based themes.

Welcome Station / Bag Pick Up
Gut Gallery
1. Antacids and Stomach Acid
2. Make Poop
Heart Haven
1. Hold a real heart
2. Test your heart rate
Kidney Korner
1. Hold a real kidney
2. A microscopic view of the kidney
Lung Lounge
1. Learn about the lung
2. Test your lung Volume

At the welcome station, volunteers greeted museum patrons to encourage them to visit the special PhUn week event. Each participant received an activity card and earned “check marks” for every station they visited to help them keep track of which stations they had completed. When the children were done touring the stations, they returned to the welcome table to receive their PhUn week goodie bags.

At the “Gut Gallery,” children learned about the digestion process by making “poop.” Each child got pumpernickel bread to tear apart (action of the teeth) to squeeze down the neck of a balloon (the esophagus) with some help from soapy water (saliva). Once the bread was in the body of the balloon (the stomach), the children added vinegar (stomach acid) and began to churn the mixture. The children then inverted the balloon so that the neck of the balloon became the intestines / colon, and then squeezed out the “poop.” The kids give a big smile or a loud “GROSS!!” after that!

At the next station, the children explored how over-the-counter antacids can neutralize stomach acid. We used Sprite as our “safe for children” acid, and we let the children pipette Sprite and red cabbage dye (pH indicator) into 4 plastic test tubes. Then, they mixed in Tums, Alka Seltzer, Milk of Magnesia, or baking soda to observe the color change as the solution became more basic. Note – milk of magnesia usually has the biggest pH shift – but the Alka Seltzer is fun when it bubbles!!

The “Heart Haven” station was focused on learning about the structure of the heart through real fixed hearts, plastic models, and computer animations. Participants were able to examine formalin fixed hearts taken from vertebrate animals at the time of sacrifice (canine, ovine). The fixed hearts (stored in ethanol) were rinsed in water for 1 week in order to avoid any problems with touching alcohol. The hearts were hemisected prior to the visit so that the students could easily examine the chambers, valves and major blood vessels of heart.

Then, the children examined how going from resting to doing jumping jacks could change their heart rate using Vernier Physiological Monitoring Systems to measure heart rate. The children plotted their data on a graph (x-axis: resting or exercising, y-axis: heart rate) to visually show the impact of activity on heart rate.

At the “Kidney Korner” station, we again provided plastic models and formalin fixed kidneys (canine, ovine) so that the children could learn about the structure and function of the kidneys. The kidneys were hemisected prior to the visit so that the students could easily examine the renal cortex, medulla and papilla. The volunteers explained the basic anatomy of the kidneys and how each organ is made from individual, specialized cells, and then the children viewed histological sections from normal kidneys and diseased kidneys (glomerulosclerosis, diabetic kidney disease, fibrosis).

One of the most popular stations for children and their parents is the “Lung Lounge.” Children learned about lung structure and function using plastic models and computer animations, and they got to see real fixed human lungs from a smoker, a patient with emphysema, and a healthy patient. The children were quick to note how bad smoking is! The children then got to measure their lung volume (and sometimes challenge their siblings or parents to a contest) using basic household items like milk cartons and straws. Pre-marked gallon containers were filled with water and turned upside down in a water filled bucket. Using a bendable straw inserted into the opening of the gallon container, children were instructed to inhale maximally and then exhale maximally into the straw. The exhaled breath displaces water in the gallon jug to allow for measurement of lung capacity. The children then plotted their lung volume as a function of age to see how lungs grow with age.

If you’re attending the Experimental Biology conference, come visit us at the Sunday morning poster session (7:00 AM) to talk with APS members who have been involved in various PhUn Week activities. It is a great way to get more ideas and learn what works and what doesn’t as you get ready to plan your next event!

Michael J. Ryan, PhD, is a Professor of Physiology and Director of Graduate Studies in Physiology and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs in the School of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. His research is focused on the role of immune system dysfunction in the development of hypertension, and on the impact of placental ischemia in the brain. He is a former member of the APS Education Committee and has participated in PhUn activities since 2009.

Jennifer M. Sasser, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Director of Graduate Studies in Medical Pharmacology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. Her research is focused on mechanisms of hypertensive kidney disease and preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Jenny became involved with PhUn week activities in 2010 when she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Florida, and she now serves on the APS Education Committee.

The 5W’s of PhUn Week

I’m happy to say this fall will be my 5^th year of participating in Physiology Understanding Week. While the past 4 years by no mean make me an expert, I have learned a few lessons along the way that others might find helpful.

WHO should you partner with?

One of the first questions I asked when first thinking about doing PhUn week was how I was going to find a partner K-12 educator. Luckily, my institution has a close relationship with a local public charter school that is actually located in a building on campus. Not everyone will have this same sort of easy-access but many institutions do have existing K-12 relationships that you might utilize. Does your institution have a Teacher Education program? These folks can likely provide some contacts to get you started.

Even with my own “built in” connection, I still had to do a bit of internet sleuthing to find the appropriate partner teachers. I started with a general email explaining PhUn week (links to helpful APS websites are helpful), giving a general timeframe, and simply asking if they’d be willing to have a conversation about what collaboration might be possible. I suggest starting by contacting all the science educators you can find. With any luck, at least one will reply and you can work from there.

WHAT should you do?

Before I contacted prospective teachers I had some idea of what I wanted to do with my activity. However, I strongly encourage you to stay flexible with your ideas until you understand more of the details of your day and be willing to accommodate the partner teachers’ needs. Who will your audience be? The activities for 6^th grade general science classes needed to be different than those for the high school anatomy course. Similarly, because I have integrated PhUn week into the courses I teach (Human Physiology and Research in Health and Sport Science), I had to adjust the activities given the learning goals of the courses in which the students were enrolled.

Your K-12 partner will know their own class, so asking them for ideas and feedback on your ideas is critical. For example, if you’re doing stations, a good technique for keeping students engaged, they may suggest a way for students to summarize and take away key points at each station as well as what the ideal time frame for each station may be. It is important to gauge the level of background knowledge your K-12 students will have and the partner teacher is best positioned to comment on this. Look on the LifeSciTRC for age-appropriate examples if you need ideas.

WHERE should it take place?

The logistics of a PhUn week experience can sometimes be a barrier to participation. While many times researchers might want to host students in their lab, this is often not possible. Thus, you’ll likely be in the K-12 classroom. I encourage you to visit the space in advance or at minimum ask for a few snapshots of the space so you are more comfortable planning your activity.

WHEN should it happen?

The APS advertises PhUn week as the first week in November, this year November 6-10. It’s great to be able to participate at a time when others are, to share your efforts with APS via social media (make sure to gather photo releases if the school doesn’t have a general form already signed and use #PhUnWeek). However, sometimes this week won’t work, and that’s okay too! Don’t feel bound to these dates if something else works better. Do however, make sure you get your Event Planner in to APS by Oct 1^st for free promotional materials.

WHY should you participate?

If you’re reading this blog, you probably don’t need much convincing… It’s worth emphasizing, PhUn week is a great opportunity for all involved. For APS members, it is essential to communicate our work with the general public and next generation of scientists. If you involve your students, they are able to practice their communication skills as well as reinforce the concepts and techniques they learn and do. For the K-12 partner educators, it can often expose them to benefits of APS they are unaware of. Finally, for the K-12 students, they are exposed to professional scientists, the value of higher education, and physiological concepts that might be new for them. Lastly, for all involved, PhUn week should be fun!

Best of luck to all as you plan and take part in this year’s PhUn activities. If you’re attending the Experimental Biology conference, be sure to submit your activity for the Sunday morning poster session. This session consistently reinvigorates me for next year’s activities and I’m amazed at the creativity and dedication of our APS members in promoting our discipline!

Anne R. Crecelius, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Sport Science at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. She teaches Human Physiology and a Capstone Research course. She returned to her undergraduate alma mater to join the faculty after completing her M.S. and Ph.D. studying Cardiovascular Physiology at Colorado State University. Her research interest is in the integrative control of muscle blood flow. She is a member of the American Physiological Society (APS), serving on the Teaching Section Steering Committee and the Communications Committee.

Increasing Contact to Scientists and Science-related Careers through PhUn Week Activities

My first exposure to teaching physiology and demonstrating physiological principles through demonstrations was during my undergraduate years serving as a teaching assistant in the human physiology laboratory. It was through these experiences that I discovered a love for teaching physiology through the use of demonstrations. As such, I was thrilled to discover the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s involvement in PhUn week when I started my time there as a graduate student. PhUn week had been a part of our department’s outreach program for a few years before I arrived and consisted of faculty and trainees visiting local area schools and engaging students with activities mainly focused on cardiovascular physiology. I was very happy to join a team of excited scientists dedicated to sharing the wonder of physiology.

A few years later my lab mate, Alicia Schiller, and I were approached by a program on campus that provided science outreach opportunities to nearby Native American tribes inquiring if we would be interested in adapting PhUn week activities into their day-long outreach program. We agreed to recruit volunteers and adapt our activities in order to fit this program and began work on this new endeavor.

We were expected to have approximately 300 middle and high school Native American students present that day so the first necessary task was to begin recruiting help from volunteers. We received quite the impressive response from throughout the Nebraska Physiological Society network (which includes campuses in Omaha; Lincoln; and Vermillion, SD) of faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates; 20 in total. Through this we learned that help for education activities is out there and that many people are willing to respond to the call for help.

We then set out to develop the materials and activities we would need for the day of activities, which we were now calling “PhUn Day.” We collected many of the tried and true demonstrations and hands-on activities we had used in previous PhUn week experiences for this age group and also developed a few novel activities. In final, we had nine different activities to be presented at different stations. These included:

Heart Rate Changes and Heart Sounds
Lung Capacity and Respiration
Digestion (Poop Lab)
Temperature Sensing/Muscles
Eye Dissection (High School only)
Diving Reflex
Owl Pellet Dissection (Middle School only)
Nerves and Reflexes
Special Senses/Dermatome Mapping

We also developed a tenth station called, “What Does a Scientist Look Like?” designed to provide participants with an informal encounter with one or more of our volunteers where they could ask questions related to what the daily life of a scientist is like, what kind of education is needed to go into science, and what kind of jobs can you get as a scientist. We’ve found through our previous PhUn week involvements that these times set aside to allow students to freely ask questions about the normal, daily life of our faculty and trainees are some of the most rewarding and fruitful times we spend with students. We wanted to provide a similar encounter for each of our 300 attendees during this event.

We collected all of our demonstrations and background information into a booklet, which is now freely available online at the Nebraska Physiological Society Outreach Website. Because this was also a unique opportunity for us to collect data on the usefulness and attitudes toward these types of demonstrations and events, we developed two surveys. One survey given before the event would serve as a baseline measure of students’ understanding of physiology and attitudes toward scientific careers. The second, paired survey given after the event was to provide data on the ability of the event to change these factors. One thing we learned throughout this experience was how time consuming and demanding preparing for an event like this could be. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to all of our volunteers and affiliated staff members that assisted us in preparing for this event. Science is very much a team effort and so are events and activities such as these.

The evening before the event we gathered our volunteers together at the site and held an “orientation” of sorts. We divided up the stations among the group and provided time for the volunteers to acquaint themselves with the material and do a dry run of the activity. Because many of our volunteers had not done a PhUn week before or because they were doing a novel activity, we knew that this orientation time would be integral to the success of the event. It also served as an opportunity for bonding among the volunteers, many of whom were from different campuses.

The day of the event was a whirlwind of activity. Students filled the room and rotated through the stations, talking with the volunteers and asking scores of questions along the way. We’ve always been curious if our PhUn week endeavors have an impact on the kids we’re interacting with, and because we took survey evaluations before and after the event, this time we were able to measure our impact. Through the day’s activities and interactions we significantly increased students’ understanding of physiology and their interest in scientific careers. What was most striking about the impact was that half of students who initially stated that they were unsure about their interest in scientific careers before the event changed to being interested in scientific careers after the event. We’ve recently published the results of our surveys in AJP Advances in Physiological Education.

We think that this may be one of the largest impacts that events like PhUn week have, in reaching students who have little exposure to scientific careers and the scientists who work in them. These type of events provide that exposure and contact, particularly in demographics where students may have little opportunity to interact with scientists and observe career opportunities in physiology through channels readily available to them. We don’t know for sure if these students who increased their excitement toward science and scientific careers will continue to be interested and start a pursuit towards those careers, but events such as PhUn week help provide the beginning steps towards potential interest. We were encouraged by our data as it suggested that these events and connections do have a meaningful impact in student’s understanding and interest in physiology. Hopefully we can someday consider some of the students we reach through these events as colleagues.

Bryan Becker is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he studies neuronal control of blood pressure and cardio-renal function. Bryan has been involved in PhUn week activities since 2011 as a graduate student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Bryan is also a current member of the Careers Opportunities in Physiology Committee with the APS and is interested in how events such as PhUn week and other educational outreach activities increase students’ interest in STEM fields.