The end of a successful Institute of Teaching and Learning. Credit: Victoria Halperin Kuhns The 2022 American Physiological Society (APS) Institute on Teaching and Learning (ITL) was held at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Wisconsin last month, where attendees were greeted by a friendly and colorful badger. ITL offered a multitude of lectures and workshops … Continue reading Photoblog: Institute on Teaching and Learning 2022
Physiology Education
Talk It Out: Discussion Boards Could Help Students See Through Muddy Scientific Concepts
Credit: iStock You may have heard or used the phrase “as clear as mud.” This idiom is often used—sometimes in a deadpan way to convey humor—to mean that the topic you’re discussing isn’t clear at all. If you’re talking to someone one-on-one, it’s easy to ask questions about what you don’t understand. But when you’re … Continue reading Talk It Out: Discussion Boards Could Help Students See Through Muddy Scientific Concepts
Teaching and Learning through Retrieval
Credit: iStock Four summers ago, I read “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel. This book changed my life by teaching me how to use a teaching and learning tool called “retrieval.” Retrieval means putting away study resources such as books and … Continue reading Teaching and Learning through Retrieval
Breathe Deep to Explore the Heart’s Physiology
Credit: iStock Breathe in, breathe out. You may have heard that deep breathing techniques are good for your health because they can help you relax and manage stress. You may not know that they are also useful teaching tools for learning about cardiovascular physiology—the study of how the heart and blood vessels work. Breathing—particularly deep … Continue reading Breathe Deep to Explore the Heart’s Physiology
Virtual Reality Gives Students a New Look at Physiology
This summer I had the opportunity to design and teach a two-week course as part of the Summer Discovery program at Penn State. The program brings high school students from all over the globe, including Taiwan, Japan and Puerto Rico, to central Pennsylvania to attend college preparation courses. Taking the lead in developing and teaching … Continue reading Virtual Reality Gives Students a New Look at Physiology
The Latest in Physiological Education: A Report from ITL
Physiology educators gathered last month in Madison, Wis., for the third APS Institute on Teaching and Learning (ITL) conference. Attendees discussed the latest trends in science education through a series of talks, interactive workshops and poster sessions. Read on to learn more about what’s new and what’s next in the classroom. As recently as a … Continue reading The Latest in Physiological Education: A Report from ITL
Helping Kids Understand Physiology: One Teacher’s PhUn Week Story
Each week on the I Spy Physiology blog, we present examples of physiology in everyday life. This week, the American Physiological Society (APS) is sponsoring an annual event called Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week. This is the time when scientists and educators take to the streets to spread the word about physiology. APS members have worked … Continue reading Helping Kids Understand Physiology: One Teacher’s PhUn Week Story
Physiology Is Alive and Well, Just Ask an Undergraduate Student
When you think of a cutting-edge, exciting area of science, do you think of physiology? If not, you should. Physiology is the basis for medicine. Many important medical advances that we take for granted today are direct or indirect results of research conducted by physiologists. But despite the significance of our area of research, some … Continue reading Physiology Is Alive and Well, Just Ask an Undergraduate Student