Annual PhUN Week Service Learning Events improve student content mastery and civic engagement

Abstract

Service‐Learning (SL) integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. In language, arts and social science courses, it enhances learning and facilitates classroom inclusivity, providing opportunities to apply learned content to real‐world situations with guided reflection. While Physiology and Biology courses use SL less frequently, it is likely to enhance learning outcomes in these courses as well, while providing resources for K‐12 science education and public science literacy. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that SL in introductory biological/physiological sciences courses would enhance student engagement, civic responsibility and course content mastery. To test this hypothesis, we conducted and assessed annual K‐2 educational outreach events in connection with the American Physiological Society program PhUN (Physiology Understanding) week over a period of 3 years. The SL project assignment required students to use backward design strategies to create stand‐alone learning module lesson plans with learning goals aligned with K‐2 state and federal standards of science education. The annual 3 hour, Friday night events were open to the public and structured as “reverse science fairs”. Over the three years, more than 200 children and their families were participated in hands‐on learning activities designed to teach a variety of concepts such as the connection between exercise and metabolism, sensation and perception and brain structure and function. Pre‐ and post‐service reflections and surveys show that SL, in this context, facilitates students' confidence in content mastery and enhances student engagement, especially in 1st year and 1st generation undergraduates. The experience especially enhanced “commitment to civic engagement” in male students, and had the greatest impact on the “confidence to talk to the public about science” for female students. The SL attitude pre‐ and post‐assessments also revealed that underrepresented minority students in the sciences (URM) had greater gains than non‐URM students in commitment to “future SL activities” and the notion that it is essential for “universities to perform community service”. In addition, the multi‐year project produced a book of state‐standard‐aligned K‐2 lessons for the local elementary school and much needed support for local public science literacy. Therefore, SL, as a pedagogy in introductory biological/physiological sciences courses, functions as a student‐centered, high‐impact practice, giving students new views on the applications of classroom course content and enhancing civic responsibility, while also inspiring the next generation of physiologists.Support or Funding InformationNSF CAREER IOS‐1350448 and APS PhUN week