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Date |
Location |
Meeting |
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June 2004 |
Calgary, Canada |
HAPS Annual Meeting: exhibit and four workshops |
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July 2004 |
New Orleans, LA |
IAMSE Annual Meeting: exhibit |
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November 2004 |
Chicago, IL |
NABT Annual Meeting: exhibit |
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March 2005 |
Washington, DC |
AAAS Annual Meeting: workshop |
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April 2005 |
Running Springs, CA |
IUPS Teaching Satellite: Track session; poster |
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May 2005 |
St. Louis, MO |
HAPS Annual Meeting: exhibit and workshop |
In January 2003, the Education Office began tracking the Archives usage, as indicated by web statistics and by user registration. Total number of “hits,” that is, pages accessed at the Archive website ranged from more than 48,000 in October 2004 to nearly 82,000 in January of 2004. Although this is only the second year these data have been collected, the usage of the Archive seems to be aligned with other digital libraries (such as the American Society for Microbiology’s MicrobeLibrary) which experience heavier usage at the beginning and end of each semester, when faculty are preparing materials for the next course. The Archive usage stats will continue to be monitored by APS staff.
A new set of features called “My Archive” was added to the APS Archive of Teaching Resources in Spring 2005. These features allow the user to save and name personal search parameters and save items found from searches into personal folders. In addition, users can Email items of interest found from searches to their colleagues. Users can be notified when new resources are added into the APS Archive, including specific notifications when new materials are added that match their personal search parameters.
In terms of external funding, the NSF grant that was partially supporting the Archive ended as of March 31, 2005. That grant was a subcontract from AAAS as part of the BiosciEd Net (BEN) partnership. The BEN partnership continues to grow and now includes 19 additional partners. Several more organizations have expressed an interest in joining BEN, including two groups that may become partners with the APS Archive.
In 2004, the APS submitted another proposal to NSDL, in conjunction with the AAAS, to add the Society for Developmental Biology as a partner to the APS Archive and to develop outreach materials to help undergraduate life science faculty use digital library resources to improve teaching and learning in their courses. This proposal did not receive funding and was re-written and resubmitted in April 2005 for consideration. The AAAS and APS are also collaborating to develop other funding sources, including the Biology Directorate at NSF and several private foundations. The external funds are primarily directed at further enhancements to Archive services and resources.
Projects Under Development
Use of Animals in Medical Education: At the direction of Council, a Working Group on the Use of Animals in Medical Education drafted a policy statement that describes how the use of laboratories, specifically including animal laboratories, provides a unique and effective educational experience for physiology education at all levels. This policy statement was accepted by Council at its fall 2004 meeting. Alice Ra’anan, APS Public Affairs Officer, developed an overview of the significant body of educational research on animal use; this article has been submitted to Advances in Physiology Education for review. Finally, Rob Carroll is developing a rationale statement to support the policy statement. Both the policy statement and rationale will be released this summer.
Undergraduate Physiology Education
APS Initiative to Increase Undergraduate Programs in Physiology: The APS seeks to increase the pool of applicants interested in pursuing graduate training in physiology. Toward that end the Society has already established a summer research program in physiology and undergraduate research awards (the David Bruce awards), since undergraduate research experiences in a field are a proven strategy for increasing student interest in related graduate studies and careers. However, the program is limited in the number of students it can reach. Therefore, the APS is planning additional strategies to increase exposure of undergraduate students to physiology. These may include but not be limited to: 1) increasing the number of undergraduate institutions that offer physiology as a major, focus, or minor/concentration; and 2) developing methods and materials to facilitate partnerships between medical physiology departments and undergraduate life sciences/biology departments to add new physiology courses or enrich existing courses.
Toward this end, the Education Committee and ACDP have formed a working group to explore options and present possible activities to Council. The group outlined two initial areas where information needed to be gathered to inform activities planning.
Current Status of Physiology as an Undergraduate Major: The working group did not have a clear idea of the number and type of undergraduate physiology majors and concentrations that are currently available. Completed work: In 2005, the APS Education Office developed an interactive, searchable online database to replace the previous print version of the List of Institutions Granting Degrees in Physiology. This database has been populated by updated entries and will serve as a source of information on the number of institutions offering undergraduate degrees in physiology. To date, nearly 30 institutions have been added that offer undergraduate degrees in physiology.
Structure and Function of Undergraduate Physiology Instruction: There is very little information available on how undergraduate physiology instruction is structured (e.g., physiology versus A&P courses, lecture with/without lab, multi-semester courses, etc.). Also, we know little about how physiology instruction is distributed among departments and schools (e.g., biology/life sciences, nursing, allied health, etc.). Proposed Tasks: The Working Group would like to meet with representatives from diverse institutions that do/do not offer an undergraduate physiology major to: 1) learn about models of current physiology instruction; 2) identify successful models of undergraduate physiology majors and minors; 3) learn about successful partnerships and collaborations between medical school departments and undergraduate departments; 4) brainstorm new models for collaborations and partnerships; and 5) identify possible models and support mechanisms for promoting increased physiology “presence” at undergraduate institutions (e.g., how to move from a course to a concentrate/minor, from a concentrate to a major, from a major to a degree).
David Bruce Awards: The Education Committee has completed its second round of David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. A total of 31 applications were received for this second year, up 63 percent from 19 received the first year. The Committee selected 13 finalists based on the abstract and a one-page letter submitted by the undergraduate students. The 13 finalists each made oral presentations with their posters to the judging team (four Education Committee members, one Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee member, and four external reviewers) during the IUPS/EB meeting, either at their scheduled poster time on Sunday or at an alternate time earlier that same day. From that group, four awardees were selected. The interviewers noted that all the finalists were very competitive and deserving of the award based on the quality of the work. Robert Carroll, Chair of the Education Committee, and APS President D. Neil Granger presented certificates to the nine finalists and certificates and $500 checks to the four awardees during an award presentation held during the APS Undergraduate Research Poster session. Based on the continued response to that special undergraduate poster session and more awareness of the award, the Committee is looking forward again to an increase in the number of applications for the 2006 David Bruce Award.
IUPS/EB Undergraduate Poster Session: All undergraduate students who were presenting posters as first authors were contacted and invited to present their posters at a special APS Undergraduate Poster Session held on Saturday afternoon. This time slot was selected because many of the undergraduates are not able to stay for the entire IUPS/EB meeting and often have to leave Sunday evening to return to classes. Of the 119 undergraduates invited to present at this special session, 87 (73 percent) responded positively plus an additional five students requested space after the late abstract deadline, for a total of 94 students. Almost 100 students put their posters up at the session held in the Convention Center along a main hallway outside of the meeting rooms. Refreshments were provided by APS. Approximately 200 APS members came to see the posters and talk with the students. Several students and research hosts commented how APS makes undergraduates feel like they are special to the Society. Overall, the new session was deemed very successful by all who participated (both students and members).
The Education Committee suggested having pins to give out to the student presenters as a reminder of APS sponsorship of the session. The Committee is requesting $1,500 for 1,000 pins, which will also be used to give to students whose posters are judged at the ISEF.
Archive of Teaching Resources: The Archive also focuses strongly on providing resources for undergraduate physiology education. About 60 percent of the Archives’ 760+ resources are appropriate for use at the undergraduate level, and, as noted earlier, the 2005 APS-AAAS NDSL proposal includes a strong focus on undergraduate education. Additional submissions to the Archive are being sought via exhibits, workshops, poster presentations, email listservs, and one-on-one contact, as described earlier in this report.
Strengthening Relations with HAPS: The Committee members and APS Education staff continue their efforts to strengthen the relationship between the APS and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), an association of physiology educators, primarily from community and four-year colleges. Toward that end, the APS exhibits and conducts workshops at the HAPS annual meeting, as well as sponsoring a keynote research update speaker. At the May 2005 HAPS meeting in St. Louis, MO, Paul Quinton, Professor, Departments of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Diego delivered an Update Seminar entitled, "Cystic Fibrosis: Romantic Solutions and Divorce." Quinton was selected by the Education Committee to make this APS-sponsored presentation. In addition, APS member and HAPS liaison, Dee Silverthorn, gave an annual report at the HAPS business meeting on joint APS-HAPS activities. APS staff member Melinda Lowy staffed the APS exhibit and presented the following workshop:
My Archive: You Asked for It, You Got It: Explore the brand new features of the APS (and HAPS) Archive of Teaching Resources. Learn how you can save your search parameters for different searches you might need to run over the school year. See how to save items you find in the Archive into a personal folder for a specific class. Find out how you can be notified when new materials that match your search parameters are accepted into the Archive. All of these new features have just recently been implemented for the APS Archive.
K-12 Science Education
APS Summer Research Program for Teachers: The Summer Research Program continues to work with teachers from across the nation: 1) engaging them in biomedical research; 2) building connections at the local level between teachers, students, and researchers; 3) improving the teaching methods and curricular materials used by the teachers; and 4) deepening the understanding of both teachers and students of how biomedical research is done and how animals are used in research.
The program, now in its fifteenth year, has funding from three NIH institutes (NCRR, NIGMS, and NIDDK) and NSF, in addition to the support provided by the APS. The core program funding is provided by the NCRR Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA) program. NIDDK funding provides support for additional fellowships for minority teachers or teachers of minority students while NIGMS funding provides support for teachers of Native American students. This is the final year of NIGMS funding. APS funding provides partial stipend support and travel to Experimental Biology for the NCRR-supported teachers. In addition, an APS member, George Tempel, at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), coordinates the participation of two to four teachers annually in the program. These teachers are supported by a grant to MUSC from the National Science Foundation. This diversity of funding sources both serves as an indicator of the success of the program and contributes to its longevity. In 2005, the program is supporting 20 teachers from 14 states in an intensive, yearlong professional development program.
Member support for this program continues to be strong, with many members volunteering to host teachers in their laboratories, providing the needed lab materials and supplies for each teacher’s research and, frequently, providing part of the stipend and travel costs for the teacher. For example, a third (n=8) of the APS members who hosted 25 teachers in their labs last summer contributed not only the lab materials and supplies that the teachers needed, but also contributed an average of $1,588 ($12,700 total) toward their stipends and/or IUPS travel. In 2005, nearly 55 percent (n=11) of the members who will host 20 teachers in their labs this summer will contribute an average of about $1,270 ($14,000 total) toward stipends and/or EB travel.
In 2003, the APS received funding from the NCRR for three additional years.
Evaluation: Horizon Research, Inc., continues to serve as the external evaluator for the Summer Research program. The program has been extensively evaluated over its long history. It consistently has strong positive effects on: the teaching methods used by teachers (that is, selecting more student-centered methods that build research and investigative skills), the networks built between and among teachers and researchers, and teacher perceptions of the value of biomedical research and how animals are used in research. The following quote from one of the external reports summarizes the program’s impact on Research Teachers (RTs):
As a result of participating in the program, middle and high school [teachers] report a marked increase in both their confidence and enthusiasm for reform-oriented science teaching and their ability to grasp modern physiology science. Becoming more connected to the scientific realm and having the chance to enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge and skills affords [teachers] new avenues through which to enhance their science instruction. There have been concrete changes in their classroom practice, ranging from the addition of new content or infusion of new inquiry-based activities in their curriculum to the more effective use of a wider range of teaching techniques or an altered approach to how students are engaged in science (Dotterer & Pasley, 2000, p. 40).
In the coming three years, the Frontiers program will continue to provide opportunities for teachers and researchers nationwide to participate in the program but, will include a strong focus on building local capacity for promoting excellence in science education. The evaluation plan during these years will focus on evaluating the development and implementation of this local site model while continuing to monitor the quality and impact of the program on individual teachers.
EB Workshop for Teachers and Students: Due to programming restrictions for the IUPS 2005 meeting in San Diego, the Education Committee did not sponsor a workshop for area life science teachers and students. However, the Committee is planning to continue the program in 2006.
My Health, My World: Baylor College of Medicine and APS received funding from NIAID and NCRR in 2003 and 2004 to develop and field test middle school materials that 1) increase understanding by middle school students, their teachers and their families of infectious diseases, the effects of alcohol on human physiology, biomedical research, healthy lifestyle choices, risk factors for disease and the relevance of science to everyday life; 2) stimulate middle school students’ interest and awareness of science and health careers; and 3) promote the teaching and learning of science and health concepts through guided inquiry.
The APS’ role in this project is to recruit field-test middle school teachers from our past Research Teachers, coordinate online training of these teachers, and summarize the field test results for our group. In 2004, the APS staff worked with Baylor College of Medicine staff on development and review of materials. In spring 2005, the “Science of Alcohol” unit is being field tested and reviewed by APS teachers from the Summer Research Program.
International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Awards: The Intel ISEF brings together over 1,200 students from 41 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a trip to attend the Nobel Prize Ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden. The 56th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair was held in Phoenix, AZ in May 2005. Special Awards were given by 93 scientific, professional, industrial, educational, and governmental organizations in the form of scholarships, tuition grants, summer internships, scientific field trips, and equipment grants. The APS participates as a Special Awards Sponsor for ISEF, recognizing outstanding high school research projects in the physiological sciences, including cellular physiology, animal physiology, and neurophysiology. Four students received cash awards ($1,000 First Prize, $500 Second, Third, Fourth Place), T-shirts, and a year's subscription to Physiology and The Physiologist. APS is one of only seven biomedical research organizations that give awards to students from among 63 organizations making special awards. The judging team was led by Nancy Kanagy, University of New Mexico, and included APS members Layla Al-Nakash and Michael Quinlan, as well as Cynthia Standley, all from the Department of Physiology at Midwestern University in Glendale.
Next year’s Intel ISEF will be held in Indianapolis, IN, May 7–13, 2006. The Education Committee suggested having pins to give out to the high school students whose posters are judged as a reminder of APS sponsorship of awards in physiology.
Explorations in Biomedicine Teacher Leadership Summit and Outreach Workshops (March 12-14, 2005): Held at the American Physiological Society's headquarters in Bethesda, MD, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science offices in Washington DC, the three day summit included sessions on educational leadership, teacher training, online tools, education grants, and building regional networks. Awards were made to eighteen teachers from all over the United States.
Participants also had the opportunity to meet with national science education leaders and Congressional representatives, as well as tour the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Through the Summit training, these exceptional educators are better equipped to be resources not only for their students but also for their colleagues and their school districts and states. Many have already begun working in these roles and, for them, the Summit expanded and enhanced both their skills and their network of resources.
Eleven of the 18 teacher participants are from states and/or districts in which they work with Native American students. These teachers have participated in previous Explorations activities, including being an APS Summer Research Teacher, attending Explorations weekend retreats (workshops), and/or field testing new online materials at Project WISE. The other seven participants are exceptional teachers who have participated in our APS Summer Research Program and have already served as an APS mentor/instructor at the Summer Teaching Forum, a part of the Summer Research Program.
As part of the Teacher Leadership Summit, the APS offered the Summit Fellows an opportunity to apply for grant funds to be used to present APS teacher workshops in their local or regional area. The majority of participants have applied for these grants and the workshops will be held throughout summer and fall 2005 thereby increasing the APS’ outreach into communities across the country.
Local Site Team Development: A significant focus of the Frontiers in Physiology program is the development and support of active Local Site Teams (LSTs). Local Site Teams combine the expertise and enthusiasm of physiologists and science teachers to provide effective training workshops for middle and high school science educators in their region.
To start, two Local Site Teams were established: 1) Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, led by APS member, C. Subah Packer; and 2) University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, led by APS member Duane Proppe.
In February 2004 a planning meeting was held at APS headquarters for the Local Site Team leaders and a teacher from each team. Working with the APS staff and the external evaluators, the two teams outlined plans for recruiting Summer Research Teachers and Local Site Team members, as well as outreach activities. For the 2004 Professional Development Fellowship, the Indianapolis LST recruited two teachers and the San Antonio LST recruited four teachers. In addition to involving area teachers, each LST leader enlisted research colleagues to be part of the LST.
In January 2005, APS staff and invited workshop facilitators conducted a 1 ½ day training session for the Indianapolis LST on “It’s a Matter of Taste,” an APS online curriculum unit and how to conduct workshops for area teachers. The San Antonio LST had to withdraw from the program due to commitments to their master’s program. However, Barbara Goodman at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine has moved up the development schedule for her LST and will be participating in the program in 2005.
Refresher Course at IUPS/EB meeting: The Refresher Course on “Integrating Genomics into Physiology Courses: A New Paradigm or Just More Information?” at IUPS/EB 2005 was organized by Daniel Lemons. The session was less well attended than past years, attracting only about 100 attendees, although most stayed for the entire session. The low attendance was likely due to the fact that the EB meeting had not yet begun and many participants who would normally attend the Refresher Course had not yet arrived. The majority of those attending were faculty at medical schools or colleges/universities who are currently teaching physiology, as well as a few postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Nearly three-quarters of those providing feedback indicated that genomics was not their primary area of specialization. As this is the target group for the Refresher Course, the Committee is pleased that the courses continue to draw the participants for whom they were designed. About half of the attendees completed a feedback form; ratings of the speakers were very positive and written comments were positive.
Refresher Course Workshop (Afternoon) at IUPS meeting: There was no afternoon session at the IUPS/EB 2005 meeting due to scheduling for this meeting. The Education Committee reviewed the history of the afternoon workshop and agreed that it has been less than successful. Several different formats have been tried, but none seem to work well. Therefore, the Committee agreed to discontinue holding the afternoon workshops in conjunction with the Refresher Course. The Committee did discuss the possibility that it may be more advantageous to hold a featured topic session on that afternoon in place of the pedagogy workshop.
Future Refresher Courses: For 2006, the Refresher Course will focus on gender differences in physiology. This proposal was submitted by Martha Blair and Meredith Hay.
Most of the APS activities related to the promotion of careers in physiology are developed and coordinated by the Careers in Physiology Committee, the Trainee Advisory Committee, the Women in Physiology Committee, and the Porter Physiology Development Committee. However, as part of its K-12 outreach efforts, the Education Committee includes a strong focus on the understanding of careers in physiology.
Online Outreach Center: As part of the new APS Career Web, the Education Office currently maintains an online K-12 outreach resource site for APS members planning outreach activities for K-12 classrooms. In addition, other K-12 activities (e.g.. the Summer Research Program, EB Teacher/Student workshops, Explorations in Biomedicine program, My Health/My World program, the International Science and Engineering Fair awards, and the Local Outreach Team program) all have strong components for promoting physiology careers to K-12 students. The APS also provides career materials to thousands of teachers and students through mail requests, online requests, and exhibits at both annual scientific meetings and education meetings (National Association of Biology Teachers, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, and a large Washington, DC-based career fair, “Minorities in Science and Technology”).
New Models for Local Outreach: As part of the new Frontiers in Physiology project, the Education Office is developing additional models and resources for local outreach to K-12 schools, teachers, and students. This will allow for an expansion and redesign of the current APS outreach website.
Physiology Awareness Week: Education Committee members Diane Munzenmaier, Nancy Kanagy, and Peter Farrell have developed a plan for pilot testing a proposed annual national event focusing on physiology awareness and understanding. The event, modeled after the Society for Neuroscience’s successful “Brain Awareness Week,” will encourage researchers to visit a local school or classroom and give an interactive demonstration about some area of physiology. The Committee believes that this interaction of physiologists with K‑12 students is vital to increasing their understanding and appreciation of what physiology is and what physiologists do. The Committee’s concept echoes Bruce Alberts’ recent call for “hundreds of thousands of ‘citizen scientists,’ who devote at least part of each week to spreading an understanding of science, its methods, and its values to non-scientists.”
The Committee will run a pilot program in early November 2005 using primarily the Education Committee members as presenters in order to determine the feasibility of such a program and to work out logistical issues before opening the program to the entire Society in Fall 2006. Committee members will share their experience at the fall meeting in mid‑November. From there, the Committee will plan for a 2006 event and begin development of a website that will provide specific outreach and promotional resources and assist in matching of available researchers to interested schools in their communities.
The working title for the program is still being developed. The event will have a theme each year that the presenter can adhere to closely or decide to do something more related to his/her research interests. We will have grade level‑specific, pre‑tested “kits” that will be available to the presenters so that they will not need to spend time developing a presentation and determining the appropriate level required. For those wishing to create their own presentation, we will develop guidelines to ensure that the researchers are able reach and stimulate their audiences effectively. For this first pilot event, we will modify existing teaching modules previously developed by APS in collaboration with K‑12 teachers. The program will also make extensive use of the pre-college career PowerPoint presentations currently being developed by the Careers in Physiology Committee.
Resource Web Site for Medical Physiology Course Directors: A joint APS/ACDP committee developed an outline for an online resource site for medical physiology course directors. The web site was designed and the structure is in place. This site will reside in the “Members Only” section of the APS web site. Resources will include information on faculty evaluation, course evaluation, curriculum issues and instructional options. A meeting for interested course directors was held at IUPS/EB to request materials to populate the site and meeting attendees have begun to submit materials and resource links to add to the website. Plans are to continue to identify web site content and populate the site over the 2005 summer and fall.
Medical Physiology Learning Objectives Project: As materials have been entered into the Archive this year, each resource that is appropriate for the medical school level has been catalogued according to the specific Medical Physiology Learning Objectives to which it relates. Therefore, Archive users can search by specific Learning Objectives.
The Medical Physiology Learning Objectives were published in 2000, with a planned periodic review by each APS section to update the objectives on a regular basis. As originally proposed, the renal section was the first to be reviewed and revised. In January 2005, a new revised version of the Medical Objectives was published and released on the web. The cardiovascular section is next and is currently being reviewed for revision. Gabriel Navar and Rob Carroll will use information gathered from the Archives bulletin board and solicit additional information to ensure that the objectives remain current and useful. In future years, other sections of the Medical Physiology Learning Objectives will be revised based on the process developed this year.
Summary and Conclusions
The Education Committee is meeting the objectives laid out in the 2000 Strategic Plan, with significant activities supporting each of the Plan’s objectives. I would like to thank Council for their support. Our activities would be impossible without the expert leadership of Marsha Lakes Matyas and her staff in the APS Education Office. Many members of Council interact with the Higher Education Coordinator Melinda Lowy, as she directs programs related to undergraduate, graduate, and medical education. Kathleen Kelly manages the Education Committee outreach activities in the K-12 environment, which increase the vitality and perception of physiology. Brooke Bruthers coordinates all meetings, travel, and exhibits for all Education programs. Appended to this report is a list of current and pending grants that support the APS education activities.
Rob Carroll, Chair
Council Actions
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Council accepted the report of the Education Committee.
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Council authorized $60,000 for summer research fellowships for high school and middle school science teachers for 2006.
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Council authorized funding for pins to give to undergraduate students presenting physiology posters at EB and APS conferences, and to high school students presenting physiology posters at the International Science and Engineering Fair.
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Council authorized funding for a meeting of the Undergraduate Initiative Working Group to explore and develop a set of models for undergraduate programs in physiology.
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Council authorized funding for the pilot project and website for a national physiology awareness week.