Physiology for the 21^st Century
A Sourcebook of Effective and Economical Experiments

Selection of Experiments

The initial experiments for adaptation were selected from two existing collections of laboratory experiments.

• A Source Book of Practical Experiments in Physiology Requiring Minimal Equipment: This collection of about 65 experiments was written in the 1970's and revised by the IUPS Commission on Teaching Physiology in 1990; and
• Laboratory Experiments in Physiology: This collection of 50 experiments was developed in the late 1950s and revised by the APS Education Committee in 1967. Initially designed for undergraduates, these experiments represent a more quantitative nature of physiology teaching as used in previous years.

The Co-Investigators established four criteria to determine which experiments should be included in the 21st Century Project. An activity must be:

• simple and easy to do (i.e., does not require great technical skills or sophisticated equipment; does not require a great deal of preparation time),
• inexpensive (i.e., minimal materials, supplies, and equipment is required),
• educationally valuable (i.e., must help students understand difficult and important concepts, and/or help student correct serious misconceptions), and
• scientifically sound (i.e., the procedures must be able to demonstrate or obtain the physiological data claimed).

Members of the core group evaluated each exercise under consideration prior to the IUPS teaching workshop in April, 2005. They excluded all experiments using non-human mammals (unless a different animal model could be substituted) and critically examined experiments using other animals and human subjects for safety and appropriateness. Experiments that upon peer review for scientific accuracy were deemed problematic were also dropped.

The first two experiments developed by the core group are now posted in the APS Archive of Teaching Resources (www.apsarchive.org). They are:

• Effects of Valsalva Maneuver on Cardiovascular Function
• Cold Stress Pressor Test

Additional activities are in the review and development stage.

The Project Team is now soliciting additional experiments to be included in the online sourcebook (www.the-aps.org/education/21st/index_copy.htm).