Repetition of Key Words During Phun Week Activities Increases Correct Answers in a Population of Junior Students in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Puerto Rico Physiological Society has been conducting PhUn Week activities in schools located in the south of the Island. This year junior students received talks and participated in hands‐on activities related to several topics in physiology.AimThe main was to provide information on basic physiological concepts, what scientists do, and how to pursue a scientific career. We hypothesized that combining conventional talks with hands‐on activities emphasizing key words will increase the students' attention and retention, leading to correct answers on a written evaluation.MethodsStudents from eleventh grade (22 males and 8 females) were given a pre‐test which consisted of 5 multiple choice questions related to cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems. Oral presentations were given followed by hands‐on activities using repetition of key words during each activity. A post‐test was given to measure learning outcomes.ResultsIn the pre‐test, 59.3% of the overall questions were answered correctly, and this increased to 98.7% in the post‐test. Repetition during the talks and hands‐on activities increases the selection of correct answers in the written evaluation.ConclusionsWe were able to call the students attention by sharing our personal experiences as scientists and explaining physiology via a variety of assessments, which includes the repetition of key words in each activity. This outreach endeavor provides the student with alternative ways of learning physiology and a better understanding of a career in the sciences.