Louise Robson
Physiological Society rep on UKLSC Education Group

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.48.21

Over the past few years the number of applications to biomedical based degree courses, along with applications to the physical sciences, has been falling. This is a worrying trend, especially as it has occurred at a time when student numbers have been increasing, and suggests that science courses are becoming less appealing to sixth-form students. An additional worry is applications have fallen while at the same time there have been dramatic improvements in the way biomedical science is taught in the national curriculum, with topics aimed at increasing the understanding of science and also the investigative skills of school children. Changes to the curriculum have occurred at every level, from age five all the way to A’ level. In fact even primary school children now cover aspects such as the function of the heart, how muscles work, the effect of exercise on the body and nutrition. However, despite the fact that children are now doing more science in schools the fact remains that applications have fallen. Having talked to a number of primary and secondary school teachers it is clear that there are a number of problems with the teaching of science in schools. Some of the problems they have identified include 1) Children get turned off science from a early age 2) Children of all ages say science is too hard and is boring 3) Many primary school teachers have little formal training in science and 4) Secondary school science teachers are a dying breed. To try to improve the perception of physiology by older school children the Society has funded a number of projects in the past. These include sixth-form workshops where students have the opportunity to come and carry out practical work in the University environment and workshops aimed at secondary school teachers. All these events have been well received by the participants. However, they do target rather small audiences. What we really need is a country wide initiative to promote physiology, and therefore more recently the Society has tried to set up a Speakers in Schools Database. Under this scheme academics would go into their local schools to give lectures and/or run practical classes. Together with the UK Life Sciences Committee (UKLSC) Education group a searchable list of academics has been compiled and will shortly be posted on the web site www.biology4all.com. This database allows schools to identify academics who have expressed an interest in working in local schools, via their postcode, name or subject. You might be thinking that academics having nothing to offer schools. I would strongly disagree with this and would like to tell you about my experience of working with primary school children and show you what a useful and rewarding experience such work can be.

Science Week ran between the 8th and 16th of March this year. It is an annual event, with a whole week dedicated to improving the perception of science by the general public. It involves many different types of scientists from both academia and industry, working in many different kinds of environments giving lectures and running practical workshops. Events in schools are particularly popular. The scientists, who must then register their event with the BA, provide ideas for events. I became involved in Science Week, as I am required to spend three days per year working with the public on a grant I hold from the BBSRC. However, I have to say that I fully intend to participate in future years, whether I need to or not. I decided to target primary school children, as I knew that many primary teachers must teach what is essentially the physiology of various systems without any formal training. One topic they find difficult is the heart. So this is the subject I chose for my event. “Matters of the heart” was the title of my event and, as physiology is a practical subject, I quickly hit upon a plan to give a short talk to the children about the heart followed by small group practical work. In total I spent three full days in three separate primary schools in the Sheffield area. The ages of the children varied between schools, but covered years four to six (ages eight to eleven). In total I worked with about two hundred children during the three days. In all schools I started the day with a presentation to all the children, using a simple, self-written Power-Point presentation that covered aspects such as the shape and size of the heart, internal structure, how blood moves through the heart and also why we need to pump blood around the body. As well as talking to the children I also used plastic heart models, which were passed around the class for all the children to investigate, and a balloon heart model to show what happens when the heart contracts. After the presentation I then worked with the children in small groups, measuring heart rates with blood pressure monitors. Heart rate was measured at rest (we had a competition to see who had the lowest heart rate) and then on exercise (star jumps). We then spent some time discussing why heart and respiratory rates go up during exercise. I have subsequently provided each school with the experimental data, including graphs for the children to interpret (a skill they find particularly difficult I understand). The session finished with a question and answer session on any aspect of human biology and also my job as a scientist. I was impressed by the questions the children asked. Indeed, at one school I had two forty-minute question sessions and even then the children still had more questions to ask. The teacher finally extricated me from the class to go for lunch, with questions being fired at me going down the stairs! Finally, I provided each teacher with a list of valuable web sites for biomedical science (including the Society’s of course). It was clear that most of the sites were new to the teachers.

Feedback from the children shows that they really enjoyed the day and were amazed to see that scientists were not all middle-aged men with a beard and glasses! Many of them felt that science could be fun and interesting. Feedback from the teachers also shows that they thought that the event was extremely useful for the children and also for themselves in terms of how to teach the heart in the future. I certainly found this to be an extremely fun and rewarding experience. Just think what the Society could achieve for the profile of physiology if the members participated in the academic pairing scheme. Remember your time commitment could be as little as giving one lecture each year or could involve participation in a more long-term project. Academics have an important role to play in the public perception of science and by going into schools we can make a significant improvement to the understanding and appreciation of physiology by school children. After all they are the undergraduate students of the future!

For those of you interested in adding your name to the Speakers in Schools database you should contact Maggie Leggett at mleggett@physoc.org. The database will be formally launched during the British Association Festival of Science, at a free event on Thursday 12 September at lunchtime.