Bringing nursing science to the classroom: a collaborative project.

Area of Science:

• Pedagogy in Health Sciences
• K-12 Science Education
• Human Anatomy and Physiology

Background:

• Public school science curricula often lack in-depth human body system exploration.
• Nursing faculty expertise can bridge gaps in K-12 health science education.
• Experiential learning enhances student engagement and comprehension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of nursing-led, hands-on activities on fifth graders' learning outcomes.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of interactive stations in teaching human body systems.
• To foster collaboration between nursing education and public school science programs.

Main Methods:

• Fifth-grade students participated in a two-day program.
• Students were divided into small groups rotating through interactive learning stations.
• Nursing faculty facilitated activities focused on skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems.
• Pretesting and posttesting were used to measure knowledge acquisition.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in student learning were documented through pretest and posttest assessments.
• Interactive stations effectively demonstrated the normal functions of key body systems (digestive, circulatory, respiratory).
• The collaborative model successfully integrated nursing expertise into the public school setting.

Conclusions:

• Nursing-faculty-led, hands-on science activities enhance student learning in human body systems.
• Experiential learning models are effective for improving health and science education outcomes in elementary students.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration can enrich K-12 science curricula with specialized knowledge.