SERVICE-LEARNING METHODOLOGY EXPERIENCE: TEACHING PHYSIOLOGY

Second year Pharmacy students have been involved in a service-learning methodology experience during their training. Physiology subject has been selected to develop an innovative teaching activity about topics that include pain, special senses (taste, smell and touch), bones and muscles. This project has been designed to solve problems of social adaptation and to increase communication skills of people with an intellectual and development disability (IDD). This activity is an educational tool that combines learning of students through social service. To achieve this goal they have to change their role from student to lecturer. Universidad San Jorge students are challenged to use their knowledges acquired in the subject to develop adapted activities to IDD community. People with IDD take advantage of topics related to Physiology provided by the university students.

Different teaching strategies and assessment tools are designed by novel lecturers in groups of 4-5 people to accomplish their own objectives. The evaluation of this activity is 15% of the mark in the subject of Human Physiology I.

At the end of this experience it is expected an increase in university student’s learning and tolerance. Satisfactory results with both, students and IDD community, have been reached. All the proposed objectives have been achieved, academic and social values. This project has been positive for the learning process in Physiology of our students that have been highly motivated as well as implicated teachers. On the other hand, people with IDD would likely improve their communication abilities with health professionals regarding a better knowledge of body structures and functions.