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	WHAT IS PERC?

The Physiology Educational Research Consortium is a collaborative research and development effort among 14 physiologists and physiology educators representing 13 post-secondary institutions ranging from the community college to medical school level. PERC’s goal is to improve life science education in general and physiology education in particular. We do this by conducting research to learn more about the needs of students. Based on this work, we develop materials and techniques that will help students build better mental models of physiological systems, and we educate faculty about how to incorporate these techniques into their classrooms to create more productive learning environments.     Our most recently completed research project focused on learning more about the knowledge and skills base that undergraduate students have as they enter respiratory physiology and how this knowledge and skills base matches the expectations of faculty. Our current research extends this work to other areas of physiology and examines ways in which faculty can best help students correct their misconceptions and develop problem solving skills. Previous projects dealing with active learning and appropriate use of technology in the classroom have been reported in various publications and monographs.     To help students learn various aspects of physiology, our members have developed software, problem books, and textbooks. To help faculty, we conduct workshops focused on promoting an active learning environment. These workshops have been held at national and international meetings as well as at contracting institutions. [Return to Top]

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