Technology, Pig Hearts and the Provo Learning Initiative

May 10th, 2018 /
Shauna Sprunger /
News, Provo High, Schools, Secondary Schools, Teaching and Learning

Provo High biology students recently had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on classroom activity involving ChromeBooks and a real pig heart and lungs.

The activity started with students rotating between observing the pig heart and lungs firsthand and students using Google ChromeBooks to finish their correlated packet. Lorien Francis, biology and biotech teacher at Provo High, held up the organs and pointed out important parts that went along with principles the students had learned about in the class and online packet.

Students then had the opportunity to inflate the lungs to observe how this organ actually functions. The reason why a pig heart and lungs are used are because they are very similar in size and nearly identical in structure to a human heart and lungs. Observing these real organs helps demonstrate to the students the reality of the circulatory and respiratory systems.

Lorien Francis is one of the teachers associated with the Provo Way Innovative Learning Initiative. The goal of this learning initiative is to produce students who can thrive in our increasingly digital world through problem-solving skills. Lorien implements this initiative in her classroom through the use of ChromeBooks to enforce classroom concepts and provide a well-rounded learning experience for students.

Through this activity, students were able to utilize their ChromeBooks and have a firsthand experience with real pig anatomy, which created an immersive, hands-on classroom experience that will help them to be more prepared for their future. #ProvoGotSkills

students work on laptops