Anatomy Academy is a service-learning program wherein undergraduate or graduate health sciences students engage elementary students (Students) in the teaching of immediately applicable anatomy, physiology, and nutrition concepts, with the goal of empowerment to take a proactive role in personal health, nurturing of scientific curiosity, and encouragement to pursue higher education. Two Mentors taught a curriculum comprised of didactic and engaged learning activities to groups of 6-8 Students. Mentors completed 1) Pre- and Post-Anatomy Academy teaching self-evaluations that assessed knowledge and confidence working with Students on a four-point Likert scale; and 2) journal-style reflections discussing the nature of teaching and learning after each of the seven lessons. Quantitative data was analyzed using Stata (StataCorp, LP) and qualitative data was analyzed using word frequency and thematic analysis. Data from self-evaluations indicated that more than half of the Mentors improved on all measures of instructor effectiveness: content delivery, student engagement, classroom management, and level of professionalism. The following themes were dominant in the Mentor reflections: 1) realization of an ability to make a difference in the world now; 2) acknowledgement of the importance of listening in teaching; 3) recognition that lives can and will change with a little love; 4) insight to the effectiveness of guiding students through material rather than lecturing; 5) awareness of the value of respect in the learning environment; 6) cognizance of the power of individualized attention to motivate Students; 7) reflection of one’s own personal growth through the open influence of Students. We found that the engaged and experiential learning environment through Anatomy Academy benefited all program participants through vertical and horizontal mentoring. We propose that Anatomy Academy, and other similar service-learning programs, have an essential, and valuable role in undergraduate and graduate health sciences education.

We have developed a program called Anatomy Academy that provides pre-professional undergraduate and allied health sciences graduate students the opportunity to teach health and nutrition concepts together to elementary school children (Students) as an educational intervention to fight childhood obesity. Volunteers (called Mentors) in the program learn how to communicate complex health science information at a level appropriate for Students; prepare and deliver lessons on anatomy, physiology and nutrition that help Students understand the importance of establishing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle; teach groups of Students in didactic and active learning environments; serve as role models for pursuing higher education; demonstrate the utmost professional demeanor; and become exposed to an experiential learning environment that results in immediate, quantifiable behavioral change in Students. Mentor reflections completed during the course of the program Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 semesters indicated the: 1) realization of an ability to make a difference in the world now; 2) acknowledgement of the importance of listening in teaching; 3) recognition that lives can and will change with a little love; 4) insight to the effectiveness of guiding students through material rather than lecturing; 5) awareness of the value of respect in the learning environment; 6) cognizance of the power of individualized attention to motivate Students; 7) reflection of one’s own personal growth through the open influence of Students. In this workshop, we will describe the Anatomy Academy service-learning program and provide guidance for developing a similar program at attendees’ own institutions.