The human body can often be battleground. It’s a place where bacteria and viruses wage battle with the immune system and our internal organs negotiate for limited resources. So, what happens when we get ill and our body systems fail? Which organs are necessary to keep us alive, and which are are simply along for the ride?
To answer those questions, 11th- and 12th-grade students fought the:
Students taking the Anatomy and Physiology elective with Upper School Science Teachers Stacey Morgan and Ben Krueger were randomly assigned an organ of the body to represent in a fictional « campaign » to be elected as The Most Important Organ in the Human Body. Morgan came up with the “Organ War” idea over the summer as a fresh way to get students quickly immersed in the content of the class while playing into the current real-life election year atmosphere.
“We held a live debate in class. Students not only had to make their pitches about why their organs are most important, but they also had to run smears on each other’s organs, just like a political candidate would do in real life,” said Krueger. “Each student was given the chance to offer a rebuttal against smears directed at them, forcing them to think and react in the moment and showcase their understanding of the material,” he added.
While the exercise was well-timed with fall’s election season, it was purposely done at the beginning of the semester to allow the students to get some exposure and foundational knowledge of some of the organs and systems that they will learn about throughout the class. “The focus in any human body class is the interconnectivity of the body. This format allows students to see some of those connections early and be able to recall this knowledge when we are learning the specific systems throughout the semester,” said Morgan. Anna Handa ’26 was assigned the kidneys. “I had to research quite a bit, » she said. « I also had to research about other organs to learn what they do and what they don’t do as part of my smear campaign.”
The nature of the lesson also helps students learn the material. “I liked it because I had a chance to interact with the class and learn from others in a creative way,” Handa said. That’s exactly the type of learning that Morgan and Krueger aimed to accomplish. “We enjoy having our classes be as peer-to-peer interactive as possible. We believe some of the best learning happens when students are engaging with each other rather than just listening to us lecture,” said Krueger. “My favorite part was the rebuttals,” said Handa. “They came after we heard everyone’s smears and we had to speak up against them. It gave me a chance to use what I researched, and it was funny.”
This was the first year the Organ Wars exercise has been integrated into the class, but it won’t be the last. “Student feedback was extraordinarily positive. We would certainly make a few minor tweaks, but it’s definitely something I would love to do again,” said Morgan. Krueger agreed, adding, “We both agree that we want this to be a mainstay in the class every year now!”