I believe the incredible edible cell method would definitely help students with the cellular biology by allowing them to compare cell parts to food
Starting with something everyone knows(food), makes students feel less anxious about what they don't know.
Using a video from you tube had helped previous students from understanding circulation of blood in the heart or how the brain works.I woul;d first review the veiw myself and then give students the link.
When teaching students how to do infant massage, I have the students bring in a baby doll or stuffed animal and a beach towel or blanket to use for draping. We methodically go over each step/technique for the infant massage until the students are comfortable. It's a real treat if one of the students can follow up by bringing in a REAL baby to practice on after the stuffed animal tutorials!
I like the edible cell; not only will it be fun and different, it will the students something to associate the structure and help them to remember it better.
I have used material baby dolls in the past for drawing anatomy on them. I am going to give the T-shirt circulatory activity a try, sounds fun. I will let you know.
I love the T-shirt idea for anatomy! What a great experience and souvenir from class! I bring in lots of food... grape jelly, cranberry sauce, tea, honey, hot sauce, ketchup etc and have my students make dressings with different types of drainage and then explain what their assessment of the wound would be if they saw that type of drainage. They have a great time, and it seems to stick.
Melissa, thanks for sharing you great idea with us. I will try it!
The cardiac circulation drawn on a sheet is an excellent idea. Luckily, my daughter is very artistic and can help me with this.
Some students have difficulty visualizing circulation and I am wondering if used with a 3 D model of the heart for comparison- would it be more helpful.
If you can find a way to make it 3 D it would be even better.
We use something like the shower cap methods. We use small skeletons and modeling clay. The students form the muscles from the clay and place them on the skeleton. It helps them learn origin, insertion, and general location of muscles.
Kellie, great idea. The flow of blood can be difficult for many students. This is a great way for them to not only learn it, but really learn it.
I love this idea and can't wait to try it.
I really like the cardiac circulation sheet exercise and have been thinking about how I could adapt it to my classes. It might work well in my nutrition class with the chemical and mechanical digestion of carbs, fats, and proteins. I could do a large body showing the GI tract and accessory organs and take the students on a journey down the GI tract beginning with the ingestion of various macronutrients and then the various enzymes and other chemicals in digestion, where they originate from, perform their functions and where absorption takes place. Then they could do the final journey through the colon to the elimination of waste products.
It would take some work and planning initally but on a large enough sheet it could be fun and reusable. I could even have the students become various foods, enzymes, and other chemicals that interact with each other on the journey
Jeanne, this is a perfect example of a great adaptation of an idea. It takes prep time, but is reusable after that.
I loved the tshirt idea...absolutely will use that in Kinesiology for the spinal bony landmarks and muscles of the back!
I really like the sheet with the heart circulation. I go over the blood flow many times, but them acting it out would really drive it home. It is true that when students see something and do an activity they retain it much better. What I've been doing so far is showing them the pump your blood song that I got on youtube. The sheet will be a good addition to my blood flow lecture.
Glad this will supplement your lesson.
I really like teh T-shirt method. I teach a clinical course and I like the concept of them seeing where to place the stethoscope. I also like the cardiac ciruclation sheet. I teach an A&P course and we just finished the circulatory system and I plan on using this next quarter to help with the blood flow through the heart concept.
