Breaking Up the Monotony
It's so important to do various activities in the classroom; most especially in an anatomy or terminology class. These types of courses can be very complex, and monotonous after a while if you don't do anything to spice it up. I especially liked the "Secret Identity" and "Baseball" games presented in this unit. I will be sure to use them in the very near future.
I'm glad the ideas I suggested will be helpful to you. Good luck!
I was really impressed by some of these games. They sound like a lot of fun. Especially for my afternoon students. Seems like they are always ready to fall asleep, no matter what the course.
One game I have used is team crossword. I have a medical terminology crossword puzzle that I can put on the overhead and challenge them to fill in the answers one at a time.
Also, I have a Medical Terminology Jeopary game.
Deanna, I'm glad to hear you are already using crosswords and jeopardy for terminiology. I hope these new ideas are useful as well.
I make up Jeopardy reviews after writing each exam so that the students have a better idea of what to study for.
I don't make the review the exact same questions, and explain to the students that if 1 directional term is asked on Jeopardy- they had better be familiar with all the directions terms :)
This makes review interesting for all of us, and usually provides a couple of really good laughs too!
I agree med term can be very boring to learn and to teach. I always like to relate it back to life or work somehow. I find video's are very helpful to see these terms applied in their field.
I have students watch an episode of "House" or "Grey's Anatomy" and jot down some medical terms (and their meanings) that were presented on the TV show. To get credit, the terms must be spelled correctly and the definitions or usage must be correct.
I agree some sort is neessary every 10 to 15 minutes,most of the games would be fine.
P. Hummel DDS
Very interesting. I will certainly utilise these methods in my classes.
You will see better results when you use them.
My students have difficulty retaining information but also come from LSES incomes where games are a luxury; how helpful to incorporate baseball and football into learning!! social skills have increased and so has retention of material!!!! YEA!!!
I'm glad to hear you like these.
I really like the idea of having students watch tv episodes regarding medicine. Not only are they doing something they enjoy (like watching their favorite show)!, they are also in the engagement stage of learning. They are beginning to train their minds to pick up on medical terminology in a relaxing and enjoyable context.
Great suggestion! I will try that and let everyone know how it works out in my classroom, Thanks!
Diane, if we know they are going to watch the shows outside of class anyway, it is an excellent idea to apply that information to medical terminology.
Michele Deck
That is such a great idea. I find myself referring to medical dramas to help explain concepts, so to add an assignment would be fantastic!
Courtney, I'm glad this is one of the ideas you can use.
Michele Deck
