Flashcards are not for everybody, especially an adult learner. When teaching Med Terms, along with the excellent book resource we are using, I find that my students learn best when they can make it relevant and also by learning no more than 7 to 8 items at a time.
As long as the competition is wholesome, it will be a motivating factor for students.
I also like to use games in the classroom to engage students. Some of the things that I have found that students enjoy the opportunity to compete against each other in teams.
Bet people like the sound effects. Some learners may have even wished to be on the real show, and this makes them feel as close to that experience as possible.
I have a program of jeopardy. I fixed it up for Med term. Sound effects and all.
Kimberly, this is a great example of student involvement in learning. Not only did those who played the game learn, but the learners who created it will never forget it either. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful idea.
We actually have a graded class project in which the students create a game and present them to the class. Best one that we have had to date was a survivor style med term game. The students had challenges set up to use the med terms i.e. an obstacle challenge in which they had to go up and under tables, around chairs, and various other things all using the med terms to complete/win. The students actually created team shirts even some available teachers from other classes. Students are still talking about that activity because students from other classes and programs saw the outfits and just had to ask. Created a lot of interest throughout the school.
Not only did this activity get students up and moving but it got them excited about the presentations and they didn't realize how well they were learning the information.
Great idea, James! If they can write and answer the question, they take ownership of the content and are more likely to remember it.
Since "Medical Terminology" is a primary class, I recognize that some of the students haven't been in school for some time, or some are still "doing the best they can". So I set up a little activity that gears their brain or thinking into seeing how test questions can be made. They break into groups of around three. I find that if it is more than three, only one or two are doing the work anyway. Then they write 5 questions on the information just presented. One of them asks the rest of the class the questions and the class answers the questions. For incentive I let them know that if the questions are good, I will use a couple on the quiz.
The key with learning activities is to make them look like a game, but they are actually teaching methods without the learners focusing on them. Some of your colleagues have suggested doing "Word surgery" or "I play one on TV" in some of their posts from this course. There are other group activities in course ED311. Thanks.
