Supplies: Oscar trophies - envelopes and note cards. Red Carpet into the classroom. Oscar type music to play when the students enter the auditorium via the red carpet, and when the winner is announced. For the program, the presenters at the microphone reads the question and the four possible answers. When the answers are given, the presenter remarks, "And the Oscar goes to" the trophy is given to the student with the correct answer. Thus, A Night at the Oscars

The best way to begin any reading assignment is to skim the assignment to get an overall view of what information is included in the assigned material.Aftering skimming, read the material in detail highlighting or taking notes If there are headings/subheadings, rephrase them as a question. Examine the subheadings, illustrations, etc which will help identify the significant matter of the materials. Read the first sentence of every paragraph - this is generally where the main idea is found. Evaluate what you have gathered, write a summary encapsulating what you have learned. Based on your evaluation, decide whether or not a more thorough reading is required

I have found that introducing students to word parts can be fun. One method i use is to share a long, alphabetical list of phobias...often the students are familiar with some of the terms and the context makes it fascinating and it tends to stick in their minds more readily.

I agree that Education Risk is huge factor in not only knowledge retention, but also class retention and satisfaction. Many of our students are returning, changing careers and just plain new to health care. I've found that associating as much as possible with their personal experience not only increases their retention (emotional attachment to information in the midbrain), but also increases their confidence level. They're more quickly able and willing to take risks in the classroom. I encourage them when a term reminds them of a word they've encountered as a patient or caregiver navigating the medical system, to explore it's meaning and how it's related to the term we're learning.

ArmoredPenguin.com is a FREE puzzle generator that I use all the time. You can create word scrambles, word finds and crossword puzzles (among others- these are just the most relevant). For word finds and word scrambles- I usually create a list of clues, and don't provide the term itself. Instead, students use the definitions provided to figure out which word they're searching for or unscrambling.

I've had great luck with BINGO in my classes. I hand out blank BINGO cards and a list of Medical Terminology word parts and ask that each student populate his/her own card using the list the provided. I then pull definitions out of the hat- the students mark the word part with that meaning on their card. Standard BINGO rules apply. I usually have small prizes available- a bonus point, a pencil, an eraser, something like that.

This seems to be a little more sophisticated version of the old tried and true flashcard system. I often suggest to my students to create their own cards, but will try to incorporate cards I create into a learning exercise for the students.

I find when I teach Medical Term. it is best to begin with giving positive reinforcement. Many of my adult-learners know many different "medical" terms but they are unaware of this knowledge. I start off after reviewing the syllabus on the first day with a list of commonly used terms for discussion such as "cardi/o"; "hemi", "trans" and give everyday terms that use these terms. This way my students feel that they are not just learning terms that they need for a class. It's a great conversation starter; and often times it leads to finding more common words that have "medical" terms in them. It bolsters their confidence level from the onset of the course. What are your thoughts? Does anyone else do this or something similar? I would like to incorporate a quick quiz on the first day of class with this; but don't want to overwhelm my students and then open it for discussion. However, I feel that this may turn some of the students off. I would appreciate your comments. Thank you. Mardi

Learning can be fun, use activity games to engage students.

Any game that requires thought and activity of students will help improve there learning ability.

Baseball is a brains on participation sport. Approach each student with a question and of course divide the class into to teams. Make up simple rule for class teams to follow as they laugh, learn and challenge stretching there thinking ability to achieve the ultimate home run, improved learning.

To improve your memory provide detailed instructions for your class, as well as hand outs with diagrams. Promote positive praise to students as the attempt task with assistance.

Constant communication with students is the most important and effective way of getting feedback on their understanding. I will often pause in the middle of lecture to ask if everthing is making sense and to make sure everyone is following. I will also ask for any questions regarding the material up to that point.

I think that the t-shirt method and swim cap method of illustrating anatomy were very creative.

I found the idea creating gestures for the lab very interesting and think that I will incorporate it in my lab.

I think that compliance with HIPPA is one of the hardest things to get students to understand and honor. No matter how important we make it sound to keep everything about your patient's confidential, they still dont seem to completely grasp the seriousness of privacy and condifentiality.

Energizers such as Ball Toss or Flip card learning race seem to be interesting. Can someone recomend more energizer types of activities for medical terminology subjects?

What sort of learning activity should you avoid if your learner already has some resistance towards active learning. I am particularly interested in beefing up my active teaching methods in medical terminology and applied anatomy and physioloy to the student with little science background.

I used this technique in class. Students loved it.It was suggested that I use it as an icebreaker. To follow it up, I had students spend 60 seconds observing their patients from the dooorway.

I am anxious to use the blend of activities - those that appeal to the extravert and those to the introvert. I appreciate the emphasis on introducing the activity by stating its purpose.