Catering to Students' Needs
This is my first time teaching Medical Terminology and I had no idea about the wealth of active learning resources available for the course. I initially began teaching the class by lecturing and then engaging them in PPT classroom response questions. The feedback I received from the students prompted me to drop the lecture style altogether. They were receptive to the classroom response questions so I continue to use those - but have now incorporated in-class worksheets and group activities. They now have fun while learning and are actively engaged - no more 'bombies!'
Toni, because medical terminology is so dry, it needs an energizing teaching approach.
Michele Deck
I also thought that medical terminology was something you just had to push through because it was challenging and a serious subject. I have since learned that learning by association can make learning more of a game where each learner can challenge themselves.
Vester, thank you for sharing your realization. It is what works for the students that is the focus of a great educators. You are one of them.
Michele Deck
I agree. When I first started teaching terminology, I taught the subject the way it had been taught to me. Very didactic. Very static. I even convinced yself that terminology HAS to be taught in a lecture format. I had convinced myself that (like I heard learned in Med school), that term and word parts simply had to be committed to memory via repetition through student study. When I started to change my approach and allow the students to interact more with each other in the form of terminology worksheets, group projects and even games...it became very clear that ligh bulbs were going off for many of them. These techniques also allow students who grasp cetain concepts to present it to their classmates with slight variations that sometimes work for their peers that I hadn't considered.
Tiffany, I'm so glad you have decided to use methods that bring your students success. Many educators continue to lecture, even though it may not work. They feel compelled to lecture, as that is the "traditional" way to teach.
Michele Deck
