UNDERSTANDING PHYSIOLOGY BY ACTING OUT CONCEPTS.
Yucha, Carolyn B.
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 E. 9th Avenue, Denver
CO, 80262.
APStracts 2:0001S, 1995.
ABSTRACT
Typically classes in anatomy and physiology are taught via lecture and visual
aids. This seems to work well for students who are primarily auditory and
visual learners, but not for those who learn better through kinesthetic
experiences. This is the first report describing the use of improvisation to
act out physiological concepts within an anatomy and physiology course.
Improvisational techniques encourage active participation and allow students
to personally interact with and experience difficult concepts in the
classroom. In this paper, sensory modality preferences for learning will be
discussed briefly. Improvisational techniques will be described and examples
of improvisations useful to convey intricate physiological concepts will be
provided. Lastly student responses to the use of improvisational techniques in
an anatomy and physiology course will be reported. Historically classes in the
life sciences (e.g., anatomy and physiology) have been taught via lecture and
visual aids. In recent years, there has been great interest in active, rather
than passive, learning in the classroom. Many ideas for promoting active
learning in both small and large groups can be found in a report of a workshop
held in 1993 by the New York Academy of Sciences (4). Despite numerous
strategies such as role playing, improvisation (acting out) of physiological
concepts is not mentioned. Use of improvisation in the classroom not only
assists learners through active participation, but allows the instructor to
gauge the level of student understanding of complex inter-relationships.
In this paper, sensory modality preferences for learning will be briefly
discussed. Improvisational techniques will be described and examples of
improvisations useful to convey difficult physiological concepts will be
provided. Lastly student responses to the use of improvisational techniques in
an anatomy and physiology course will be reported.
Received 21 February 1995; accepted in final form 13 September 1995.
APS Manuscript Number S003-5.
Article publication pending Advances in Physiology Education.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 20 March 96