Strategies for Teaching
Anatomy & Physiology
Hugh W. Harling EdD, LAT, ATC
Methodist College, Fayetteville NC
hharling@methodist.edu
www.methodist.edu/athtraining/
Overview
Learning Process
 Critical Thinking
 Text / Book Based Resources
 Internet Resources
 Fun Ideas / Explanations
Q&A
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Learning
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Process of change
Acquisition of new knowledge, skills or
attitudes
From study or life experiences
Occurs over a period of time
Lifelong process
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American Red Cross Fundamentals of Instructor Training, 2001
MARS
Motivation
 Association
 Repetition
 Senses
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American Red Cross Fundamentals of Instructor Training, 2001
Motivation
Any suggestions here I would appreciate !
 Difficult since students come to class with
variety of backgrounds.
 One of the hardest things to do is motivate
ALL students.
 Even harder to sustain motivation –
everyone has good days and bad.
 Contract for Grade ?
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Association
One of the big keys to learning.
 Describes how things fit together and
effect each other.
 Often Study systems in isolation and fail to
connect from one to others.
 As we know, when one system of the body
fails, it affects the others, some very
quickly (AMI) others very slowly
(Osteoporosis)
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Repetition
No substitute for repetition
 Athletes spend hours fielding, throwing or
hitting, … They are training their BRAIN
and body.
 You are asking your students to train their
brains and one must practice to be able to
perform when needed.
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Senses
The more hands-on the better
 More about this later
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Technology has limits ?
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Free iPods for Duke students
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College says popular MP3 music players will be used to download
lectures and books as well as songs.
Stretch students
Use games
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Brings out competitiveness / pre-test preparation
Jeopardy – multiple levels, teams
Word Search
Newspaper accuracies & inaccuracies (Bonus
points ?)
Wrong word use – correction
Crossword puzzles
Songs / sayings – let them make up their own
Use Pictures & Video / DVD
A picture (or graph, or…) is worth a
thousand words
 Make use of textbook graphic packages
 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
(www.lww.com) Aclund’s Atlas of Human
Anatomy
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http://www.lww.com/product/?0-7817-4068-1
Textbook Resources
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Scott & Fong, Body Structures and Functions
Delmar's Anatomy & Physiology Challenge CDROM included free with each book.
Gross anatomy photos with the line illustrations
presented throughout the book for a side-by-side
comparison.
New Online Companion includes exercises,
quizzes, animations, and additional teaching
hints. A Powerpoint presentation with 25-30
slides per chapter is also included.
Lab Activities have been added to each chapter
to bring a new interactive dimension to learning.
Textbook Resources
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Gary A. Thibodeau, PhD; and Kevin T. Patton, PhD, The
Human Body in Health & Disease
Included FREE with the softcover text is Body Spectrum:
Mosby's Electronic Anatomy Coloring Book CD-ROM
Study Guide - Designed to help students master basic
anatomy and physiology, this study guide provides
students with additional self-study aids, including chapter
overviews, topic reviews, application and labeling
exercises, as well as answers to the questions.
Softcover text includes FREE CD-ROM and MERLIN
website
at:www.harcourthealth.com/MERLIN/ThibodeauPatton/h
umanbody/) Study Guide by Swisher
Other Text Resources
Anatomy Coloring Book
 Physiology Coloring Book
 Memory Notebook of Nursing: A collection
of Visual Images and Mnemonics to
increase memory and learning (Zerwekh,
Claborn & Miller, ISBN 0-9628210-5-5)
 CD-ROMs – textbook, ADAM, …
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Using the Internet
Evaluate Your Sources
Information versus marketing – blurring
 Pharmaceutical ads – are they
informational or ads or both.
 Skepticism should hold true for the internet
just like TV – if it is to good to be true it
probably is just that or very expensive.
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Evaluate Your Sources
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Does the author have authority on the topic?
What are the author’s credentials?
Is the information accurate for when it was
written?
Is there a consensus of opinion on this topic?
What are the important ideas?
What is the purpose of the source?
Is the purpose to inform, to entertain, to teach, or
to influence?
Evaluate Your Sources
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Who is the author writing for?
Is it biased in any way?
Has the author looked at the material
objectively?
Does the author offer several points of view?
How does the source help answer your
question?
Does the source provide valuable, relevant
information?
Internet
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Google Search – Anatomy - 5,130,000 for
Anatomy (0.16 seconds)
Froogle Search – Anatomy - 27,000 confirmed
/ 204,000 total results for Anatomy. (0.46
seconds)
Google Search - Physiology - 6,150,000 for
Physiology (0.14 seconds)
Froogle Search - Physiology - 4,280 confirmed
/ 101,000 total results for Physiology. (0.58
seconds)
Numerous Useful Websites
Teach Strategies Newsletter
http://www.awbc.com/events/strategies/newsletters/inde
x.html
 Advances in Physiology Education
http://advan.physiology.org/
 Visible Human
http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedE
d/GrossAnatomy/cross_section/index.html
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More Helpful Internet Websites
Emory Medical School – Biological &
Physical Sciences
http://www.medweb.emory.edu/medweb/
 Radiology - http://www.netanatomy.com/
 Radiology - http://www.szote.uszeged.hu/Radiology/Anatomy/
 Anatomy of the Eye
http://www.allaboutvision.com/resources/a
natomy.htm
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Multiple Organ System Quiz
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University of Minnesota WebAnatomy
http://www.gen.umn.edu/faculty_staff/jens
en/1135/webanatomy/default.htm
Using Other People’s Listings
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British Association of Clinical Anatomists
http://www.liv.ac.uk/HumanAnatomy/phd/b
aca/bacalinks.htm
FUN Ideas
Doorway
Need appropriate key to enter room just as
certain molecules need doorways
(channels) and keys (carrier protein) to
enter a cell.
 Alter key and door no longer opens
(insulin – diabetes)
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Idea Time - GI
Sock or stockinette & golf balls – Shows
peristalsis
 Chew food and swallow – shows why
chew and cut foods – Fill “stomach”
 Open end of sock now Pyloric Sphincter –
can’t empty entire contents at once, but
one piece at a time.
 Can now discuss what is added by what to
tract to break stuff down.
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Idea Time - Cardiac
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PVC pipe - clogging of artery same as how a
drain clogs with hair, grim, … Happens over
time, …
Use playdough for plaque build-up
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Critical thinking what would cause the clog ?
How long to show versus completely clog ?
If clog shifts / breaks free now anatomically what is
called , where will it go, …?
By-pass – cut section out and reroute
Use drain cleaner to represent drugs
Use pipe (or bottle cleaner) to represent angioblasty
Idea Time – Respiratory System
Balloons & Garbage bag
 Balloons represent alveoli and garbage
bag the lung.
 Pop balloon lose capacity (alveoli) but lung
stays inflated
 Use water in balloon to represent mucous
or debris
 Two Garbage bags hold corners of
outermost, suck in inner (Pneumothorax)
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Idea Time – Filtration / Diffusion
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Filtration occurs through the body (Liver,
Kidneys, Spleen, nutrients from blood into cells,
…)
Rocks over drain – small materials slip in and
out of vascular system and large (proteins must
stay in) unless can change shape –
Can also use a mesh screen formed like a tube
to show flow into or out of (Tube within a tube)
Watch out for the mess
Diffusion
Classic Experiment
 Color / matter moves from high
concentration toward areas of low
concentration.
 Food coloring (or tea – sun tea anyone ?)
into water
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Idea Time – Musculoskeletal
System
1 rope – pulling hand over hand like bring
up anchor
 2 Ropes and four groups
 One group back to back each holding pull
(shorten toward each other – representing
accordion action)
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Ideas from Others
Cell – light colored jello in cup – add
candies to represent different organelles
 Layers of skin – cake or jello & cool wipe.
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Bridging & Summarizing
Bridging – connecting concepts
 Summarizing – bring together facts &
concepts
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MUST bring example back to its technical
terminology
 Will often remember the example but not why
it was done or exactly what it showed
 Remember, Everyone will experience the
lesson differently.
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Final Stop
Methodist College Athletic Training
Website
 http://www.methodist.edu/athtraining/
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References
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American Red Cross. (2001). Fundamentals of
Instructor Training.
Bailey, D. (1997). Research for the Health
Professional: A Practical Guide, Second Edition.
F.A. Davis.
Blessing, J. (2001). Physician Assistant’s Guide to
Research and Medical Literature. F.A. Davis.
Zybeck, K. Methodist College Reference Librarian,
Portions Adapted from: Teaching Information
Literacy. Burkhardt, MacDonald, and Rathemacher.
Chicago: ALA, 2003