Words and Pictures: Back to basics for effective learning in the health sciences

Michelle Thunders; Ying Jing; Jim Clarke; Daniel P Wadsworth; Judy Thomas; Rachel Page

doi:10.24297/ijrem.v5i3.3891

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Words and Pictures: Back to basics for effective learning in the health sciences

Michelle Thunders, Ying Jing, Jim Clarke, Daniel P Wadsworth, Judy Thomas and Rachel Page

International Journal of Research in Education Methodology, Vol.5(3), pp.673-679

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24297/ijrem.v5i3.3891

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Abstract

Public Health and Health Services

online tool

health science

vocabulary comprehension

moodle

visual learners

andragogy

Students often struggle with science content because of their lack of science vocabulary comprehension and the general bewilderment with facing lengthy segments of text without meaning. This paper reports on a two-pronged initiative to facilitate health science learning for first year degree students.Firstly, the introduction of visual diagrams into teaching practice. These diagrams summarize linkages between content and are valuable tools for visual learners and an important learning skill to develop for students new to the tertiary education environment. Secondly development of an online science vocabulary tool. Science vocabulary is often derived from Greek and Latin words, languages not familiar to the majority of our students. Knowing common suffixes, prefixes and root words can facilitate student understanding of new complex concepts. Development of a visual, interactive and quick online tool to aid students dissect and decode parts of words and help them to understand the entire word. This is particularly Ã‚ beneficial for students otherwise disadvantaged, for example, students where English is not their first language and students with little or no previous science education as often the case for students undertaking the Bachelor Health Science (BHlthSci) degree. This could also help with first-year student retention as it may help students to not see science words as daunting and confusing and give them confidence in their learning. Preliminary survey results indicate a positive student response to the initiatives with the majority of students using these tools to focus their revision and incorporating them in their self-directed learning.

Details

Title: Words and Pictures: Back to basics for effective learning in the health sciences
Authors: Michelle Thunders (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Ying Jing (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Jim Clarke (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Daniel P Wadsworth (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Judy Thomas (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Rachel Page (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
Publication details: International Journal of Research in Education Methodology, Vol.5(3), pp.673-679
Publisher: CIRWORLD
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.24297/ijrem.v5i3.3891
ISSN: 2278-7690
Copyright note: Copyright © 2014 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN EDUCATION METHODOLOGY. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts, and all Open Access articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Nursing; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450781402621
Output Type: Journal article

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