The Science of Learning 1. With the advancement of technology to assess the structure and function of the brain, researchers have found significant evidence regarding human responses to learning. When listeners are engaged in learning, neurochemical changes in their brain are stimulated. Conversely, if listeners are disengaged, inattentive, distracted (think multi-tasking) or are doing something that doesn’t require effort, these chemicals are not released. It is as if the brain is making a quick determination of the importance of what is being communicated. If the content does not engage people’s imagination, soon their attention will wander, making comprehension of the content exceedingly difficult. Eyler (2018) described engagement in learning as a “ psychological investment in learning .” His review of research in psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience identified learners’ attributes that positively influence learning in both face-to-face and online courses. These attributes include… § Curiosity § Sociality § Emotion § Authenticity of the experience The bottom line is when faculty create learning activities that stimulate learners’ attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion regarding the subject matter they are studying, they are more likely to be motivated to connect with the learning materials. Importantly for health professions students, the extent to which learning activities are closely related to the “real world” of healthcare, the more engaged students will be (Eyler, 2018).
Terminology Courses 2.
Objectives of All Medical
So, how do Eyler’s learning principles relate to medical terminology courses? Regardless of the healthcare discipline of the students enrolled or whether the course is offered face-to-face, online, or as a hybrid model, at the end of the course, students must be able to: 1. Define medical terms using suffixes, roots, and prefixes.
2. Pronounce and spell medical terms correctly. 3. Identify and understand medical abbreviations.
To be sure that students meet these three goals, faculty must provide students opportunities to not only learn relevant content, but also to practice using terminology in a variety of clinical situations. To be sure students have met these objectives, their competencies must be assessed, by answering the following questions: § Can students pronounce the words? § Can students spell the words? § Can students use the words in the appropriate context? Achieving these outcomes requires students to be engaged in the learning process, applying what they have learned in ways that feel as if they were working in actual healthcare settings.
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