How to Teach Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomy and physiology can be a challenging subject for some students.

When faced with the challenge of teaching anatomy and physiology at any level, you will need to be creative, repetitive and knowledgeable. These step-by-step instructions will guide you through a game that can make this subject fun while helping students learn through teamwork and repetition. You can play this as often as you want, changing the questions to suit the week's lesson plans.

Things You'll Need

• Colored index cards Prizes, if desired

Instructions

1. 

   To set this game up, you will need to sort your index cards by color and create an anatomy and physiology category for each color. For example, you might want to use yellow cards for muscles and bones, blue cards for the nervous system, green cards for the digestive system or whatever works best for you. You should have between five and 10 cards for each category.
   Write each category on one side of the index card. You will then assign a certain number of points to each category, such as 100 points for muscles and bones, 200 points for digestive system and so on. The higher points should be reserved for the categories that are the most difficult for your students.

2. On the opposite side of each card, write a question related to the category. Use questions that you want your students to review. For example, on the back of a muscles and bones index card, you might write the question, "What are the attachments and insertions of the piriformis muscle?"
   These cards will be hidden throughout the classroom. Depending on your campus policies and the age of your students, you might want to use the entire building or outside around the campus to hide the index cards.

3. Create another set of index cards containing clues to the location of the hidden question cards. Be fun and creative with your clues. I once gave my students a clue that said, "under the seat of knowledge." The index card with the anatomy and physiology question was taped under my chair. Another clue I used was my license plate number. The index card with the question was under my car windshield wipers. Arrive early to hide the cards.

4. Divide your class into two teams and explain to them that you will be handing each team a clue. Once they receive their clue, they will go find the hidden index card. They must bring the index card back to you and answer the question correctly. When a team answers a question correctly, they earn the number of points indicated on the index card. They will then receive the next clue to find the next question. The team with the most points wins. You can hand out prizes if you wish or simply allow students to have fun with this game.

Tips & Warnings

• Anatomy and physiology can be difficult for some students because of the large amount of information presented. Remember, all ages of students like to play games. I have used this game when teaching college-level courses, along with other fun activities like coloring book pages or trivia board games.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Trail Guide to the Body