Promoting deeper learning

The teachers in my team regularly give our students multi-choice questions to do, as the state exam is based on these.
For example,

Which one of the following is a respiratory disorder:
a) The pharynx
b) The coccyx
c) The larynx
d) The bronchus

The respiratory system takes:
a) Carbon dioxide from the bloodstream to the atmosphere
b) Oxygen from the bloodstream to the atmosphere
c) Sodium chloride from the bloodstream to the atmosphere
d) Carbon monoxide from the bloodstream to the atmosphere

The "Pub Quiz" exercise

Recently I designed another way of students to test their knowledge.

• This method was designed to be fun, and to test their existing knowledge.
• It involved group work, enabling them to develop skills in working together with others.
• This test did not give them any prompts, unlike the multi-choice question format.

I love pub quizzes. This exercise was based on the pub quiz format.

Students got into groups of four, and thought up a name for their group.

The first question flashed up on the powerpoint slide:

Name 3 signs & symptoms of Myocardial infarction

Each group came up with an answer, which was checked by the two lecturers involved in the tutorial. A point was allocated to any team which got the answer correct.

Other questions included:

Name 3 things you would look for when assessing a wound

Explain the disease process which leads up to an MI

What is one indication (reason) for a Doctor prescribing the medication Frusemide for a client?

Which medical condition has the following signs/symptoms:

i) Swollen (oedematous) ankles/legs

ii) Shortness of breath

iii) Unable to tolerate exercise

After each question, a point was allocated to each team, on the whiteboard.

The winners were given a small prize.

The students enjoyed this quiz. It is good to have variety in teaching methods, to keep students (and lecturers) interested.

Hopefully it showed the students where they needed to do some revision.

Interestingly to me, the students I expected to win did not, and the students who I thought were average, won!

Surface vs Deep approach to learning

I think that the pub quiz was a method of promoting a deep approach to learning, as defined by Biggs & Tang (2007). This is because of the following points:

The quiz got an active response from students

Answering it was building on what students already knew

It helped students to reflect on questions they got wrong, or did not answer adequately

It was promoting assessment in a positive, fun way

REFERENCE

Biggs, J., Tang, C. (2007) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. McGraw-Hill, UK.