The question can be more important than the answer…. at least if it is a question that motivates a student to find an answer. Learning nomenclature can be dull, there is no doubt but if questions involve more than pure fact, perhaps even a little imagination, the learner might just find things to be interested in where there was no prior interest.
Giving students some unusual questions to answer about A&P topics might engage them creatively and help them make connections that they will remember and build on. Try some of these questions in class, as extra credit on quizzes or to start students off making concept maps or mind maps.
The ‘it’ in the questions is the organ, tissue, pathway, process, physical concept or cell in study.
1) Could I live without it? If not – how long would it take to die? Would it hurt?
2) Is it at all involved in sex?
3) Can I palpate it, auscultate it, smell it or sense it in any other way?
4) Is it something we eat from animals or something we remove in the butchering process?
5) Does it (or any part of it) come in ___________ (enter favorite color here)?
6) What do we NOT understand about this?
7) Is this self-directed or automatic? In other words, do I have to think about making this happen?
8) How would you phrase admiration of a good example or fine specimen of this in another person?
9) What celebrity would you choose to endorse better understanding of this and why?
10) What could you substitute for this and why? (It’s all right to be whimsical or imaginative.)
11) Can you think of a piece of equipment or a process from sports or the arts that is similar?