Low‐tech anatomy ‐ Bringing back games, music and art!

Abstract

Many of the great, new teaching initiatives in gross anatomy have centered on technology. While I am strong proponent of technology‐driven teaching activities, I, like many anatomists, work in an anatomy lab devoid of any technology with little hope of change in today's economic climate. As dreary as that may sound, I would like to offer solace in the form of low‐tech teaching ideas for anatomy – games, music and art. Games are an easy low‐stress way to reinforce anatomy concepts and classical teaching techniques. For example, learning the foramina by which cranial nerves exit the head is a staple in anatomy, which is usually taught with pipe‐cleaners and skulls. I have prefaced this activity with a competition bean bag toss with the cranial nerves as the bean bags and the holes as the foramen. Other games that can be employed in the anatomy lab include scavenger hunts, twister, Pictionary and plinko. Practical directions on how to incorporate many types of games, music and art will be discussed in details for a low‐cost, low‐tech way to enhance anatomy teaching. While these activities may be low‐tech, they do not fall short on education or fun and offer a welcome change of pace to medical curricula.Grant Funding Source: none