Abstract
Appropriate terminology is essential for successful communication among health professionals. However, students have traditionally been encouraged to learn terminology by rote memorization and recall, strategies that students try to avoid. The use of crossword puzzles as a learning tool has been evaluated in other education disciplines, but not for terminology related to veterinary science. Hence, the objective of this study was to test whether crossword puzzles might be an effective aid to learning veterinary terminology. Forty-two first-year students enrolled in a Bachelor of Veterinary Science program were randomly divided into two groups and their previous knowledge of veterinary terms tested. One group received a list of 30 terms with their definitions. The other group received the same list plus six specially designed puzzles incorporating these 30 terms. After 50 minutes, both groups completed a post-intervention test and the results were compared statistically. The results showed that the students using the crossword puzzles performed better in the post-intervention test, correctly retaining more terms than the students using only rote learning. In addition, qualitative data, gathered through an electronic survey and focus group discussions, revealed a positive attitude among students toward the use of crossword puzzles.
Highlights
Medical terminology can often seem like a foreign language, due to its Greek and Latin etymology, to students once they start to learn about anatomy and/or physiological/pathological conditions
In the post-test, both groups improved but the students given the crossword puzzles had significantly better marks compared to the control group in the post-intervention test (5.2 vs. 7.0; P = 0.001)
The results of the study showed that first year veterinary students find the learning of terminology a difficult task, with the majority of them employing rote memorization as their learning tool
Summary
Medical terminology can often seem like a foreign language, due to its Greek and Latin etymology, to students once they start to learn about anatomy and/or physiological/pathological conditions. Puzzles have been recognized as helpful for reviewing, summarizing, practicing, revealing gaps in knowledge, developing relationships between concepts[5], and facilitating critical thinking and reinforcing the knowledge acquired.[6,7,8] Crossword puzzles are known to expand the vocabulary, stimulate the mind, and help to develop several skills related to the acquisition of terminology: vocabulary, reasoning and spelling, among others[9]; and are appealing to different learning styles.[10] Grid games have been evaluated as a teaching tool in medical,[6, 11] pharmacy[12] and nurse education.[1] to the best of the author’s knowledge, no previous study has investigated the use of crossword puzzles as a tool in veterinary education. The aim of this study was to assess whether crossword puzzles are more effective than rote memorization for learning terminology by veterinary students
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