Showercap Mindmap: a spatial activity for learning physiology terminology and location.
Students struggle with the volume and complexity of physiology terminology. We compared first-year undergraduate psychology students' learning of physiological terms using two teaching methods: one verbal (control group; n = 16) and one spatial and multisensory (experimental group; n = 19). The experimental group used clear plastic shower caps to mark brain regions and affix labels to another participant's head. The control group learned the material verbally through a game. When tested verbally, both the control and experimental groups recalled more of the 10 terms immediately after the activity (+106% and +83%, respectively) and 2 wk later (+53% and +31%, respectively) than at the pretest (P < 0.0005). When participants' knowledge was tested spatially (labeling a brain diagram), the experimental group recalled more terms at the posttest (+76%) and followup (+73%) than at the pretest (P < 0.0005), but the control group who showed no improvement at either time point (+12% and +14%, respectively). These findings support the notion that spatial and multisensory learning produces improved spatial recall over time while also supporting the notion of transfer-appropriate processing.
Centre for Applied Psychology, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. thea.vanags@canberra.edu.au
Thea
T
Vanags
Mira
M
Budimlic
Elissa
E
Herbert
Melena M
MM
Montgomery
Tracy
T
Vickers
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020958:Australian Capital Territory; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D032882:Comprehension; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D010827:Physiology / Q000193:education*; D012677:Sensation; D013028:Space Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014495:Universities; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult