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ILLUMINATIONS

A Midlecture Student Seminar: an Activity to Break the Monotony

Department of Anatomy
Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Campus)
Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
E-mail: mohandaskg{at}gmail.com

	Introduction

TOP Introduction REFERENCES

 
Students at Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Campus) undergo their first 2.5 yr of a medical training program. During the first year, students are taught anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. The anatomy classes include both small-group (up to 20 students) cadaveric dissection sessions and large-group lecture classes of 1 h each.

During the small-group sessions, it is easy to involve students in class discussions and active learning. However, during the large-group lecture classes where students are only listening, they have difficulty concentrating beyond the initial 20–25 min. This is mainly because of the monotony and lack of active participation during the lecture (1). In an effort to break the monotony and to engage the students in active learning, a midlecture student seminar is conducted. After this 15-min activity, the lecture resumes.

The midlecture student seminar consists of two parts: a short presentation by students, followed by postpresentation discussions.

Student presentations.
After 25 min of a regular lecture class, two students are randomly selected by the teacher. These students are called to the stage and asked to summarize, in 5–8 min, the material taught during the lecture on the previous day. The student presenters are allowed to discuss among themselves and to use the blackboard.

Postpresentation discussions.
After the presentation, the floor is opened to the remaining students for an additional 5–8 min of discussion. Students are allowed to point out mistakes in the presentation and to rectify them. They may ask questions of the presenters, and they may add relevant points that the presenters may have missed. At the close of this discussion, the lecture resumes. This particular method of breaking monotony during lecture is carried out during 5–7 lectures in a series of 13–16 lectures along with some other such activities (1).

Questionnaires were given to both presenters (n = 30) and the rest of the students (n = 300), and their responses are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Student feedback indicates that this activity is very effective, not only in breaking the monotony of lecture but also in generating interest in the topic as well as involving students in the discussion. Many students found it as a useful method of review because they were made to recall previously discussed topics during the activity.

	REFERENCES

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1. Rao Mohandas KG. The rapid response: a break during lecture. Advan Physiol Educ 30: 95, 2006.[Free Full Text]

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