Creative Pathology Teaching With Word Puzzles Until Students Learn: A Study in a Medical University

The Under graduate students of Medicine under Health Sciences University are exposed to various new concepts, facts and terminology in a limited time. This resulted in problem to ensure abundant revision and to strengthen key ideas amongst them. Majority of the pupils find it difficult to be good to reason out disease problem solving or being expressive in system-specific vocabulary. Many dynamic teaching techniques have been endorsed into these courses in an attempt to improve skill, training, and possession of knowledge. Our study provided an understanding regarding the use of crossword puzzles to the students of medical education to strengthen their ideas and words in a communicative study atmosphere. This research intends to highlight our experience of an innovative teaching-learning (T-L) method, 'crossword puzzle' in the subject of Pathology. In the academic years 2013-2016, we incorporated the crossword puzzle to second year Nursing, Dental, and Medical undergraduates. The aim is to estimate the capacity of interest among students in a crossword puzzle and to assess the knowledge of the relevant learning outcomes in pathology.

There are not many published reports with regards to the usage of these puzzles in crossword as a teaching and learning method for pathology. Crossword was built and after finishing training the relevant printed crossword puzzle, consisting of about items across and down, was given to all the students within the class. After finishing the crossword puzzles the feedbacks were taken from the students by delivering the questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate 5 wide areas of students' understanding through the intervention for its utility in identification of key concepts of vocabulary, utility in teaching, participation aspects, competitiveness, and students’ achievement.

Some sedentary students commented that it was not up to the mark to assess the intellectual ability of the students. They also showed some queries regarding the standard of the crossword puzzles.

Most of them (95%) exclaimed, crosswords were of great help in recognition of important ideas and words and they became willing to take part to the additional activities much more.

[91%] agreed and 4 % strongly agreed that they will like to pass on this scheme to their juniors and will like to seek other teachers also to make it as a supplementary teaching tool. [85%] of them agreed that they have a chance to debate and remember essential ideas and think critically while solving crosswords rather few of them felt that more time is needed to solve these kind of puzzles. 96% agreed that the crosswords were helpful in relation to other small group activities specially because it helped them to know correct spellings and improved their vocabulary, solving puzzles together lightened the class environment by providing amusement and light mood and also permitted the students to incorporate information and establish their comprehension of various pieces of data.