One of a models repertoire crossword professional#
One of a models repertoire crossword free#

There was a certain element of competition a reward was offered to the first group that finished the puzzle correctly. Students were asked to complete this exercise in class time in a collaborative and cooperative manner in groups of 6 or 7. There were generally 20 to 26 clues with 10 minutes allotted for the exercise.

One of a models repertoire crossword professional#

Unlike some of the common crossword puzzles in newspapers and professional competitions, we did not use misleading clues, anagrams (rearranging letters of a word to create another word), or telescoped words (words telescoped inside 2 adjacent words) 13 because trickery or sending the students on a wild goose chase was not the purpose of the exercise. Simple rote learning and recall were considered easy and problem solving and application of knowledge were considered difficult and more relevant to the ultimate goals of the courses. The level of difficulty was established by referring to the levels of understanding. Both short and long words were included to keep the puzzle at a moderate difficulty level as puzzles with long words are difficult to solve. There were no words that ran diagonally or that were inverted. The puzzles ( Figure) had both vertical and horizontal columns with words in the vertical columns running from top to bottom and in the horizontal columns running from left to right. These were used for review during the last of the 5 sessions in neoplasia in the undergraduate pathology course and toward the end of the course in the hematology system. In addition, the puzzles were intended to be engaging while providing an opportunity for discussion and reasonable appropriate humor.Ĭrossword puzzles were made online at the Discovery School's puzzlemaker Web site (, accessed February 26, 2008). Crossword puzzles were introduced as a quick and effective way to reinforce critical concepts and essential vocabulary with the hope that the students would be better able to recall essential concepts. Various active learning methods including crossword puzzles have been incorporated into these courses in an attempt to increase understanding, learning, and retention. The hematology system is also the first clinical system in the second year (phase B) and students have not yet become proficient in organizing thought processes around clinical problem solving or fluent in system-specific vocabulary. This has posed a challenge in providing adequate practice and necessary repetition to reinforce key concepts. In the hematology system and the neoplasia section of undergraduate pathology courses for second-year medical students at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, students are introduced to many new terms and concepts in a short time. Students have transferred this review strategy to other classes and the peer teachers have expressed an interest in it as an adjunct teaching tool.Ĭonclusions.-The judicious use of crosswords was useful for near transfer content and provided an opportunity to discuss and recall essential concepts, think critically, and collaborate in small groups. Written and informal comments indicated student enthusiasm for and a desire to participate in more of these exercises.

Specifically, crosswords were found to be useful for identifying key concepts and vocabulary and for their collaborative and competitive aspects. Results.-Many students (37 of 39 in 2003 and 24 of 41 in 2004) indicated that crosswords were useful and contributed to their learning. Student perceptions of the value of crosswords for their learning were examined in 2003 (39 students) with a survey of yes or no responses and in 2004 (41 students) with a survey using questions with a 5-point Likert scale.

One of a models repertoire crossword free#

Objective.-To determine student perceptions of the usefulness of crosswords as a quick and effective way to reinforce essential concepts and vocabulary.ĭesign.-Crosswords with ensured content validity built on a free Internet resource were completed by the students in collaborative and cooperative groups of 6 to 7 with a reward for the first group to successfully complete the puzzle. It is a challenge to provide adequate practice and necessary repetition to reinforce key concepts. Context.-Second-year medical students are introduced to many new terms and concepts in a short time frame in the hematology system and the neoplasia section of the undergraduate pathology course.