[PW] kinesthetic learning experience about diabetes

[Amy Schlumpf Manion]

I come for help once again. Thanks in advance to those who will try to
tackle this one for me. About 10 or 12 years ago I participated in a
workshop on "accelerated learning" through my employer. During the workshop
the presenter had us do a learning activity to demonstrate the effectiveness
of active learning. I believe we had been discussing the theory of multiple
intelligences at that point, and this demonstrated kinesthetic learning. We
took a simple quiz on basic knowledge of diabetes. Those of us who didn't
know someone close to us with diabetes did rather poorly. Then we
participated in an activity where we had to get up and sort of play a game
about diabetes. One person was the pancreas, a "blood stream" was laid out
on the floor, some people were blood cells, some people were other cells in
the body, etc. I remember you had to get a "key" from somewhere and I think
that had something to do with insulin or the Isles of Langerhans. Of course
in the end we all had a much better basic understanding of diabetes. The
next day we retook the test and everyone got all the questions correct. I
still recall that frequent urination is an early warning sign of diabetes
from the exercise! I'm trying to find that activity and am having no luck. I
tried contacting my former employer, and I've done searching on the web and
in databases (educational and nursing), but I am still coming up short. I
remember that the speaker told us this same activity had been done with a
group of nursing students. I think one group played the game and the other
received a lecture. I found a dissertation that did something similar, but
the game was not the same (that game involved sugar-free candy). I'm really
looking for the one that involved students role-playing as various parts of
the circulatory system. I could probably make up something similar, but
would prefer to find the activity I did previously. Thanks for any leads you
can provide. 

 

Amy Schlumpf Manion

Information Services Librarian

Aurora University

Aurora, IL