Creative Inspiration to Enhance Learning

The literature describes some wonderful examples of how allowing students to express themselves creatively through media such as art, dance, or poetry in the classroom enhances learning outcomes, and we have some innovative examples of assignments that require creative expression in our college (for example, see a video of a charades-like activity in pathophysiology). If you are seeking ideas to integrate opportunities for creative expression in your classroom, consider this Teaching Tip that describes a group drawing assignment in an assessment course. The authors, who are nursing faculty at UAB, ask students to draw a life-sized human outline and add an anatomically correct mediastinum with labels and an illustration of blood flow through the circulatory system. This very short teaching-tip article includes two pictures of a student example and basic instructions for implementing the strategy.

What do students learn in your course that could be supported by the integration of an artistic exercise? Consult the TIES Academy if you would like to discuss your ideas.

Weaver, K., & Roche, C. (2020). Getting to the heart of the matter: Drawing cardiovascular anatomy to facilitate learning. (2020). Nurse Educator, 45(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000722