#R7746

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Relationships

Deborah Miller, D.C., Chattahoochee Technical College

Active learning/discovery learning, Class/group discussion, Cooperative/small-group learning, Group testing, Independent study, Large-group instruction, Self-evaluation, Student-centered instruction, Teacher-centered/traditional instruction

Endocrinology, Hormones, hypothalamic-pituitary, Hypothalamus, pituitary gland

After reviewing what was available in the textbook for the course and other concept maps of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, I decided to make my own more simplified chart. The ones that I found were either in table form or too busy to follow. I attempted to create a clearer picture of this relationship to improve student understanding and recall. I draw it out on the whiteboard in the next class following the lecture and ask the students to copy it down. Alternatively, I engage the students in assisting me in completing the chart by asking them what goes here or there as I am writing it out. I noticed improvement in student understanding as demonstrated by improved test results after instituting this tool. In addition, I have received many comments from students regarding how helpful this resource has been to them. It may be used in several ways: a. It may be drawn on the whiteboard, Smartdesk, overhead projector or the like to have students copy. Requiring the students to copy it down rather than just handing it out to them activates more learning centers in the brain. b. It may be completed as an interactive activity following the lecture on the H-P axis. c. It can be given to the students as a handout or uploaded to a web based course as is. d. Some of the boxes can be left blank to be completed by the students as an activity or used as a quiz. e. Students may work on completing blanks in small groups. f. It can be reproduced using concept mapping software available on the web. g. Pictures may be substituted for the glands and target organs.