Using Dramatic Skits as a Learning Tool
By
Dr. Earl Bloch
Many of today’s teaching methods are outdated and need improvement, for instance, traditional small group discussions
as a means of re-enforcing lecture concepts can be made more effective using dramatic presentations. Although small group discussions invite equal participation from each member in the group, each member may not equally participate in the discussion. The dramatic approach outlined below is an attempt to provide a better model for teaching and learning.
course learning objective.
Each student in the group must actively participate in the 20-minute skit by “discussing” a specific objective(s) to the class. That is, the skits developed by the students are used to re-teach major points of a particular lecture to fellow students.
The teacher will act as a facilitator and offer suggestions to the groups, if the objectives presented in the skits were not clear to the rest of the class. After all the skits have been presented, a quiz is administered to gauge the students understanding of the material.
Schematic outline of skits to enhance learning
Each colored square represents a different concept
O O O O O
The twenty-five students are divided into five groups (A-E). The teacher will function as a facilitator and observe how well each group of participants are able re-enforce the lectures by re-teaching those concepts to the other four groups. Note the re-teaching must be in the form of a skit. The teacher will prepare questions that cover the topic
areas and after all the skits have been presented the 25 students will then be given a quiz on the material.
Each circle represents five participants
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E
Group Presentations
The group presentations must be in the form of a skit and the skit must
be novel and entertaining.
Notice each skit reinforces the lecture concept by re-teaching the information to the other four groups.
Example
In this example, one week of five, two-hour lectures in immunology are presented to a class of 125 medical student.
[The syllabus contains the following: names of faculty facilitators, room locations for each group, names of group members, and the assigned concepts (colored squares) for each of the five groups]
After all the lectures have been presented (Monday to Thursday), the students assemble in groups on Friday, to re-teach the other four groups an assigned concept. Please note that the date(s) for the group presentation are published in the syllabus. Therefore, the students know well in advance the concepts and dates for their presentations. This advance notice provides the students the “time” to gather before Friday to discuss and organize their skits.
Five immunology faculty members (Drs. R,S, T, U and V) serve as facilitators and are assigned to a section (and its five groups) and a room. Note: During skits, students only present to members of their specific section.
Faculty member |
Room # |
Section # |
Group A O | Group B O | Group C O |
Group D O | Group E O | Total # of students per section |
| Dr. R | 200 | I | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Dr. S | 202 | II | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Dr. T | 204 | III | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Dr. U | 206 | IV | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Dr. V | 208 | V | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
Sample topics that each group must present in the form of a skit Group A skit O Cells and Tissues of the immune system
Group B skit O Structure & function of antigens, antibodies and hapten molecules
Group C skit O Immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes
Group D skit O MHC genomic organization & structure
Group E skit O B cell & T cell activation and cytokine profiles
It is important to note that students will vary in their presentation styles and understanding of basic information. Students tend to be less intimidated when“performing” in front of 25 people rather than the entire class of 125. Remember, the purpose of the skits is to re-enforce basic information, and to get everyone involved in the
learning process.
Suggestions for the Group Presentations (skits)
1. America’s Next top Model (ANTM)
2. Man vs. Wild (a survival television series)
3. American Idol
4. Flavor of Love
5. elimiDATE (Who will be the ultimate date survivor?)
6. eharmony; Compatibility and dating service
7. Judge Judy- The Ultimate Truth Machine!
8. Divorce Court “HE’S SURFING THE NET FOR A NEW WIFE”
9. Jeopardy
10. Washington Week in Review with Gwen Ifill
11. This Week with George Stephanopoulos
12. Meet The Press with David Gregory
13. Hardball with Chris Matthews
14. The Bourne Ultimatum
15. Exercise Infomercial
16. Open mic night
17. So You Think You Can Dance
18. Saturday Night At The Apollo
19. Top Chef
20. Last Comic Standing
Summary
1. Skits allow students to re-teach basic concepts to fellow students under the guidance of a facilitator.
2. Quizzes are administered immediately after all the skits. Answer keys are distributed to each student after all the quizzes
are collected. This provides instant feedback to students in terms of their strengths and weaknesses of the lecture concepts.
3. Students are now more prepared to take the examinations.
4. This approach has been used for more than five years with amazing success. For example, the medical students have done extremely well on the immunology examinations with higher scores as compared to the pass rate before the use of skits.
