Adopting role plays/skits to enhance the learning of clinical respiratory physiology.

IT HAS BEEN FREQUENTLY REPORTED that most students use a combination of learning styles. Teachers can use a variety of teaching-learning methods, which may encourage adaptability and lifelong learning. Instructional strategies that are lively, educative, and encourage students to actively participate in the process are better than an uninterrupted exposition of information. This article was designed to clarify how one can use role playing and skits to make the learning of rather simple principles in human cardiopulmonary physiology more fun and relevant, in the absence of clinical classes in first-year undergraduate studies. These role plays also allow students to practice their communication skills in a conducive environment. It has been shown that improvisation is not only entertaining but extremely useful in understanding concepts (3). The idea behind the enactment of role plays was that a hands-on experience is a lifelong experience: it is the best teacher. There have been many definitions of role plays. The simplest one states that role plays consists of “acting out a defined character in a mock situation.” Since one experiences a situation, therefore role plays can help make classes dynamic, energetic, and actively involve students in the teaching-learning environment. In fact, skits and games have been used to enhance the learning of physiology, and it has been observed that the planning of skits serves as a good review of some course material (2).