P19 The use of popular movies in the teaching of pharmacology

P19 The use of popular movies in the teaching of pharmacology

With the evolution of student centred learning and the provision of full lecture notes, rather than just convey information the lecturer must now engage and motivate the students to learn the subject material. Students need to feel that the subject material is important to everyday life. Popular culture hits nerves with students and movies are especially good at making students feel that a topic is important to society. This presentation shows how the use of short movie references during lectures can be used to stimulate learning in undergraduate students. 1 -2 min grabs from popular movies containing a reference to the subject being covered have been incorporated into lectures. Besides motivating the students, these movie references during lectures provide a sectioning break. This helps to maintain the concentration of students over the lecture. The short break also helps the lecturer so that they can all work more effectively in the remaining time. With the aid of film editing by our Faculty information technology staff, the technology of powerpoint and the audiovisual display available in modern lecture theatres the use of short popular movie references is a novel way to motivate and maintain the interest of large classes of undergraduate students throughout lectures.