11-10
8. TEACHING AIDS THAT REQUIRE DOING AS WELL AS SEEING
Example: Closing a cut or wound
The poster at right is adapted from a drawing
in Where There is No Doctor (p. 85). It shows,
step by step, how to make butterfly bandages
and close a wound.
But it does not, by itself, give students a
chance to learn through practice. Students
see how something is done, but they do not
actually do it.
MORE APPROPRIATE
LESS APPROPRIATE
A lifelike way to practice closing wounds is
to have someone wear a tight-fitting rubber
(surgical) glove. Make a cut in the glove, and
color the skin under the cut red to make it
look like blood.
The rubber glove tends to stretch and
pull apart like real skin. The students can
prepare butterfly bandages and close the
‘wound’ by pulling the sides of the cut
together.
If you do not have surgical
gloves, try using a large
balloon. Cut holes for the
fingers, like this.
The students can also practice sewing or
suturing a wound using the same rubber
glove. As with a real wound, care must be
taken with the placement and tension (pull)
of the thread in order to avoid tearing or
bunching up the delicate ‘skin’.
And wear it
like this. But
be careful. It
tears easily.