Identifying the Learners

Discuss about the Epidural Infusion Management On The Post-Operative Patients.

The aim of the lesson was to teach the learners on the topic epidural infusion management on the post-operative patients, epidural infusion is one of the most significant activities that are performed to manage pain. The lesson was, therefore, important because it touches on an area of concern to the healthcare providers who are concerned about the post-operative patients whose pains need to be professionally-handled (Tanner, 2013). As an expert, I had to do my best to ensure that I delivered a high quality and exceptional lesson to the learners. In this paper, I present an objective reflection of everything that took place during the session.

To begin with, I would like to point out that during the entire session; I took time to teach my learners a lot of things. I was particularly concerned about delivering an effective lesson that would positively impact on the lives of my learners. As an expert, I know for certain that I should perfectly discharge my teaching duties as expected (Stronge, 2018). Hence, during this lesson, I had to put in practice all that I have learnt to do as an instructor. The first thing that I did during the lesson is the identification of my learners. Since teaching can be effective if it is offered in a conducive environment, I started to create an accommodative learning environment by studying my learners and knowing something about their background (Meyer, 2015). A proper understanding of the weaknesses, strengths, and competencies of my learners enabled me to teach well and appeal to all my learners regardless of their diversities.

The other thing that I did during the session was the choice of the teaching approaches and strategies that suit my learners most. Since I began teaching, I have always known that teaching can be fruitful if done in an organized manner (Schmeck, 2013). Therefore, after grasping the needs of my learners, I settled on the teaching approaches that I felt would be appropriate for the kinds of the learners whom I was dealing with. I decided to use a dynamic approach which created room for the use of lectures and discussions (Bradshaw & Hultquist, 2016). Given that I was to deal with graduate students, I had no choice, but to rely on the lecture method because it would give me an opportunity to direct learning ad ensure that the learners grab all that I had for them (Temple, Ogle, Crawford & Freppon, 2018). Besides, I had to allow my learners to form small groups where they would engage in fruitful discussions through which they would get to learn from one another.

Choosing Teaching Approaches that Suit Learners

Finally, during my lesson, I took time to assess the learners to ensure that I got the right information on the extent to which the learning objectives were achieved. In order to evaluate my learners, I had to use questioning method. Here, I had to keep on asking short questions to brainstorm the learners and challenge them to have a deeper understanding of the subject matter (McLeskey, Rosenberg & Westling, 2017). Apart from the quizzes, I had to give out a written assignment at the end of the lesson because it would give learners a chance to conduct further research to get additional information that they would use to understand the subject (Ornstein & Lasley, 2014). The two assessment strategies were appropriate for my learners because they would help in strengthening their learning process. Evaluation is one of the most important activities that I cannot afford to exclude whenever I am entrusted with the teaching of my clinical learners.

During my session, I felt so good. I still have a similar feeling because of the conviction that I did an excellent job. This simply shows that if I were to carry out a self-evaluation of my performance, I would give myself high scores because I know that I tried my best to bring the best out of my learners (Meyer, 2015). There are many reasons why I feel that I must be happy with what I did.

The first reason why I feel content is that I chose to use a good teaching strategy that suits my learners. During the entire session, I never considered myself as the sole custodian of knowledge. Instead, I assumed the role of a guide whose main role was to support the learners, direct, and monitor the teaching and learning process right from the beginning up to the very end (Valiee, Moridi, Khaledi & Garibi, 2016). Because of this understanding, I decided to use the learner-centered approach that considers the students as the central focus of the teaching and learning process. According to this approach, it is the learner who should be considered as the main focal point of the teaching and learning process (Arends & Castle, 2015). A teacher who uses the learner-centered approach does not dominate the teaching and learning process, but gives the students a chance to actively participate. That is why I had to give lectures, but keep on incorporating the learners’ contributions by allowing them to ask questions, answer questions, give examples, and engage in discussions whenever necessary.

Assessing Learners

The other reason why I was impressed with my performance is that I made right choice of the teaching strategies and theories of learning hat suit the nature of the learners as well as the topic I was handling.  My choice of the constructivist theory of learning was a good idea because it enabled me to have a relevant theoretical framework to base my lesson. I was delighted because I chose the right theory that suits all my learners because unlike others, constructivism teaches how individuals learn to apply the lessons that they acquire from their immediate environment (Killen, 2015). By effectively applying the principles of this theory, I managed to grab the attention of my learners, teach well, and leave a positive mark on their lives. I had a feeling of content because the learners would apply the lessons acquired during my session to provide professional support to the post-operative patients in need of epidural infusion management support. The use of this theory made me had a feeling that I was doing a good a good job to my learners.

Just like any other activity, my teaching lesson had both its strong and weak areas that would be noticed by anyone who would be keen enough to study and observe how I executed it. However, since I was personally involved in the teaching process, I would like to boldly express that I did a good job.  I am saying that because my strengths outweigh the weaknesses.

The first success that I achieved in my lesson is that it was based on objectives. Since I knew that my learners would use my lesson to improve their clinical knowledge, I started my lesson by coming up with a few, but focused objectives that would enable me to teach well because I had no choice rather than achieving all of them. Therefore, to achieve this, I had to rely on Bloom’s Taxonomy to formulate some of the best objectives that, in my opinion, would serve the interests of my learners well. The other strength is that I used appropriate teaching strategies for my learners. The use of learner-centered approach was a bright idea because it gave my learners an ample opportunity to be active, not partial participants during the entire session (Valiee, Moridi, Khaledi & Garibi, 2016). It was a good idea to focus on the learners because, as the recipients of the teaching and learning process, they should always be prioritized and given time to be active participants in the lesson. Otherwise, my lesson would not have been as effective as it was.  

Teaching Strategies and Theories of Learning that Suit the Nature of the Learners

Moreover, I based my teaching on relevant theoretical frameworks. The use of the constructivist theory was desirable because it guided the teaching and learning process. Lastly, I must be commended for taking time to assess my learners. In my capacity as an instructor, I know that assessment is the climax of the teaching and learning process because there is a common say that a teacher who does not ask questions does not teach. So, I had to prove that I am a good teacher by teaching and administering an assessment during the entire lesson (Killen, 2015).  

Nevertheless, the most outstanding weakness that hindered me from accomplishing my teaching objectives is that I never made a proper plan on how to use my communication skills during the session. As an instructor, my main task is to communicate. If I use an effective communication skill, I can manage to grab the attention of the learners and create for them a favorable environment that accommodates all of them. However, from my own assessment, I would like to say that I never came out as an effective communicator. I came to a conclusion that I did a disservice to my learners by improperly using language. Meaning, I used so many jargons and vocabularies that might have made learning not to go on smoothly as anticipated (Sigel, 2014). At the same time, I was a bit faster especially towards the end of the lesson when I was running short of time. This was not proper because it deprived me of an opportunity to bring the best out of my learners. Besides, I did not actively-involve the learners in the teaching and learning process. Although he process was learner-centered, I must agree that I still tended to dominate it. The use of lecture method did not create enough room for the learners to be as active as anticipated. It only allowed me to ask a few questions because all my learners know that lecture sessions should not be interrupted by many questions.

The feedback I got from my peers was encouraging because they were objective in their analysis. The first thing that was noticed by my peers is the way in which I was focused in my lesson. The use of Bloom Taxonomy to formulate my objectives was commended because it was a wise idea that resonates well with my learners and portrayed me as someone who was aware of the whole task ahead of me.  The other thing that my peers observed is that I based my teaching on relevant theory. They were also happy about it (Meyer, 2015). Finally, my peers were happy about the way I used the learner-centered teaching approach. Although I used a lecture, it was still better because the whole session was not dominated by me alone because, at some point, the learners had to chip in. 

Teaching Strengths

From this reflection, therefore, I learnt that teaching is a process that requires a lot of planning, organization, focus, and commitments. It is not an incident because the entire teaching session, regardless of its shortness, requires the instructor to discharge a number of activities. Besides, I learnt that a lesson should be objective. Meaning, it should be based on smart-specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound goals (Sigel, 2014). That is why the choice of the objectives was based on the Bloom’s Taxonomy because if properly used, it can help in formulating smart objectives for the lesson. The other lesson that I learnt is that the teaching process should incorporate an element of evaluation because it plays a significant role in determining the extent to which the objectives are achieved.

Nevertheless, if given another opportunity to re-teach the same lesson, I would make a number of improvements that would make my lesson to be as effective as possible. The first change I would m make is to ensure that I actively-involve my learners in the teaching and learning process. I would ensure that the entire process is learner-centered. Meaning, I would not have become a dominant figure, but assume the role of a guide (Arends & Castle, 2015). Secondly, I would improve my communication skills and ensure that I become an effective communicator. I would achieve that by refining my speaking skills as well as polishing my language to ensure that it is jargon-free and simple for an easier understanding by my learners. Lastly, I would improve on the use a different theory of learning. I think the behavioral theory of learning can be more effective in the teaching of clinical students because it would make them to easily understand the lesson and get to learn something from it.

References

Arends, R., & Castle, S. (2015). Learning to teach. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Bradshaw, M., & Hultquist, B. L. (2016). Innovative teaching strategies in nursing and related health professions. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Killen, R. (2015). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice. Cengage Learning Australia.

McLeskey, J. L., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2017). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. Pearson.

Meyer, O. (2015). Towards quality CLIL: successful planning and teaching strategies. PULSO. Revista de Educación, (33), 11-29.

Meyer, O. (2015). Towards quality CLIL: successful planning and teaching strategies. PULSO. Revista de Educación, (33), 11-29.

Ornstein, A. C., & Lasley, T. J. (2014). Strategies for effective teaching. New York: Harper & Row.

Schmeck, R. R. (Ed.). (2013). Learning strategies and learning styles. Springer Science & Business Media.

Sigel, I. E. (2014). Reflections on the belief-behavior connection: Lessons learned from a research program on parental belief systems and teaching strategies. In Thinking about the family (pp. 53-84). Psychology Press.

Stronge, J. H. (2018). Qualities of effective teachers. ASCD.

Tanner, K. D. (2013). Structure matters: twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student engagement and cultivate classroom equity. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(3), 322- 331.

Temple, C. A., Ogle, D., Crawford, A., & Freppon, P. A. (2018). All children read: Teaching for literacy in today’s diverse classrooms. Pearson.

Valiee, S., Moridi, G., Khaledi, S., & Garibi, F. (2016). Nursing students’ perspectives on clinical instructors’ effective teaching strategies: A descriptive study. Nurse education in practice, 16(1), 258-262.