Day 7

Today is our last day of teaching. We were tasked to implement the instructional design we have created in the workshop to a client. In our case, we had to implement a revised instructional design because we weren't able to meet the clients we were originally assigned to.

We were given a 15-20 minute time frame to carry out the activity. The rest of the session was allotted for the intern's own set of activities. We were able to achieve the goals intended for the session, but the implementation of the instructional design itself did not proceed as planned.

Today, I have witnessed the application of all those we learned from our previous sessions. One is understanding your learner. For example, one of our clients for the session was inattentive. We had to come up of a strategy in order to get his attention back to the task. Also, some of our clients were more comprehensive than the others. So our approach with providing instructions were slightly different from client to client.

The second is the difficulty to change behavior. In our group, our fault was providing positive feedback despite poor performance. In a way, it was provided to keep the client motivated and continue with the activity but it was not able to facilitate learning.

Lastly, I have learned the importance of flexibility to physical therapists. Carrying out a productive treatment session does not necessarily stem from implementing an instructional design word for word. Some may need a few adjustments, others may have to revise it completely.

This concludes the course. I hope to keep all that I have learned because I know that to become a better teacher is to become a good physical therapist.

Per Aspera Ad Astra

I learned 5 things in particular during this teaching activity and here’s how I stack them up:

Tenacious – we were all ready and excited to meet our clients and execute our ID but lo and behold they didn’t show up. It kind of ruined the momentum and for a moment I felt betrayed because we really prepared for our session. It made me realize that in the PT profession we will be exposed to countless challenges and unexpected obstacles and remaining tenacious even in overwhelming odds will put you in a much better position.

Passionate – if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, you aren’t going to want to follow through. For a moment in my life, I asked myself why on earth I took up PT in UPM (good thing I’m still alive) but then this activity was a hard smack in the face and made me realize why I’m here – it was the clients and my inner passion to teach.

Goal oriented – we had to revise our ID for more than 5 times to make our goals achievable and appropriate for our clients – from pedia clients to adolescents. I understood the importance of creating, pursuing and meeting goals and that you should have the right attitude and discipline to achieve them. During the activity, we did achieve our goals but we had to improvise because not all our clients were the same. They had different conditions, personalities and we had to make sure that how we handle is appropriate for them. Good thing though, they were receptive and enthusiastic in learning and doing our activities.

Patient – I don’t know how many times my patience was put to test in doing this activity but one great thing I’ve learned is that no matter how organized your timeline is this is highly unlikely to remain consistent. There will always be unexpected problems that would emerge, from patients not showing up to patients not being cooperative; be patient and understand in this profession the set-backs are not the end of the world. Our clients have cognitive problems and I didn’t realize that I was giving them the inappropriate feedback during one of our activities. It is important to note that proper feedback would instill proper learning to the clients. Being patient while teaching is also crucial, you have to understand that both parties have shortcomings and we must know how to manage these.

Personable – be yourself! Don’t treat patients like robots. Treat them as individuals and that they have their unique way of perceiving things. Making your clients engage in the activity also comes down to how you present yourself to them. As a future PT, adapting and being spontaneous (when needed) comes a long way.

I do not see this profession as a chore. I wouldn’t regret choosing PT as my first choice in UPCAT. I’ve come a long way and the real deal is getting clearer and closer.

In diem vivere.

"Hurrah!"

            We finally did it! After those endless instructional design, schedule and patient revisions, we can finally say “Hurrah!” Our group was originally assigned to teach a wellness activity for pediatric clients however due to uncontrollable circumstances we had the opportunity to teach adolescent clients instead.

            As always starting the session was quite difficult but I think we were able to get our learners’ attention easily. I, together with the team, did well in luring our learners’ back to the activity whenever they’d decide to wonder around. I too believe that our demonstrations and instructions were quite clear making our learners follow them easily. Our environment set-up and rehearsal prior to the activity also helped make the session quite smooth.

           

            But of course, we too had our weak spots. We weren’t quite cognizant to the fact that we were treating our learners as pediatric clients. We used words and reinforcements that are not very appropriate to our learners’ ages. We also were giving too much input to our clients since there were times when we all were talking which might have been confusing to our learners. As we were teaching I also felt like we gave too much positive reinforcements; some of which are inappropriate and unnecessary. I did however try to remind my groupmates that we shouldn’t be giving “Very good” remarks to our learners if they are not performing the activity correctly.

            I suggest that we could have had talked to our clients better and addressed them more appropriately, but overall I’d say we did good and we were able to achieve our goals.

            This was definitely a hands-on learning experience. I learned how to be patient, flexible and creative. I also learned how to recognize and correct some of our mistakes while we were teaching which I think is very important. I won’t be able to do things perfectly at all times but I’d say recognizing and learning from my mistakes and successes would help me grow as a person and be a better PT and teacher to my clients.

Success =/= perfect

Yesterday marks the highlight of my learning to teach journey. I taught a wellness class for adolescents together with a few of my classmates. And let me tell you, the struggle is real. 

The good thing was that we were able to achieve our objectives. The activities were simple enough and the set-up up was okay. I think we also succeeded in keeping them engaged with the activities even though it was difficult. 

The bad thing was the unwarranted positive reinforcement. Appropriate reinforcement is one of the keys to behavior management. It also would be worthy to note the appropriate level of communication with the clients. The group was under the impression that the developmental age dictates the level of communication when interacting with the clients. Needless to say, we were wrong. Also, correcting the form of the clients when doing an activity should be done. We want the clients to learn how to do it the right way for optimum gains. 

Overall, I think the activity was a success. Success however, is not synonymous to perfect. There is and always will be room for improvement. It may be more efficient if there is only one facilitator at a time. Bombarding the patients with cues simultaneously may confuse them so helping them focus on one person would be good.

At the end of the day, being able to teach and knowing that what I do could change the lives of my would-be patients keep me going. It fuels my passion and inspires me to strive for competence. 

3.31.2015

It’s true what they say about life’s best lessons occurring outside the classroom; our fieldwork at CTS-AA holds testament to this fact. Despite numerous client changes and delays, we were finally able to implement our instructional design, which involved an obstacle course to promote wellness. Although I have to admit, it tired me out more than it did our clients!

Handling persons with cognitive impairment is no easy feat. One must be conscientious of many factors, be it the client’s developmental age, communication abilities, personality, size, and safety concerns, among others. Given these factors, it was particularly challenging for us to get them to focus and accomplish the prepared tasks in our obstacle course. For instance, though some clients understood the general idea of the task and were able to do a return demonstration, others needed someone to guide them throughout the activity; otherwise they’d deem it boring and wander off to other more interesting corners of the clinic. 

It was also difficult to correct their forms and give appropriate feedback. As we went about the obstacle course, we noticed that our clients responded well to positive reinforcement, and so we decided to give a surplus of that throughout the session. It only occurred to me afterwards that we were giving inappropriate feedback—that is, positive reinforcement for a wrong behavior. In example, for the “piko” station of the obstacle course, one had to hop on one leg or jump with both feet at certain intervals. When client A jumped all throughout, we praised him for a job well done even if he didn’t follow the instructions to a tee. 

Nonetheless, I felt that we achieved our original objectives, and at the same time, enjoyed the session. Despite having communication difficulties, our clients were very receptive and enthusiastic about our activities. I must admit, I did have my apprehensions when I learned that they had some behavioral issues, but once I got to meet them, I found that there were multiple ways to get them to cooperate. In fact, they seemed quite happy to interact with a group of anxious teachers. 

At the end of the day, I learned that we can’t be too rigid in physical therapy. Each client is unique and learns at his or her own pace, thus, there are bound to be several hitches in the PT’s treatment plan. It all comes down to how well the PT adapts to these hurdles and gets the client moving in the right direction. But hey! That's what being a movement expert is all about, isn't it?

Not Quite the Teacher

Finally we come to the culmination of this course, the actual fieldwork in teaching. When we first found out that we were going to teach CAMP students, we were ecstatic. We did not really want to exert the extra effort and deal with clients from outside of CAMP. However as the joy was evident in the faces of our classmates who taught outside of CAMP, we saw that we were not the most fortunate ones. 

We prepared and revised and prepared and revised so much for this day and still, we opted to have only one of us actually teach. It matters not that we were putting our grades in the hands of one person or foregoing the chance to actually teach a room full of students. In the end, we chose this to maximize the learning of the students. It's really about their learning after all.

There really is not much I can say about the actual experience of teaching for I was not the one speaking in front. I can say that I would never have done a better job than what our groupmate did and I am glad that he was the one who got to experience the actual teaching. He was eloquent, engaging and interesting and I know that most of the students at least picked up something.

It was somehow weird to be on the other side, ensuring that your students learn and not being the one who learns but I could say it was enlightening. I know I will be able to use some of what I've learned in the future and I can only hope that others will truly learn from me.

Behind the Scenes, Day 5

A single lecture may last only for an hour and a half but preparing for one needs hours and hours of researching. Our group was tasked to teach the PT 3rd yrs. in a classroom setting and it was both a fun and nerve-wracking experience. For years now we have been exposed to different kinds of lectures by all kinds of professors. We are familiar with the pros and cons of giving one and so our group really had to think of interesting methods. It was a challenging experience but overall it was an eye-opener since we are finally placing ourselves in the shoes of our teachers. I was glad that I was part of the behind-the-scenes but I admit to actually wanting to experience the teaching part since I wanted to know how effecftive I could be as a teacher. Maybe I’ll get to experience it someday but for now I was proud to say that I did great as part of the information seekers. Looking for references and getting the right information for the lecture’s content is an integral part of teaching. We were able to do this part smoothly since we had a bit of guidance from our previous experiences although it took a really long time it was worth it. During the lecture itself, Kellie acted as the lecturer and was able to convey all the necessesary information we have gathered in 30 minutes. He had a but of a problem at the start due to nervouseness but we were all proud of him for doing a good job. I learned that one can never be prepared enough when teaching. There will always be something that you have missed but what’s important is to admit your limitation and just strive to do better next time. The only thing we can do is keep on improving through practice and experiences. I may still have a long way to go before I can be deemed as a an effective PT teacher but I guess nobody gets to where they are now without experiencing a few challenges along the way. All I can do is use what I have learned now and move forward. HERE’S TO THE FUTURE PTs!