I am all three

A learner, a teacher, and a critic. I am all these things when I am teaching. Day 3 has passed and this is what I have learned.

Three way teaching is an excellent activity to quickly and efficiently teach people what it is like to be the person on the other side of the spectrum. The activity goes like this: person A teaches person B, person C gives feedback to person A. Person B gives feedback to person C. This repeats until all people in the group have taught and gave feedback.

Teaching a skill, even a simple one, presents some difficulties. First, you must know the skill level of your learner. Second, you must take into account the kind of learner the student is and prepare  accordingly. Third, you must gauge when to progress or when to wean off learning cues. And fourth, you must be flexible to accommodate any and all situations that may arise. It is advised to have back up plans for your back up plans.

Being a learner was the most fun. Teaching, the hardest. And being a critic, the most analytical. To be able to give good feedback, one must know the skill being taught. One must also present the criticism in a constructive and tactful manner. The goal is to help the person improve.

All the points listed above can be applied to being a physical therapist. PTs teach patients. PTs give feedback. PTs are learners in nature. We are in a perpetual state of learning. We learn from clients, from colleagues, and from ourselves.  There are a lot of aspects to the physical therapy profession and they are meant to be explored and utilized.