It's Not That Easy

I used to dream of being a teacher. More than being fun and fulfilling, it seemed easy. Or so I thought.

We started of this week with a workshop on making an instructional design. I was originally assigned to conduct an individual session with a pediatrics patient. However, I, along with others assigned to individual pediatrics patients, was re-assigned to teach low back pain prevention and joint protection techniques to the CAMP support staff with a group.

It seemed easy. But it proved to be as complicated as it sounded. The activity lasted us a whole day – the whole morning alone to make the objectives. Honestly, I was never one to look at the objectives of a lesson. I never understood its importance. I thought that, given a topic, we are expected to know everything that it encompasses. That was not until this activity happened. I realized that objectives are like stepping stones that help you cross the river to reach something – to reach your ultimate goal. It is something that guides both the teacher and the learner. To me, it is the hardest part to make in an instructional design because everything that will follow will be based on your objectives – the content, the strategies you will employ, your approach and your evaluation method. It directs everything. If you get them wrong, you get everything wrong.

It was tiring. I never knew planning what to teach could take up that much of someone’s time and energy, physically, mentally and emotionally. I never imagined that it takes this much to prepare for a single session of teaching. Thus, being able to complete an instructional design already feels like an accomplishment.

Planning and organizing are two of the most important things a teacher would need in order to carry out a successful teaching session. The PT, as a teacher, should then learn how to do these two things well. Having a goal is not enough. We can’t just act on impulse. We must have a plan.