Multiple perspectives

Three way teaching reminded me of one activity we had in Psychology. We were given one square to fill. The square was divided into four sections: one section for what we know about ourselves, another section on what others know about ourselves which coincide with what we know, the third section for what we know about ourselves which differ from what others know and the last would be what others know about ourselves which we don’t or are blind to. It may seem confusing at first but I think this must be the most encompassing reflection one can ever make.

            We were instructed to teach, give feedback and receive feedback from both our lesson and the feedback we’ve given. Therefore, reflection started multiple angles. There were a lot of common points among the perspectives; however, I think the little differences are those that matter the most. For example, person who gave me feedback and myself agreed on one thing: that I should’ve started demonstrating my activity correctly. However, she pointed out that I could’ve used a different teaching style to effectively convey the instructions; this, I failed to see. I’ve been also given feedback on how I gave feedback; it was mostly okay. The feedback from different perspectives can be integrated to create one extremely thorough performance review; the process is ingenious

            This activity also placed me in different positions: that of the teacher, the learner and the critic. It made me realize how one should act in his/her respective role. To elaborate: the critic must be sensitive so he/she will meet little resistance to his/her given objective criticism, the teacher must be able to adapt to the learner’s learning style, and the student must actively participate to induce permanent change.

            The lessons I’ve gained from this activity are quite practical given PT’s nature as a teaching profession. We may not start out as perfect but I believe that by analysing the situation from perspectives those outside your own will induce more effective learning and therefore, change.