PT 138 Teaching | 03.16.15

The start of PT 138 last Monday had been eventful. Our section had three activities: yoga, video critique and roleplay. It was very refreshing and the fact that we had activities instead of lectures increased my enthusiasm for this course.

In the yoga class, Ma’am Mia allowed us to experience what it was like for our clients whenever we teach them exercises. The yoga class had been successful, hugely because of Ma’am Mia’s teaching skills. She gave clear instructions, did not stutter nor lose confidence in front of the class, and exhibited kindness and professionalism for those of us who were first-timers. The next activity was a critique on our own ACBT videos. It seemed apt during that time that after experiencing a successful teaching-learning experience in our yoga class, we had to reflect on our own teaching experience. The last activity was a roleplay where we had to teach simulated patients who may have difficulty communicating.

The experience with a teacher such as Ma’am Mia made me ponder on the way I teach my ‘clients’ during simulated cases. It made me realize that having knowledge on what to say is very different from the delivery of that knowledge. It made me wonder, if I was the teacher during that yoga class and I was stuttering, fidgeting and losing confidence in front of the class, would it be half as successful as it was last Monday? I was able to reflect more deeply on those thoughts during the critique. Watching myself from a third-person point of view made it easier for me to spot my mistakes and the things I could still improve on.

After these, I realized in the last activity that being able to teach typical individuals is not enough in future PT practice. As a PT, I should be able to teach patients with communication barriers. Although the teaching per se was not as successful as I had hoped during our simulated case of teaching a visually impaired person, I was able to take home that experience and will bear it in mind during the rest of the course. After all, in future practice, our students will be our patients and to be a competent PT, I should be a competent teacher as well.