Teacher-and-learner

Teaching was demonstrated in a variety of ways today, March 16. There were three activities: video critiquing, yoga class and role playing. In the first, we were asked to watch our own teaching session and observe the following:  kind of approach used, learning strategy employed and resources utilized. In the second, yoga was taught to us as a group. We performed the poses as instructed by the teacher. In our last activity, groups strategized on how to teach PT interventions to different kinds of patients with respective health conditions.

I have learned in the activities that your approach of teaching varies depending on the learner’s level of understanding. A CAMP student, who is more familiar about technical terms compared to a non-CAMP student, may be taught using such language. Resources such as diagrams will aid in clearly instructing step-by-step procedures. Different kinds of cues such as tactile, visual, etc. may facilitate learning especially when clients have limited reception of cues. Also, progressing the lesson by gradually removing cues will help in memory retention.

In the last two activities, I was the learner. I have learned that it is important to experience acting as a learner in order to identify effective strategies in teaching.

Teaching is an integral part of administering physical therapy. Thus, these teaching activities will help me in the future when I become a PT professional in dealing with different kinds of patients with different kinds of needs and learning styles. In the near future, I should be sensitive to what my learners need by constantly evaluating. To become an effective PT someday, I should be both a teacher and a learner – a teacher who is flexible in administering strategies and a learner who understands the needs of my clients.