Teaching You, Teaching Me

3/19/15 – Today’s activity is called 3 Way Teaching. We were divided into groups of three and had to teach each other a new skill. Person A was to teach Person B a new skill while Person C watches. Person C will then give feedback to Person A about her/his teaching. Finally, Person B will give feedback to Person C's feedback. The cycle goes on until each member of the group has learned a new skill. It was a bit confusing at first but in the end it was fun and we learned a lot.

Although we are used to giving feedback to our classmates during laboratory sessions, this activity was a little different because it allowed us to do so in a much smaller setting. This helped us observe more closely and be more focused about what our classmate was teaching and how he/she was teaching it. The immediate feedback from my classmate helped me learn about things I did right and of ways I could have improved my teaching. The activity also helped me learn about better ways of giving feedback. Hearing an outsider's perspective will always be a good way to gain different insights about one's own teaching style and technique. This activity utilized that.

This session, I learned plenty more about teaching and giving feedback by hearing insights from both my classmates and my teachers. As a future PT, it is important for me to know how to individualize treatment. This concept of individualizing also applies to teaching. There are plenty of techniques one can use for teaching and many ways one can go about it but the most important thing will always be knowing your learner first.