Three Way Teaching

Another day, another interesting activity. As a part of our Teaching in Physical Therapy class, we had an activity last Thursday in which each one of us experienced being a teacher, a learner, and an observer in three different scenarios. The teacher was asked to teach a skill that the learner does not know yet, the observer was assigned to provide feedback about how the teaching and learning experience took place, and the learner, aside from acquiring the skill, was in charge to give comments on how the observer gave feedback.

In our group, I taught a classmate how to do trunk bending or bending the trunk in extension until one reaches the floor with his/her hands. Then, I observed him teach another classmate how to organize earphone cords to keep them from getting tangled. Lastly, I was taught how to do a dance step where one steps and jumps sideways, places his/her feet together while in the air, and then lands on the floor with both feet.

The activity focused more on giving feedback. Giving feedback is an essential part of the teaching and learning experience. It makes the teaching and learning experience more effective. It lets the teacher know which things he/she need to continue doing and which areas he/she need to improve on and gives the learner an idea if he/she is doing the right procedure or not. Feedback helps us enhance our performance. As future physical therapists, this would be useful to us when we teach our clients different activities as part of their treatment sessions.  This would determine the effectiveness of what we teach them.

In conclusion, feedback, whether positive or negative, plays an important role in our growth and success in life. It makes us become better in our chosen profession.