Tuesday, March 17, 2015

A PT Teaching and Learning Experience

       Yoga, video critiquing, and role-playing – these were the activities we had last March 16, 2015 for our PT 138 sessions. We learned some of the basic forms of yoga. Our videos from Therapeutic Exercises 2 were re-watched and we took note of the way we taught our simulated clients then some of us shared their observations with the class. In the afternoon, several of us acted out a specific client condition and we observed how our group mates approached us for treatment.

       These activities helped us understand physical therapy teaching in two ways, both in the eyes of the learner and from the view of the therapist.  We saw how the mode of instruction in yoga and how not stirring up the feeling of competition makes a big difference in the performance of the learner. In video critiquing, we realized that the patient’s level of understanding and learner type is what we need to adapt to to make the instruction more effective.  During the role playing, we learned that paying attention to factors such as the behavior, culture, and the client’s condition presentation to name a few are critical to identifying how to structure our manner of teaching.


       After experiencing this, I understand now how teaching strategies impact the effectiveness of instructions. In future encounters with patients, to name a few, I now know that we have to consider the proper mode of communication for them, for instance in patients with communication barriers due to cognitive impairments. There is also a need to structure instructions in a way that is concise for the patient not to be overwhelmed by the amount of it. We also have to be sure to never forget that the clients we interact with have different learning styles. 

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