Day 7

Today is our last day of teaching. We were tasked to implement the instructional design we have created in the workshop to a client. In our case, we had to implement a revised instructional design because we weren't able to meet the clients we were originally assigned to.

We were given a 15-20 minute time frame to carry out the activity. The rest of the session was allotted for the intern's own set of activities. We were able to achieve the goals intended for the session, but the implementation of the instructional design itself did not proceed as planned.

Today, I have witnessed the application of all those we learned from our previous sessions. One is understanding your learner. For example, one of our clients for the session was inattentive. We had to come up of a strategy in order to get his attention back to the task. Also, some of our clients were more comprehensive than the others. So our approach with providing instructions were slightly different from client to client.

The second is the difficulty to change behavior. In our group, our fault was providing positive feedback despite poor performance. In a way, it was provided to keep the client motivated and continue with the activity but it was not able to facilitate learning.

Lastly, I have learned the importance of flexibility to physical therapists. Carrying out a productive treatment session does not necessarily stem from implementing an instructional design word for word. Some may need a few adjustments, others may have to revise it completely.

This concludes the course. I hope to keep all that I have learned because I know that to become a better teacher is to become a good physical therapist.

Per Aspera Ad Astra

I learned 5 things in particular during this teaching activity and here’s how I stack them up:

Tenacious – we were all ready and excited to meet our clients and execute our ID but lo and behold they didn’t show up. It kind of ruined the momentum and for a moment I felt betrayed because we really prepared for our session. It made me realize that in the PT profession we will be exposed to countless challenges and unexpected obstacles and remaining tenacious even in overwhelming odds will put you in a much better position.

Passionate – if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, you aren’t going to want to follow through. For a moment in my life, I asked myself why on earth I took up PT in UPM (good thing I’m still alive) but then this activity was a hard smack in the face and made me realize why I’m here – it was the clients and my inner passion to teach.

Goal oriented – we had to revise our ID for more than 5 times to make our goals achievable and appropriate for our clients – from pedia clients to adolescents. I understood the importance of creating, pursuing and meeting goals and that you should have the right attitude and discipline to achieve them. During the activity, we did achieve our goals but we had to improvise because not all our clients were the same. They had different conditions, personalities and we had to make sure that how we handle is appropriate for them. Good thing though, they were receptive and enthusiastic in learning and doing our activities.

Patient – I don’t know how many times my patience was put to test in doing this activity but one great thing I’ve learned is that no matter how organized your timeline is this is highly unlikely to remain consistent. There will always be unexpected problems that would emerge, from patients not showing up to patients not being cooperative; be patient and understand in this profession the set-backs are not the end of the world. Our clients have cognitive problems and I didn’t realize that I was giving them the inappropriate feedback during one of our activities. It is important to note that proper feedback would instill proper learning to the clients. Being patient while teaching is also crucial, you have to understand that both parties have shortcomings and we must know how to manage these.

Personable – be yourself! Don’t treat patients like robots. Treat them as individuals and that they have their unique way of perceiving things. Making your clients engage in the activity also comes down to how you present yourself to them. As a future PT, adapting and being spontaneous (when needed) comes a long way.

I do not see this profession as a chore. I wouldn’t regret choosing PT as my first choice in UPCAT. I’ve come a long way and the real deal is getting clearer and closer.

In diem vivere.

"Hurrah!"

            We finally did it! After those endless instructional design, schedule and patient revisions, we can finally say “Hurrah!” Our group was originally assigned to teach a wellness activity for pediatric clients however due to uncontrollable circumstances we had the opportunity to teach adolescent clients instead.

            As always starting the session was quite difficult but I think we were able to get our learners’ attention easily. I, together with the team, did well in luring our learners’ back to the activity whenever they’d decide to wonder around. I too believe that our demonstrations and instructions were quite clear making our learners follow them easily. Our environment set-up and rehearsal prior to the activity also helped make the session quite smooth.

           

            But of course, we too had our weak spots. We weren’t quite cognizant to the fact that we were treating our learners as pediatric clients. We used words and reinforcements that are not very appropriate to our learners’ ages. We also were giving too much input to our clients since there were times when we all were talking which might have been confusing to our learners. As we were teaching I also felt like we gave too much positive reinforcements; some of which are inappropriate and unnecessary. I did however try to remind my groupmates that we shouldn’t be giving “Very good” remarks to our learners if they are not performing the activity correctly.

            I suggest that we could have had talked to our clients better and addressed them more appropriately, but overall I’d say we did good and we were able to achieve our goals.

            This was definitely a hands-on learning experience. I learned how to be patient, flexible and creative. I also learned how to recognize and correct some of our mistakes while we were teaching which I think is very important. I won’t be able to do things perfectly at all times but I’d say recognizing and learning from my mistakes and successes would help me grow as a person and be a better PT and teacher to my clients.

Success =/= perfect

Yesterday marks the highlight of my learning to teach journey. I taught a wellness class for adolescents together with a few of my classmates. And let me tell you, the struggle is real. 

The good thing was that we were able to achieve our objectives. The activities were simple enough and the set-up up was okay. I think we also succeeded in keeping them engaged with the activities even though it was difficult. 

The bad thing was the unwarranted positive reinforcement. Appropriate reinforcement is one of the keys to behavior management. It also would be worthy to note the appropriate level of communication with the clients. The group was under the impression that the developmental age dictates the level of communication when interacting with the clients. Needless to say, we were wrong. Also, correcting the form of the clients when doing an activity should be done. We want the clients to learn how to do it the right way for optimum gains. 

Overall, I think the activity was a success. Success however, is not synonymous to perfect. There is and always will be room for improvement. It may be more efficient if there is only one facilitator at a time. Bombarding the patients with cues simultaneously may confuse them so helping them focus on one person would be good.

At the end of the day, being able to teach and knowing that what I do could change the lives of my would-be patients keep me going. It fuels my passion and inspires me to strive for competence. 

3.31.2015

It’s true what they say about life’s best lessons occurring outside the classroom; our fieldwork at CTS-AA holds testament to this fact. Despite numerous client changes and delays, we were finally able to implement our instructional design, which involved an obstacle course to promote wellness. Although I have to admit, it tired me out more than it did our clients!

Handling persons with cognitive impairment is no easy feat. One must be conscientious of many factors, be it the client’s developmental age, communication abilities, personality, size, and safety concerns, among others. Given these factors, it was particularly challenging for us to get them to focus and accomplish the prepared tasks in our obstacle course. For instance, though some clients understood the general idea of the task and were able to do a return demonstration, others needed someone to guide them throughout the activity; otherwise they’d deem it boring and wander off to other more interesting corners of the clinic. 

It was also difficult to correct their forms and give appropriate feedback. As we went about the obstacle course, we noticed that our clients responded well to positive reinforcement, and so we decided to give a surplus of that throughout the session. It only occurred to me afterwards that we were giving inappropriate feedback—that is, positive reinforcement for a wrong behavior. In example, for the “piko” station of the obstacle course, one had to hop on one leg or jump with both feet at certain intervals. When client A jumped all throughout, we praised him for a job well done even if he didn’t follow the instructions to a tee. 

Nonetheless, I felt that we achieved our original objectives, and at the same time, enjoyed the session. Despite having communication difficulties, our clients were very receptive and enthusiastic about our activities. I must admit, I did have my apprehensions when I learned that they had some behavioral issues, but once I got to meet them, I found that there were multiple ways to get them to cooperate. In fact, they seemed quite happy to interact with a group of anxious teachers. 

At the end of the day, I learned that we can’t be too rigid in physical therapy. Each client is unique and learns at his or her own pace, thus, there are bound to be several hitches in the PT’s treatment plan. It all comes down to how well the PT adapts to these hurdles and gets the client moving in the right direction. But hey! That's what being a movement expert is all about, isn't it?

Not Quite the Teacher

Finally we come to the culmination of this course, the actual fieldwork in teaching. When we first found out that we were going to teach CAMP students, we were ecstatic. We did not really want to exert the extra effort and deal with clients from outside of CAMP. However as the joy was evident in the faces of our classmates who taught outside of CAMP, we saw that we were not the most fortunate ones. 

We prepared and revised and prepared and revised so much for this day and still, we opted to have only one of us actually teach. It matters not that we were putting our grades in the hands of one person or foregoing the chance to actually teach a room full of students. In the end, we chose this to maximize the learning of the students. It's really about their learning after all.

There really is not much I can say about the actual experience of teaching for I was not the one speaking in front. I can say that I would never have done a better job than what our groupmate did and I am glad that he was the one who got to experience the actual teaching. He was eloquent, engaging and interesting and I know that most of the students at least picked up something.

It was somehow weird to be on the other side, ensuring that your students learn and not being the one who learns but I could say it was enlightening. I know I will be able to use some of what I've learned in the future and I can only hope that others will truly learn from me.

Behind the Scenes, Day 5

A single lecture may last only for an hour and a half but preparing for one needs hours and hours of researching. Our group was tasked to teach the PT 3rd yrs. in a classroom setting and it was both a fun and nerve-wracking experience. For years now we have been exposed to different kinds of lectures by all kinds of professors. We are familiar with the pros and cons of giving one and so our group really had to think of interesting methods. It was a challenging experience but overall it was an eye-opener since we are finally placing ourselves in the shoes of our teachers. I was glad that I was part of the behind-the-scenes but I admit to actually wanting to experience the teaching part since I wanted to know how effecftive I could be as a teacher. Maybe I’ll get to experience it someday but for now I was proud to say that I did great as part of the information seekers. Looking for references and getting the right information for the lecture’s content is an integral part of teaching. We were able to do this part smoothly since we had a bit of guidance from our previous experiences although it took a really long time it was worth it. During the lecture itself, Kellie acted as the lecturer and was able to convey all the necessesary information we have gathered in 30 minutes. He had a but of a problem at the start due to nervouseness but we were all proud of him for doing a good job. I learned that one can never be prepared enough when teaching. There will always be something that you have missed but what’s important is to admit your limitation and just strive to do better next time. The only thing we can do is keep on improving through practice and experiences. I may still have a long way to go before I can be deemed as a an effective PT teacher but I guess nobody gets to where they are now without experiencing a few challenges along the way. All I can do is use what I have learned now and move forward. HERE’S TO THE FUTURE PTs!

Pakikisama: A Reflection on Community Teaching to Children

The thing about children is your impression is just as important as what you will teach them. You look like a friendly teacher? Good, she can play with us. You look too serious? No, I don't think I like him. 

Blending is the key to facilitate rapport. Ika nga, matuto kang makisama sa mga bata.

People mistake children as simple-minded but they can be just as creative and manipulative as adults, or even more. This fact cannot be undermined when we did the fieldwork in San Mateo, Rizal. We were told to expect 5-20 children to attend the activity and so we adequately prepared audiovisual aids, tokens, handouts, games, ice breakers, a quiz bee, prizes and soap and tissue for the demonstration. We were to teach the proper way to wash hands. When we arrived, our worlds have been turned upside down. The clubhouse was blank and we had to wait for more than 30 minutes to get a glimpse of any small life form known as human children. And to add to our surprise, there were only four of them, even less than the minimum expected number. Our instructional design now had to be revised at the spot. Indeed, yes, our creativity was challenged. These four boys were witty and they were running around to the point that we had to make a bargain and lure them through prizes. Extinction wouldn't simply work because time was limited. When finally we took a hold of them, we did as much as we could to teach by being loyal to the ID but also by adding novelty along the way.

One of the best things our instructor pointed out was our flexibility in handling the situation. We omitted parts which we deem unnecessary, though it would have been fun if the participants were many. Likewise, we have prepared enormously. The prizes were overflowing, as well as the tokens or stars given to them (of course, this is because there were only four). Also, we were able to handle the kids much better because of their number. Can you imagine us chasing 20 children and get them to sit down to listen? We must have burned enough calories equivalent to a full meal in an eat-all-you-can buffet. However, we cannot undermine the fact that there were some negative things. The degree of adaptation was not near perfect since this was a first time experience (maybe not for each individual but for all of us as a group). The time was limited to build enough rapport. The children wanted to play patintero afterwards but we couldn't due to temporal constraints. One of the greatest mistakes we made was also the type of prizes given. It appeared that all the children did not want the cookies we bought--it was too sweet for them. One of them was allergic to chocolates. We gave ballpens and some of them don't work (though they were brand-new). If given the chance to repeat it, I would have asked the children what they wanted to do as a reward instead of trying to impose our own reward. Likewise, we should have checked the pens we bought if they worked correctly. Maybe we could have put colors in our visual displays. We could have been more organized by having four of us hold one child each and the last person would do the teaching activity, just so they wouldn't run around and create a ruckus. 

I gave our performance a 6-7/10 rating since I really thought we didn't do as good. I was surprised however when our mentor told us she would give it a 9/10. It made my heart swell. 

After we pick that paper

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled the moment I knew what that piece of paper with number 5 written on it meant. Not that I have something against CAMP students, but I guess I was just looking forward to teaching patients from either CTS or CBR. But I can’t do anything. I already picked that paper.

Then come ID workshop day. As I looked around, what I hear are fun strategies and activities. I looked at my paper.  And although I was already a bit excited about what will happen during the lecture, I still can’t help but be a little envious. But I can’t do anything. I already picked that paper.

Then come Wednesday. Fieldwork day for some. ID consolidation day for us. Well, collating our objectives and strategies wasn’t really a hard task since we all have similar ones. What came as a primary concern is how to conduct the lecture creatively and more engaging. If only we have a different audience. But we can’t do anything. We already picked that paper.

But soon we realized it’s not about getting what could be ideal for you.  But rather making ideal what has been given to you. And so we did what we could to search for substantial contents of the topic assigned. Then we divided the work. I was chosen to do the lecture.

Then come lecture day. We made sure the presentation slides were good. We took note of the things that needed further explanation, things that should be asked and things that will make them participate. It helped me a lot that I know most of the students. I was nervous at first, but when I saw the students participating, I felt more comfortable.

I felt relieved and satisfied with how the lecture went. Now, I am thankful for this experience. Suddenly teaching students seemed like something that I would want to do in the future. One important thing we realized is to make your students' prior knowledge more relevant. That we should always build up on what they already know and relate it to the things we want them to learn. 

More importantly, I realized that although sometimes you may not get what you expected, but at the very least, you can still do things to make it work. To make what you got worthwhile. That after all, we can still do something better after we pick that paper.

Finally!

                I was excited.  I have prepared all the things I need to teach my client: my objectives, my illustrations and the basketball skills I’ve honed overnight. I even practiced my teaching session with a classmate. I was really expecting to meet my client on that day.  But when expectations meet reality, a sudden turn out of events could occur. And I knew I was in trouble…

I just found out that my client would not be able to have the session with me because of personal reasons. I almost panicked when my professor assigned my classmate and me to a new client, an adolescent who has congenital anomaly and postural deviations. To make it even harder, she has behavioral and cognitive issues. I was afraid. I thought to myself that I would not be able to handle my client.  And that I wouldn’t be able to teach her a thing. I know I was not the first student who has encountered this problem so I have no right to complain, if ever I should be thankful. This will test how I am able to respond to this kind of situation when I become an intern.

We sought an advice to the intern who is assigned to her and he helped us know more about our patient. Because this is our first meeting, we had to make her feel at ease so that we can teach her.  And when we finally met her, I knew that there’s no more turning back.

I was able to adjust to my client’s condition. I was able to make her perform the skills she needs to learn and she accomplished the goals I have set for her. We even had time to play with her! I was even more thrilled when our professor said that our session has helped developed her social skills. I have never felt happier.

A physical therapist needs to be adaptable. My partner and I have depicted that quality when we were assigned to another patient. It sure was difficult at first, but we just let go our worries and enjoyed the time with our client. A physical therapist is firm and confident.  Yes, our client has the tendency to manipulate us and opposes us in any possible way but we have been firm in our way of handling her.  A physical therapist should show compassion and care to her/his clients. My partner and I have made our client feel comfortable when she’s with us.  

At the end our session, our professor provided us with a feedback that almost made my partner and I jumped for joy. The only improvement we needed to make was the shifting of activities with our client since she easily gets bored.

This activity just made me realize how I am looking forward to our internship year. The fear of encountering different kinds of patients has been changed with much anticipation. It’s not because I am ready rather, I just feel happy because I can finally practice my profession and tend to the needs of my clients in my own way.

Not born but made

As I have been a student for almost seventeen years already, I am used to the usual classroom setting wherein I have to sit for hours and do my best to listen to the lectures delivered by the teacher. This day was just like those days, only with some kind of twist. Instead of listening as a student, I listened as a co-teacher and an observer as the same time. 

Our group was assigned to a classroom teaching for the culmination activity of our PT138 class. Here we were required to teach the third year PT students the concepts and principles of therapeutic exercise. In all honesty, I was not thrilled upon knowing that this will be the task that we have to accomplish. I got a bit of jealous on my other batch mates’ assigned teaching activities.  I was really expecting something that was much more challenging, interesting, and exciting – something that would maybe require us to teach an exercise or any other kind of physical activity, for I thought that we would gain way more experiences and learn way more lessons this way. I deemed our task as “just another class reporting”. 

However, upon completing the task, I realized that it was not that bad after all. As I sat in my chair to listen to my group mate’s “lecture”, I could not help but be in awe of him because he was doing such a great job. He nailed it like he has been teaching for years already! Aside from the fact that he knows his audience very well (making him able to get their attention easily), I think his self-confidence and great efforts to REALLY prepare for this teaching session did the trick. I learned that as long as you know in yourself that you have done your best to be well-prepared for whatever it is that needs to be done, you have nothing to worry about. Just go out there and believe in yourself. If you commit a mistake then let it be. There’s always a room for second chances and improvements.

I have always thought that great teachers are born. This activity (and all of the other PT138 activities) proved that wrong. Effective teaching is not something that you learn in a blink of an eye but it sure is attainable. All you have to do is to start doing something about it NOW.

The Researchers

The last Teaching activity was indeed a day full of enormous emotions. After coming up with an Instructional Design, we coordinated with our supervisor to ask for tips and ask her to have a critique of our work. We, as a group, open-mindedly considered the corrections of our supervisor from our instructional design to the PowerPoint presentation to the handouts. 

The process was undeniably tough for us because we were like amateurs to this kind of set up. Yes, it is inevitable to somewhat teach other people "unconsciously" at times but the idea of preparing for something for some people was very intense. I was tremendously nervous and afraid that I might turn it into a disaster. But luckily, our hearts suddenly melted when our supervisor commended the activity that we prepared for the support staff of CAMP. We knew that it was not as smooth as what we wanted it to be but hearing praises from our supervisor for our collective effort was like being beyond cloud nine. It felt like we were really effective as teachers because not only that we saw the enthusiasm from our learners during the activity but also from the feedback of our supervisor.

Also, I was really glad that I have such wonderful group mates who were so dedicated to make the activity a successful one. I must say that team work was observed althroughout the preparation. And it was too overwhelming to ace this activity together as a group. We gave our very best and that was truly something that I will always be grateful for.

Lastly, as a PT student, that activity taught me the importance of knowing your audience (in that case, the learners). It is very important to take note of the details about your learners for these will guide you in presenting your ideas to them. Again, establishing rapport is also a key to further engage them with the activity. And, always show your learners that you love what you are doing and everything else will definitely follow. Easily. 

PS. The title is actually another story to tell. :)

Day 10 - Not an end, but a new beginning

They say that things do not always go as planned, but that doesn't mean you should eliminate planning in the equation and just act on spontaneity. Sometimes, things will go as planned – maybe just not exactly how we expected it to be. The thing is: it is always better to go to a battle prepared. Last Friday marked the end of this course, and what better way to end it than a culminating activity to apply all that we have learned in the past two weeks. On this day, we engage into a battle fingers crossed, hoping we are prepared enough to win.

We were ready. But the thing is, our participants weren’t.

We ran around CAMP trying to convince the kuyas to attend the teaching session. Some of them reasoned that they had to go home; others said they still have tasks to do. I won’t blame them. I know they have duties to fulfill and us interfering is beyond their schedule and control. We almost gave up. We almost started with only two participants at hand instead of the five originally planned. In the end, four of them attended the session.

The teaching session went better than I expected it to be. At first, the kuyas were uncertain about the session and I owe this to the fact that we were not able to establish rapport effectively. As pointed out by our mentor, we only introduced ourselves and did not let them introduce theirs because we already know their names. We missed the fact that it could have been better if we let them talk about what they actually do in CAMP instead of just assuming based on what has been told to us beforehand. Slowly, though, I saw them ease into it especially during the return demonstrations. It was exhilarating to see them very engaged and participative. Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that we utilized what they always use at work in our demonstrations. We were also commended for the flow of the teaching session, however, it would have been better had the set-up been improved.  Another thing we forgot to take into consideration was that most of the exercises we taught were mat exercises. Since they are at work most of the time, we could have taught them exercises that can be done while at work (while standing or sitting), those which would not require them to use mats anymore. This is probably one of the most important things pointed out because as physical therapists, we do not only want what is best for the client but also that of which is most practical for them. That way, they will be more faithful and engaged into the exercises. The importance of knowing what you are teaching was also reflected in this activity. To be able to give the correct feedback (especially during the exercises), you should know even the littlest detail of what you are teaching.

Overall, it was a very fulfilling experience. No reward could have been better than seeing them walk out the room with satisfaction and pride. I have appreciated the complexity and beauty of teaching especially in this profession. The experiences and lessons I have earned from the day one will be with me as I continue to become better. There are still a lot to learn, a couple of things I do feel the lack of confidence and skill to perform but this is what I hope to gain through more exposures like these in the future.

Lastly, I have realized that in a teaching profession, preparation is key. There will be times that a situation will call for a change of plans, but you will always go back to step one: planning – what to do next or how to proceed. You may need to revise but you must still have to have objectives and goals in mind for you to be able to carry out an activity with success. You have to prepare. Prepare for the best; prepare for the worst.