“Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it”—Soren Kierkegaard
I wanted to reflect a little bit on my experiences so far in this teaching practicum which I have found to be quite valuable. Let me start out by saying that this has definitely been an interesting and very informative semester for me. The best part of this teaching practicum is gaining hands-on experience in working with students. There really is no better way to learn about something than to actually “get in there and do it”! I have gained experience and knowledge that I have already begun to put into practice, and am sure that I will continue to do so as an educator in the future.
I have enjoyed observing and learning various different teaching strategies while working closely with an instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) as part of my Teaching Practicum. The instructor that is precepting me to the experiences of an educator is the lead course instructor for the Critical Care Course at UTA. This course has been an excellent learning experience thus far, and it has truly been an eye-opening experience to participate in the learning process from the view point of an instructor. Throughout this semester I have worked with my preceptor and observed different teaching and communication strategies used with undergraduate nursing students in several settings including the classroom, private one-on-one sessions, and also in the clinical hospital setting. This practicum has also allowed me the opportunity to observe and participate in the several various roles that a university instructor holds.
Throughout this practicum I have been able to see first-hand the amount of preparation involved in every aspect of teaching. Adequate planning and preparation are not only necessary in creating lectures, but also in writing quiz and test questions, and in administering quizzes and exams. This was something that I learned on the very first day I attended class at UTA, as I assisted in proctoring the student’s first course exam.
This practicum has also taught me that it is one thing to learn as a student, and entirely another to learn as an educator. As an educator, you must not only be able to teach students and share your knowledge with them, you should also learn from your students and continuously strive toward improvement. I have noted that educators must not only be prepared to teach specific content, they should be flexible in their methods of explaining information. It is imperative for instructors to adapt to the needs and concerns of the students they are teaching, in order to effectively get the information across to them. Furthermore, educators should also be knowledgeable enough in the content they are teaching to answer any questions that may arise. Misinformation may not only be harmful to a nursing student in applying their knowledge on exams, it can be harmful to the student and possibly others if it causes a mistake during clinical practice.
Among the other roles that I have observed and participated in during my teaching practicum, I have also attended several different faculty meetings with my preceptor. It has been very interesting to see how the nursing department functions at the university, and how they work through the issues and changes they continually face as educators and nurses. Thus far my experiences in the Teaching Practicum have been progressing smoothly. I have enjoyed learning about teaching in the classroom, preparing lectures and quizzes, proctoring exams, preparing for clinicals, and attending faculty meetings. I have learned some valuable information throughout this experience that I will definitely be able to apply in my future role as an educator.
I hope that everyone is having as great an experience as I am. Take care.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
March 16th: Spring is in the Air
I know I’m a bit behind in posting my blogs, but I wanted to share the information with you anyway… forgive the delay in information sharing.
I’ve decided that if you live in North Texas, you really do have to appreciate the bluebonnets that line the city during this time of the year. I grew up in the southwest part of Texas, where we mostly see cactus roses and tumbleweeds, which believe it or not can be quite beautiful too. I remember singing songs about Texas bluebonnets in elementary school, but I don’t think I ever saw one until I came to this side of Texas : ) I must say they make the highways look so much nicer when you’re stuck in traffic! : )
I don’t know about you all, but long gone are the days when Spring Break is actually a break—at least a whole WEEK of a break anyway. During spring break I went on a mini 3 day vacation with my husband’s family where we all stayed in a cabin in a small town in New Mexico. It was a great trip, and I was able to enjoy the family and clear my head!
As usual, the week was really a blur, and I kept busy trying to visit with everyone “back home” and with trying to accomplish all of the school things that lingered on my “To Do” list. My week was definitely a balancing act of trying to spend time with family and friends, and trying to get some work done. Needless to say, something had to give and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the little bit of time I get to share with family, so I probably slept about as much as those undergrad college spring breakers who partied on some beach somewhere. I was quite proud of myself that despite everything that was going on, I still managed to make progress on my assignments. I worked on my written professional project which I had to defend soon after the break; I prepared for my upcoming teaching project (which by the way, I got butterflies just thinking about it); and I wrote up a quiz with questions related to my lecture on strokes and other neurological disorders. Believe it or not, I also found some time to party like those spring breakers (well a modified spring breaker I guess) and celebrate my birthday. Although I don’t enjoy the getting old part of birthdays, the getting presents part never seems to get old : )
That about sums up spring break for me… and now it’s back to reality. Hope everyone had a good week.
I’ve decided that if you live in North Texas, you really do have to appreciate the bluebonnets that line the city during this time of the year. I grew up in the southwest part of Texas, where we mostly see cactus roses and tumbleweeds, which believe it or not can be quite beautiful too. I remember singing songs about Texas bluebonnets in elementary school, but I don’t think I ever saw one until I came to this side of Texas : ) I must say they make the highways look so much nicer when you’re stuck in traffic! : )
I don’t know about you all, but long gone are the days when Spring Break is actually a break—at least a whole WEEK of a break anyway. During spring break I went on a mini 3 day vacation with my husband’s family where we all stayed in a cabin in a small town in New Mexico. It was a great trip, and I was able to enjoy the family and clear my head!
As usual, the week was really a blur, and I kept busy trying to visit with everyone “back home” and with trying to accomplish all of the school things that lingered on my “To Do” list. My week was definitely a balancing act of trying to spend time with family and friends, and trying to get some work done. Needless to say, something had to give and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the little bit of time I get to share with family, so I probably slept about as much as those undergrad college spring breakers who partied on some beach somewhere. I was quite proud of myself that despite everything that was going on, I still managed to make progress on my assignments. I worked on my written professional project which I had to defend soon after the break; I prepared for my upcoming teaching project (which by the way, I got butterflies just thinking about it); and I wrote up a quiz with questions related to my lecture on strokes and other neurological disorders. Believe it or not, I also found some time to party like those spring breakers (well a modified spring breaker I guess) and celebrate my birthday. Although I don’t enjoy the getting old part of birthdays, the getting presents part never seems to get old : )
That about sums up spring break for me… and now it’s back to reality. Hope everyone had a good week.
March 9th: The "ORGAN" Trail
Ok so I know my title is a bit corny, but you have to admit that it deserves at least a chuckle when you consider the topics of the day in the classroom: Content on the Liver and Organ Transplantation. :) it’s at list a little clever, right?! Ok maybe this online degree is getting to me and I’m spending too much time on the computer and talking to myself. Can’t wait for spring break! Anyhow…
In case I hadn’t mentioned it before, this class only meets once a week, so the class time is split up into two halves where the lectures cover two major topics. It’s nice in the sense that the students have a whole week to prepare for this class (and worry about their others), but it’s also tough in the sense that students have to sit through some extensive lectures on very complicated topics in just three hours. So as an educator you make the best of the situation and try to make lectures interesting and keep the students engaged.
On day three of my teaching practicum two main topics were covered during this three hour class period, and the first was the Liver. Not my favorite organ to talk about, but I must say it was good to sit through a review of all of this info. I forget that as students, people are trying to grasp a variety of concepts and tie lab results to specific organ functions, and things can get a bit confusing. For some reason, students want to associate BUN and creatinine with the liver and not the kidneys. If there was one thing that the instructor kept trying to instill, it was how ammonia levels and liver function are tied together and that BUN and creatinine belong to kidney function. I’m sure the students will appreciate her frequent references when their next test comes around!
The topic of organ transplantation always seems to spark some attention, and as always the ethical situations that we as nurses have encountered during these situations come to mind. Students were very interested in organ transplantation, and had very rigid views about why patients and family members would not consider organ donation. I suppose that it takes being involved in these situations and forming a connection with patients and their loved ones in “Real Live” situations, to get a complete understanding of what makes this such a difficult decision and process. Many students did however express an interest in working as nurses in this field in the future, which came as a surprise to me. It has been my experience that many people find this a very difficult and draining job because of the toll it takes on the donor’s family. It takes a special kind of person to be able to work with these situations day in and day out, but I imagine that the reward involved is indescribable. The idea that the loss of one person’s life can sustain life in another person is truly surreal, and the wonders of technology that make this happen are even more unbelievable to me.
Part of the reason that I got into nursing in the first place was because I love to help people. The fact that I am there to help people during the most critical times of their lives is a very rewarding thing to me and I feel that it defines me as a person. Sometimes there is nothing more that we can do for a person than to be there for them and support their decisions, but this may make more of an impact than we can even consider. And part of the reason that I chose to pursue a master’s degree in nursing education, is so that I can be a positive impact the lives of those people who will impact others during their greatest time of need.
This experience has taught me the importance of being a student and educator at the same time. Even though I will graduate as an educator, I feel that it is important to keep learning through the viewpoint of a student.
That's all for now... enjoy spring break everyone!
In case I hadn’t mentioned it before, this class only meets once a week, so the class time is split up into two halves where the lectures cover two major topics. It’s nice in the sense that the students have a whole week to prepare for this class (and worry about their others), but it’s also tough in the sense that students have to sit through some extensive lectures on very complicated topics in just three hours. So as an educator you make the best of the situation and try to make lectures interesting and keep the students engaged.
On day three of my teaching practicum two main topics were covered during this three hour class period, and the first was the Liver. Not my favorite organ to talk about, but I must say it was good to sit through a review of all of this info. I forget that as students, people are trying to grasp a variety of concepts and tie lab results to specific organ functions, and things can get a bit confusing. For some reason, students want to associate BUN and creatinine with the liver and not the kidneys. If there was one thing that the instructor kept trying to instill, it was how ammonia levels and liver function are tied together and that BUN and creatinine belong to kidney function. I’m sure the students will appreciate her frequent references when their next test comes around!
The topic of organ transplantation always seems to spark some attention, and as always the ethical situations that we as nurses have encountered during these situations come to mind. Students were very interested in organ transplantation, and had very rigid views about why patients and family members would not consider organ donation. I suppose that it takes being involved in these situations and forming a connection with patients and their loved ones in “Real Live” situations, to get a complete understanding of what makes this such a difficult decision and process. Many students did however express an interest in working as nurses in this field in the future, which came as a surprise to me. It has been my experience that many people find this a very difficult and draining job because of the toll it takes on the donor’s family. It takes a special kind of person to be able to work with these situations day in and day out, but I imagine that the reward involved is indescribable. The idea that the loss of one person’s life can sustain life in another person is truly surreal, and the wonders of technology that make this happen are even more unbelievable to me.
Part of the reason that I got into nursing in the first place was because I love to help people. The fact that I am there to help people during the most critical times of their lives is a very rewarding thing to me and I feel that it defines me as a person. Sometimes there is nothing more that we can do for a person than to be there for them and support their decisions, but this may make more of an impact than we can even consider. And part of the reason that I chose to pursue a master’s degree in nursing education, is so that I can be a positive impact the lives of those people who will impact others during their greatest time of need.
This experience has taught me the importance of being a student and educator at the same time. Even though I will graduate as an educator, I feel that it is important to keep learning through the viewpoint of a student.
That's all for now... enjoy spring break everyone!
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