Week 8 Experiential Learning

 http://docplayer.net/35573296-Experiential-learning-and-its-facilitation.html

I found a really interesting article about Experiential Learning.  If you have the time please check it out!  I think that I found it especially interesting because it is extremely relevant to my current practice.  I am the Clinical Liaison for Medical Radiography Technology students doing their level one clinical practicum in North Island hospitals.  The article that I read discussed not only different perspectives on what experiential learning means, but also some of the factors which facilitate or act as barriers to learning.  The article is based on nursing education but can be easily applied to medical radiography.   

Some of the ideas that really jumped out at me when I read the article were that experiential learning is more than just direct experience with a patient in the clinical setting during a practicum placement.  With experiential learning it is important to internalise the experience that you have lived and compare it with your existing experience or knowledge. Next, one should take the opportunity to reflect on the experience and give it personal meaning.  According to Dewey, at this point, if the opportunity arises to take even a brief period of quietness to focus on the experience, deep learning can then happen. 

*My brain suddenly made the connection back to our course text in chapter ten.  On page two hundred we read about brain function and respecting the needs of the brain.  One activity that the brain needs for optimising brain function is to take time in reflection.  How great that there are a multitude of benefits to taking time to reflect!

Once a month over the four months that my students are in clinical practicum I have an assignment where students are required to write a short reflection paper based on their practice.  I recommend reading the reflection question well in advance of the due date to allow for the information to percolate in their mind before they decide which experience to choose to write about.  I have spoken to my students about how reflection allows for the opportunity to develop one's self, make discoveries about how to improve professional practice for future and improve one’s confidence. 

I am so excited to read my student’s first reflection next week and take the opportunity to discuss their reflection with them in the hopes of facilitating that overlap of reflection and experience.

I especially love the idea that my students can not only improve themselves but then can also help others to learn as well.  When this clinical practicum student group returns to the college next term I will be teaching them a preparation course for their second clinical term in a face to face learning context.  I am considering, with their approval of course, using their reflection papers from the previous term in a sharing format so that we can all learn from their joint experience together.

MRI sagittal brain scan image

Pretty isn't it!

Feed Your Brain

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5913/8-Ways-to-Feed-Your-Brain.html

So I found this article on the internet about ways to “feed” your brain to increase your intelligence.  The woman who wrote the above article, Zoe B, expressed that the average person does not use their brain to its full potential.  There were several tips given on how we can not only increase our brain capacity but cause it to change.  This process of brain change is also referred to in our text as neuroplasticity.

One thing that really stood out to me in Zoe’s article was her comment about how if you are not intelligent in one area that it is okay because you can change your brain with a little training.  I concluded on a thought similar to this in my Learning Theory Essay about stretching myself by using learning theories different from the one I love, not only for the benefit of my learners but also for my own benefit as well.  My brain made then made the link from this thought to the idea of allowing myself the opportunity to train my brain in those areas of intelligence where I feel that I am less dominant as well, instead of just sticking to my strengths.  I think that our students also need to see the value in stretching ourselves and being a bit vulnerable, perhaps try learning in a new way not only to change brain structure or create new neural pathways, but hey you might just find a more effective way of learning for your brain.

 The second thing that stood out to me in Zoe’s article was the importance of a healthy diet in order to effectively “feed” our brain.  I took a moment and did a search on foods that are beneficial for brain health.  Check out this link!  

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/brain-foods/slide/1

There is a list of 21 ways to feed your brain from berries to beets to dark chocolate.    I like all of those things, plus I love avocados, which was also on the list.  I was super excited to learn that this fruit is high in vitamin E which is imperative for shielding your brain from Alzheimer’s disease!  

On that note, I think I will go and feed my brain.

Motivation

I saw this on facebook this morning.  It spoke to me and so then I posted the quote onto D2L for my students to see.  Next week will be my first opportunity to meet my clinical practicum students face to face.  I am going on a road trip overnight and making stops at the three hospitals on the North of Vancouver Island where I have x-ray students doing their level one clinical practicums.  They have four months of theory under their belts and this is the first time they will have the opportunity to practice on real people.  It is stressful for them especially at the beginning.  I thought that this might be a good conversation piece.  I feel that it is important that everyone feels smart.  I spent a good part of my learning not feeling good enough or feeling like I didn’t measure up to some standard of smartness.  Everybody excels at something.  One of my goals in motivating students is to encourage them to discover the genius that lies inside of them. 

Call with Partner

I had a good phone conversation with my learning partner today.  Nice chatting with you James!  Both of us are new to teaching, juggling family commitments and work and yet eager to learn how to improve our effectiveness as teachers.  For me our conversation was heartening because it made me realise that there is someone else in the same boat as I am.
Both of us teach in areas of study where theory is often followed by a demonstration or practical application of skills that have been acquired.  We have learned that this is important for adult learners.  We then talked about ways we could give our students control of their learning so that they can be more self-directed.  An idea of giving guided questions for a written reflection type of exercise came up in our conversation.  We thought that this might be a way for students to study their experience and then set goals for improvement.  I have used this for students in their clinical practicum not only to increase their confidence for future practice but also as a means for feedback for myself.  James thought he might like to incorporate this idea into his course as well.  Both of us agreed on the importance of communication and want to refine what we do in order to grab the attention of all different types of learners in our classrooms.

The benefits of therapy dogs for Students

My daughter and I deliver the local Victoria News free newspaper together twice a week.   I was reading an article about the benefits of pet relationships in health related settings in the Wednesday, December 28 edition of this paper.  The article went on to say that interactions with dogs lowers stress, the focus is on the dog and if you have a focus the symptoms reduce.  Dog therapy is calming and lowers anxiety levels so much.

The benefits of volunteer therapy dogs have also been recognized with university students and for children at elementary schools.

Twice a year before exam time, UVIC student volunteers organize an event to help students get through one of the most stressful parts of the year.  Along with a variety of other free activities pet therapy dogs are brought on campus to help ease student anxiety.  Basically the event involves sitting on the floor, petting and playing with friendly dogs and talking with their owners.

At my daughters school the school counselor has a rescue dog named Jimmy who accompanies her on class visits and is available for kids to spend time with in her office.

I have tried this strategy before in my classroom and I love it!  One year when I was teaching first year students a Patient Care course I brought my five year old Havanese dog Coco in for a visit a couple of days prior to final exams.  He is not a certified pet therapy dog but he is super friendly, loves people and wagged and licked his way around the room.  He spent the 50 minute block with us in class and both he and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  These students now have nine months left before graduation and this term whilst doing a liaison position for the college where I work, I visited them at their clinical practicum sites.  These students expressed once again how much they loved being able to spend time with Coco.  I would most definitely do this again for students as I think that it is a great way to ease stress and anxiety levels.

Whether you are a dog love or not I believe that dogs make us healthier and can help to create a positive learning environment in classrooms.

https://www.dal.ca/news/2012/12/05/dal-goes-to-the-dogs.html

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/bark-break

http://www.uvic.ca/alumni/home/home/news/archive/de-stress-fest.php

Characteristics of Adult Learners

     There are many different ideas around how adults learn.  This blog post discusses some of the main characteristics of adult learners and then compares these with how children learn.  This information is based mainly on information taken from the course text and from the attached article.  The information in the article and the text are pretty much in line with one another.  At the end, I have summarized a few ideas of how I design my classroom instruction to suit the needs of adult learners in my classroom.                                  

     To begin, it seems like adults often like to be more in control of their learning.  Adults who are responsible for their lives and decision making, tend to be more self directed and less dependent than children who are learning.  Often times because adults are juggling many roles, the more flexible a program is the more opportunity there will be for an adult learner to be successful. 

     Also, adults often draw on life experience when learning and frequently life’s experiences or an adult’s stage in life will create a need to learn.  In the text, Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice, it states that for adults, their experience is who they are whereas for children experience is something that is happening to them. (p. 50) For children who they are is derived mainly from things that are external to them such as family or where they grow up.  

     Generally, adults choose to learn to either improve their situation or for professional or personal growth.  As a result, there is often a desire for immediate application of knowledge learned.   Children on the other hand spend a majority of their time learning in preparation for future tasks and responsibilities.

     Finally, because there is a tendency for adults to draw on prior knowledge and experience when in a learning situation this may cause some adults to be less open minded and more resistant to change or new ways of doing things.  As opposed to ignoring a participant’s life experience it should be used as a rich resource and should be drawn on in the adult learning environment. 

I think that there are many ways that classroom instruction can be designed to suit adult learners.       I feel that it is important to create a community in the classroom from day one.  Students should feel a sense of belonging and they should feel comfortable and safe; there should be a trust relationship between students and instructor.  Icebreaker activities are a great way to have students and instructor interacting from day one.  In this kind of environment everyone can contribute to planning course content together.  Classroom activities involving role playing or discussion groups (think, pair, share) allow learners to draw from their experience when learning and work together to problem solve.  Also, discussing theory and then following this immediately with an application either in lab or the classroom helps to solidify the material and show the why for what is being covered.   

 https://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-of-adult-learners