The third in a series of six short articles for delegates who have attended the Oxford Medical Training Teach the Teacher Course for Doctors.
Top Tip #3: Be versatile.
Great teachers use a variety of approaches to engage and stimulate learners.
In the 21st Century we are constantly bombarded with multiple stimuli. We don’t have to seek out our distractions. Even as you read this there are numerous things vying for your attention – some directly related to your professional life as a doctor and some personal. Great Teachers are well aware that their learners are facing the same challenges.
Think for a moment of the last time you found yourself distracted in a learning environment. Where did you choose to direct your attention and why? Would that be the same for everyone in the same circumstances, or are we all different?
During your teaching session one learner may be distracted inwardly to think about an interesting patient case which they have been dealing with. Another could be looking out the window at the pattern of clouds in the sky. Two more could be bonding through a bit of hushed chit-chat. Somebody could be doodling on their notepad, while someone else is lost reading the wording on a poster on the wall which has nothing to do with your session. Thankfully, there will be some who are listening intently to your voice. These learners are all different. What they all have in common, however, is that they are choosing where to direct their attention.
Many teachers fall into the trap of teaching only in the particular style that they personally like to learn. Great Teachers on the other hand recognise that we all have our individual preferences. At the same time they are aware that the learners’ collective attention is held best when simultaneously engaged on the intellectual, sensory and emotional levels. Such a breadth of stimulation also promotes improved memory, skill retention and behavioural change.
The utilisation of learning preferences is explored in Sections 2.11-2.14 of Teaching Skills for Doctors, the book which you received at your recent Teach the Teacher Course for Doctors. There are numerous models which you can use for guidance which can help you with ideas to bring greater variety to your teaching practice. They are useful frameworks for both planning and review, leading to more engaged learners, who are more likely to make progress.
For example, if you recognise that you are struggling to retain the attention of an individual or group then you could refer to Honey & Mumford’s work (pp25-26) and consider if an alternative approach may be the solution. If you are at the stage of considering how to deliver a teaching session it is worth referring to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, (pp26-27). Identifying which of the seven intelligences you already have in your plans and which you could incorporate will increase the variety for your learners. Variety after all is the spice of life.
We’ll write to you again within the next two weeks with our next Top Tip for Great Teaching Practice.
Stephen McGuire – Head of Development
