Evidence-Based Reflection on a Teaching Activity
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Evidence-Based Reflection on a Teaching Activity
The report is a reflection of my teaching activity. It falls into two primary sections – reflection on the planning phase and on the implementation phase. The reflection offers key insight into my experience during teaching exercise, while paying considerable attention to my teaching philosophy, design, and learning outcomes. It gives valuable information regarding the teaching materials I incorporate to aid the practice, as well as offers adequate awareness regarding how I refer to external sources to enhance how I use teaching aids. The report elaborates on the delivery of my teaching activity and describes how I gave and received feedback. Furthermore, it shows how I created my personal educational plan. The reflection gives a comprehensive overview of the impact of the entire teaching experience, especially on me as the teacher but also on learners.
Phase One: The Planning Phase
Task 1 – Teaching Philosophy, Teaching Design and Learning Outcomes
Teaching Philosophy
I adhere to teaching philosophies that guide how I teach, and they play fundamental roles in explaining why I conduct myself the way I do in certain instances. I adhere to the philosophies of charity and capitalism that are key philosophies guiding teaching practices in Qatar. I believe that through teaching, learners know the significance of practicing charity as medical practitioners. Charity in this instance refers to acting in a way aimed at helping the less fortunate people (Awang et al., 2017). Besides, being charitable myself makes me value my teaching practice because I view it as offering services that benefit others. In being charitable, I follow the teaching of the Quran which informs that “Allah uplifts to high positions those from midst you who are truthful and those who have gained knowledge.” (Quran, 58:11). Thus, charity according to Muslim and to my teaching philosophy does not only entail giving aid in terms of food and money but also helping others become knowledgeable.
In addition to abiding by the philosophy of charity that is critical in defining how teachers conduct themselves in Qatar, I follow the concept of capitalism with the belief that the information I pass to learners will help them to be more competitive and be able to fit in the current workplace where free enterprise and profit-making are becoming critical aspects. I seek to transform learners into individuals who can venture into private practice where they run their own health firms without much constraint on how to deal with certain aspects, especially with regard to use of ultrasound where I have great mastery. Besides, adhering to capitalism helps me to offer information that would help learners fit appropriately in the present and future labor market that present significant challenges. Sticking to the philosophy will help to ensure that Qatar gets the needed workforce. Marx asserts that time is essential, and mankind is no more important – or, if anything, then it is a demonstration of time. Quality is no longer an issue and instead it is only quantity that matters every hour and day (Neray & Rikowski, 2000). Hence, by helping learners use their time well as expanding their knowledge, I am confident that the complete working hours will be spent in the medical field and this will give surety of expanding the nation’s capitalism.
Teaching Design
I rely in theories that I believe would make my teaching experience memorable and impactful on learners. One of these theories is the adult learning theory that requires instructors to consider certain key factors when relating with adult learners and when seeking to develop a conducive learning environment (Kara, 2018). The theory requires the instructor to help learners and encourage them to create their learning plans techniques, and to support them in achieving their plans. Moreover, the theory requires educators to engage adult learners in the evaluation process and to be on the forefront in identifying errors in the course content (Kara, 2018). Thus, creating a suitable learning environment and encouraging motivation are the most essential directives in adult learning theory. I choose this theory as a guiding framework because I mostly relate with adult learners and it reflects my educational philosophy because it enables me to prepare learners into competent professionals. I also follow constructivism and transformational theory that have significant impact on how I teach. As a constructivist I do not perceive myself as a regular teacher but rather as a facilitator, which makes it possible for me to engage my students in various aspects. On the other hand, I seek to equip learners with new information and skills as a transformational teacher than would help them become more effective and elaborate in whatever they do. I choose constructivism and transformational theory because they play fundamental roles in guiding how those in leading positions ought to perform their leadership roles as well as because of their paramount influence in the education sector. Both constructivism and transformational theory reflect my educational philosophy because they help to equip learners with valuable information concerning what they learn and what they intend to do after completing the course.
In other words, I value the directives of Jack Mezirow who was instrumental in the development of the transformative learning theory. According to Mezirow, learners had significant learning opportunities related to their past encounters. The theorist learned that critical review and reflection play fundamental roles in influencing learners’ understanding. I consider Mezirow’s ten phases of personal transformation to be vital in impacting learners that is why I use it as a framework for teaching. The first phase is to help learners overcome any dilemma that could hamper the learning process before engaging learners in self-examination (Christie et al., 2015). The third stage according to Mezirow’s law is to engage students in critical evaluation before proceeding to recognizing their shared encounters and experiences (Christie et al., 2015). The theory further urges instructors to explore potential options for new behaviors and to develop a suitable course of action to help adult learners acquire knowledge and try new roles more effectively (Christie et al., 2015). Mezirow’s law fits in my teaching philosophy because it offer guidelines that help me to be more charitable and enlightening on how to fit into the job market.
Learning Outcomes
Setting goals and objectives is essential when seeking to do anything because this provides an opportunity to strictly focus on attaining the set targets. One of the primary goals for the teaching practice was to equip learners with relevant skills and knowledge on how to use ultrasound. For example, I hope to equip learners with relevant skills and information regarding the differences in general ultrasound, small parts ultrasound, pediatric ultrasound, gynecology ultrasound, IVF ultrasound, and obstetric ultrasound among others. Moreover, I hoped to equip learners with the general guidelines of using ultrasound, including how to operate and manage ultrasound machines, making ultrasound requests, patient identification, communication during ultrasound process, infection control, ergonomics, and how to deal with sensitive examinations. I planned that learners would acquire the needed information by the time the training comes to an end. In addition to equipping learners with adequate skills on how to utilize ultrasound, I sought to instill confidence among learners and to encourage them that they can become what they want and achieve relevant skills and information that would help them to become more competent as health practitioners. I hoped to achieve this goal by the time the teaching process comes to an end. I believe that imparting them with the needed knowledge would help them to be more independent and be able to perform their duties effectively. The targeted goals and objectives are SMART because they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Thus, setting smart goals presents an opportunity to work towards achieving them in the most effective manner. Other than setting the goals, I have gained much insight from the exercise. I now know the importance of engaging learners in the teaching-learning process as well as the significance of creating a teaching that students can relate with rather than formulating practices that are difficult to follow or learners can hardly identify and understand. Overall, the process impact substantially on both the instructor and learners.
Task 2 – Reflection on the Development of the Teaching Material
I knew that emphasizing on particular learning styles would increase the likelihood for achieving the targeted goals and aspirations. I planned to utilize four primary learning styles that are likely to impact on learners positively. One of these approaches is the visual method, whereby learners retain information when it is relayed via graphic forms such as symbols, charts, and diagrams (Awla, 2014). The second learning style that I emphasize is auditory where learners listen to information that is relayed through verbal forms (Awla, 2014). The third learning technique that I use is reading and writing, which involves paying attention to the written word. Learners take notes and achieve impressive outcomes when they can reference written materials. The final learning style that I emphasize during the exercise is kinesthetic, which requires learners to take an active role during the process (Mehraj & Bhat, 2014). Deploying the learning styles effectively played fundamental roles in fostering the desired outcomes.
Choosing the appropriate materials to aid the learning process equipped me with valuable information and insight into what is needed to prepare a lesson in the most effective manner. I learned the need to select materials that adult learners can relate with rather than selecting what may not be relevant for the teaching and learning processes. Choosing the materials also showed me the importance of engaging such aids in the learning process rather than just instructing learning without incorporating such features. Overall, I learned that choosing appropriate materials increases the likelihood for achieving impressive outcomes.
I interacted with literature supporting the use of the material to improve how I use them in the process. For instance, seeking information from Kapur (2020) showed that using teaching materials increases students’ motivation and make them more attached to the learning process. In addition, using teaching materials is appropriate because it encourages critical and creative thinking (Okongo et al., 2015). However, the literature encourage instructors to identify suitable teaching materials that are not prone to criticism or could derail how both the instructor and learners perform in the various areas.
The learning through the course had significant impact on my method of developing the teaching material. I have learned that not all materials are necessary and only those that relate to the area of study are important in achieving the targeted aspirations. Besides, learning through the course impacted my method of selecting and developing teaching materials because it enabled me to gain skills on how to assess each material before including it in the teaching-learning practice. Consequently, I am now able to develop teaching materials without much constraint.
I have gained some skills and information that help me to act differently now that I am more informed and enlightened. I now conduct a critical analysis of all the materials needed for the learning process before making the decision to include the material in the teaching-learning process. In addition, I now engage learners in the selection of the teaching materials to ensure that what I pick is relevant and likely to impact on the learners positively. My acting differently play fundamental roles in ensuring that I achieve impressive outcomes in what I do.
Phase Two: Reflection on the Implementation
Task 3 – Reflection on the Delivery of your teaching
I am happy my teaching delivery turned out as I had planned and expected. The good experience gives me confidence that I can plan something and achieve impressive performance out of it. However, I consulted others on how to deal with challenges such as applying learning theories in class. I managed to record impressive results following the consultation. I also consider the information I acquired from the course to have played fundamental roles in helping me plan the delivery of the teaching. Gaining knowledge on how to plan a lesson as well as being conversant with the various learning styles helped me conduct the exercise competently. More importantly, I focused on delivering my teaching in accordance with my educational philosophy of being charitable and capitalist.
Task 4 – Reflection on Process of Giving and Receiving Feedback
Giving and receiving feedback are vital aspects of the teaching and learning processes and knowing this compelled me to pay considerable attention to this area. Whereas I was not conversant with effective ways of giving and receiving feedback I improved how I handle this area by using the situation, behavior, and impact (SBI) model that requires instructors to consider how learners’ situation and behavior impact on how they perceive and give feedback (Hardavella & Aamli-Gaagnat, 2017). I value the feedback because it impacted on my teaching approach, especially in the way I used what students say or think to adjust my teaching plan. Giving and receiving feedback competently show me that I am able to engage learners and incorporate their views in the teaching practice. I am confident that the method of giving and receiving feedback was appropriate because I know that various factors and circumstances could determine the giving and receiving of feedback, both on the teacher and learners’ side.
Task 5 – Development of the Personal Educational Plan
I hope to gain valuable educational skills upon completing the course. I plan to be more effective in the way I engage learners and motivate them to be part of the learning process. I need to be able to choose more relevant teaching materials and gain better skills on how to guide students where to get suitable sources for their research and personal studies. I plan to fulfil the needs by always interacting with other competent educators and acquiring relevant information from various sources. I know I will have to progress my education to higher levels to be more competent. Finally, I will know I have achieved my plan and aspirations if learners perform well in the classes that I teach.
Conclusion
The paper is a reflection of my teaching exercise. I adhere to teaching philosophies that I believe would impact how I practice. Specifically, I follow the concepts of charity and capitalism that are critical in determining how instructors conduct their operations in Qatar. Adhering to the philosophy of charity encourages me to pass relevant information to learners that they can use to improve their well-being. On the other hand, adhering to capitalism improves the chances of equipping learners with skills and concepts that would help them become prosperous entrepreneurs. Regarding the teaching theories that guide my practice, I followed constructivism and transformational theories that are integral in determining how those in leadership position ought to perform their duties. The report shows that I seek to achieve certain learning outcomes that are critical in determining how I perform in the various areas. Furthermore, the report illustrates how I pay considerable attention to the process of developing teaching materials. I ensured that I select the right materials that suit learners, and which are likely to facilitate the realization of the targeted aspirations. I rely on relevant literature to acquire suitable information on how to select the most appropriate teaching materials. I also pay considerable attention to how I delivered my teaching, gave and received feedback, and developed my personal educational plan.
References
Awang, S., Muhammad, F., Borhan, J., & Mohamad, M. (J2017). The concept of charity in Islam: An analysis on the verses of the Quran and Hadith. The Journal of Usuluddin, 45(1), 141-172. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318119253_The_Concept_of_Charity_in_Islam_An_Analysis_on_the_Verses_of_the_Quran_and_Hadith
Awla, H. (2014). Learning styles and their relation to teaching styles. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(3), 241-245. doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.23
Christie, M., Carey, M., Robertson, A., & Grainger, P. (2015). Putting transformative learning theory into practice. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55(1), 9-30. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1059138.pdf
Hardavella, G., & Aamli-Gaagnat, A. (2017). How to give and receive feedback effectively. Breathe, 13(4), 327-333. doi:10.1183/20734735.009917
Kapur, R. (2020). Teaching-learning materials: Significant in facilitating the teaching-learning processes. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345412998_Teaching-Learning_Materials_Significant_in_Facilitating_the_Teaching-Learning_Processes
Kara, M. (2018). A systematic literature review: Constructivism in multidisciplinary learning environments. International Journal of Academic Research in Education, 4(1-2), 19-26. doi:10.17985/ijare.520666
Mehraj, A., & Bhat, M. (2014). Understanding the learning styles and its influence on teaching/learning process. International Journal of Education and Psychological Research, 3(1), 14-21. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262727448_Understanding_the_Learning_Styles_and_its_Influence_on_TeachingLearning_Process
Neray, M., & Rikowski, G. (2000). The speed of life: The significance of Karl Marx’s concept of socially necessary labour-time. Conference: British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2000, ‘Making Time – Marking Time’ At: University of York. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318645575_The_Speed_of_Life_The_significance_of_Karl_Marx’s_concept_of_socially_necessary_labour-time
Okongo, R., Ngao, G., Rop, N., & Nyongesa, W. (2015). Effect of availability of teaching and learning resources on the implementation of inclusive education in pre-school centers in Nyamira North Sub-County, Nyamira County, Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(35), 132-141. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086389.pdf
Quran, 58:11