Sharing is Caring... :)

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Health professions teaching techniques are a different animal all together, so what might work for, let's say, the humanities, may not work in its original form for the health professions. I thought I would start this thread as a way for us to talk about our techniques that work, that don't, and why.

If you feel comfortable doing so, share the kind of class you are teaching and some of your victories or dismal failures with teaching techniques. We might get a few laughs in the process (especially dismal failures!).

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I'll go first! This is a combo what works which led me to realize what doesn't.

I teach the dreaded research class for a bachelor's degree program. For particularly difficult content days, I do a muddiest point at the end. The students give me slips of paper with the one thing they need clarified. As noted in a previous thread, I search for supplemental material to post on our LMS (which no one clicks through), but I also do a mini-review of the concept on the next class session to help clarify. That part works.

So, one day, I had a step-by-step search activity threaded throughout the lecture on search techniques that was intended for them to find the article they needed to appraise. After the first step, I realized that it might not go well, but I kept trucking...lecture, activity, lecture, activity that built on the first activity, and so on.

My muddiest point slips of paper that day were filled with "I have no idea what we did in class." I agreed. It was a dismal failure. The next class, I cleared up the search technique and then told them, "Your muddiest point from last class made it clear that the activities didn't work. I agree. It was awful, wasn't it! I won't be doing that again. It might not help you, but the next class will get a better presentation, so I'm sorry, and thank you. Let's move on..."