Thursday, February 13, 2014

Ten random (and great) tips from our OT community

You will see in previous posts that I have grouped many of our tips into themes...but this post will be about all the random little gems that have come from our very own OT community.  In no particular order, I present you:

Ten random responses to, 

What would your students say if I asked them what makes you a great educator?

I remind the student that my ease/knowledge (or whatever the student calls it) comes from years of practice. Time and practice are all that are needed to make a student into a clinician.

I wonder if it is simply that I love what I do and that I learn something new every day.  My take home message is that I hope students see that where there is passion/commitment and willingness to learn - you will become a better clinician.

I challenge students to consider what they want to get out of their fieldwork experience.

I remind myself that I can learn valuable things from my students; I have them take on the role of educator!

I encourage independence and debrief re: the experience; independence is the most significant facilitator to building confidence I have seen in my students.

I ask for feedback and questions! Students may say they don't have a question about a certain situation, but I often find they're just processing what's going on and may have questions later.

I focus on their strengths as I think if they feel confident in one area, it will help boost their confidence in areas that need work.

I try to remember that I’m not necessarily evaluating a student to do my job; I am evaluating their ability to demonstrate an OT skill set; I align expectations with the stage of learning they are at. 

My thoughts are that they are a person first and a student second.  I try to remember what it felt like to be a student.  Although it was a long time ago, some memories (good and bad) are pretty fresh.  It is not easy to be a student and encouragement is always welcome!  It is intimidating for me to take a student (maybe I shouldn’t admit that?!?) because I question my knowledge base.  So I also try to remember I have a lot to learn from a student too and it is positive experience. 
I feel very lucky to work in an area I love, and like my job sells itself in a lot of ways! But maybe having a student is a reminder to showcase the work I do as an OT and to celebrate it.

Lisa
Updated by Julie, 2024



2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here is a comment from Carolyn; one of our seasoned educators:

    I love this one: "My thoughts are that they are a person first and a student second. I try to remember what it felt like to be a student. Although it was a long time ago, some memories (good and bad) are pretty fresh. It is not easy to be a student and encouragement is always welcome! It is intimidating for me to take a student (maybe I shouldn’t admit that?!?) because I question my knowledge base."
    We are people first…as are they…very much wanting to do a good job, and very much questioning our ability to do so with self doubt--we're all a bit fragile, really...and if we can hold that up front, then relating well in our roles can be so much more effective. We are all vulnerable as humans…we all want to do a good job, and our worth can feel as if it is on the line when we encounter each other as supervisors/student…understanding that fear makes so much difference.

    ReplyDelete