Understanding basic educational principles

Published on 07/06/2015 by admin

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2 Understanding basic educational principles

A teacher is a professional not a technician. An understanding of some basic principles about learning can inform the teacher or trainer in their day-to-day practice as a teacher or trainer.

Be fair to your students

A professional teacher, as we have discussed in the previous chapter, does not operate using a cookbook approach, blindly following a set of rules or procedures. Good teaching, just like any other field of professional endeavour, is best delivered when there is an understanding of the underlying process. Educational researchers have devoted a lifetime to studying education and have described a variety of theories and factors that influence learning. The work in educational psychology described in educational textbooks is often more associated with the experimental laboratory than the reality of practice in the classroom. There are, however, some general principles about learning that can inform what we do as medical teachers.

A comprehensive study of educational theory is out of place in this book and in any case is unlikely to be of interest or relevance to the reader. We have distilled four key principles about effective learning to which teachers can relate in their day-to-day practice. If applied, these principles can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of learning for students or trainees. Most learners in the healthcare professions are capable learners and should have little difficulty in achieving the expected learning outcomes providing they are given some help from their teacher or supervisor.

We have used the acronym FAIR. Be FAIR to your students by providing:

• Feedback. Give feedback to students as they progress to mastery of the expected learning outcomes.

• Activity. Engage the student in active rather than passive learning.

• Individualisation. Relate the learning to the needs of the individual student.

• Relevance. Make the learning relevant to the students in terms of their career objectives.

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Fig 2.1 The FAIR principles for effective learning.

Feedback

Feedback is information communicated to the learner that is intended to modify his or her thinking or behaviour in order to improve learning. Feedback provided by the teacher to the student:

• Clarifies goals. It highlights what is expected of the learner.

• Reinforces good performance. It has a motivating effect on the learner and may reduce anxiety.

• Provides a basis for correcting mistakes. It enables learners to recognise their deficiencies and helps to guide them in their further study.

Knowledge of the extent to which the expected learning outcomes have been achieved will lead the student to more effective and efficient learning. It will provide for learners an insight into their performance that they might not otherwise have. Feedback is part of a two-way communication between a teacher or trainer and the learner. Feedback should be regarded as an essential teaching activity.

It has been demonstrated that academic achievement in classes where effective feedback is provided for students is considerably higher than in classes where this is not so. As Hattie and Timperley (2007) reported, the most powerful single thing that teachers can do to enhance achievement of their students is to provide them with feedback.

Satisfaction studies carried out both with undergraduate students and postgraduate trainees have revealed that one of the commonest complaints students have is that they do not receive meaningful feedback. Too often feedback is omitted or, if provided, is not seen to be helpful.

How to give constructive feedback has been identified by teachers as one of the core competencies thought to be important in their work as a teacher. Much is known about how effective feedback can be provided. It is a skill that can be learned. Here we provide eight evidence-based practical guidelines:

1. Give an explanation. In providing feedback, give learners an explanation as to what they did or did not do to meet the expectations. Simply giving a grade or mark in an examination or indicating that learners are right or wrong is less likely to improve their performance. The aim is to help the learner reflect on their performance and to understand the gaps in their learning.

2. Ensure the feedback is specific. Provide learners with feedback about their performance against clearly defined learning outcomes. Informing learners how they compare to their peers or informing them in general terms that they lack competence in an area has little value.

3. Feedback should be non-evaluative. Feedback should be phrased in as non-evaluative language as possible. It is not helpful, for example, to inform learners that their performance was ‘totally inadequate’.

4. Feedback should be timely and frequent. Feedback is more effective when learners receive it immediately than when it is delayed and provided in a later class or session. We have found that providing students with a feedback session immediately following an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a useful and powerful learning experience.

5. Prepare adequately in advance. Ensure all the evidence is available with regard to the student’s performance before an attempt is made to provide them with feedback. The teacher should be in a position to provide feedback from first-hand experience with the student.

6. Feedback should help learners to plan their further study. Assist learners to plan their programme of further learning based on their understanding of where they are at present. This may involve giving them specific reading material or organising further practical or clinical experiences appropriate to their needs.

7. Help the learner to appreciate the value of feedback and how to interpret it. A small number of learners may find it difficult to accept and act on feedback provided. One strategy that can help is to ask the learner, before the actual content of the feedback is considered, to reflect orally or in writing on their attitude to being given the feedback.

8. Encourage learners to provide feedback to themselves. Feedback is usually thought of as something that is provided exclusively by teachers. Students should be encouraged to assess and monitor their own performance. Ask the learner what they think they have done well and where they think there are problems. Learners can be provided with tools to assist them to assess themselves. Following an OSCE, for example, students can be given a copy of their marked OSCE checklist, a video of their performance and a video demonstrating the expected performance at the OSCE station.

Activity

A second strategy that has been shown to enhance achievement is active engagement of the learner. Good teachers incorporate active learning into their teaching and learning programme. The principle of active learning is implicit in many of the changes that have taken place in the medical curriculum. These include student-centred approaches, the use of small group work and problem-based learning.

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