Core Knowledge of the Professional Standards Framework - Essay Example

Reflection on a teaching session in relation to the following aspects of the ‘core knowledge’ of the Professional Standards Framework: Name Subject Instructor Date Part 1 Essay 1 My reflective log is about a tutorial session I delivered on November 9, 2015 for Bachelor of Science in Nursing students. The lecture was on Service delivery functions in health units, and Subsystems of Health Information System, within the module of Health Management Information Systems (HMIS).The objective of the module was to identity the use of HMIS to provide curative and prenatal care services and to organize out-patient referral clinics and in-patient services (Toromanovic et al 2010; Lavin et al 2015). Before starting the tutorial session, I contemplated on how I could effectively plan and deliver an effective teaching session for the students (A1 & A2). A major area of concern was effective engagement of the culturally diverse students. The classroom I was assigned to was significantly diverse in terms of gender, cultural, ethnic, and racial background. During an initial meeting with the module leader of the course, he had elaborated that the faculty seeks to ensure that nursing students acquire profound technology capability in HMIS, given that effective management is a precondition for increased efficiency of health services. He also asserted that a majority of students who had selected nursing did not actually enjoy the Information Technology areas like HMIS. Therefore, I felt I had an enormous task of ensuring that the diverse students are highly engaged throughout the teaching session. I came up with a brief lesson plan that integrated four activities. The first entailed a10-minute introduction of the concept of management information systems; a 15-minute explanatory session of the applications of HMIS in modern healthcare and the extent to which HMIS has changed since the coming of the information age; a 25-minute group exercise requiring the students to discuss about how they think health information systems can be harnessed to support decision-making in different kinds of organisation; a 10-minute session to make clarifications on the relevance of HMIS to modern-day nursing, and to summarise on the key points. I expected the lesion plan to engage the students and to harness their unlimited interests, lest they found HMIS out of their scope of interest. The tutorial session was fairly successful as the students were interested in HMIS at the end of the lesson. However, I learnt that some non-native students were reluctant to participate in the discussions and hesitated to talk when selected to lead in the discussion. They also appeared unenthused to find their interest in the subject. On reflection, I gather that a prior knowledge of Seven Principles of Good Practise in Undergraduate Education by (Chickering&Gamson 1987) would have enabled me to engage all students all through the session despite their backgrounds. The specific principles I anticipate include principles 2, which seeks to develop reciprocity and cooperation among student, and principle 7, which seeks to respect students’ diverse talents and ways of learning. Principle 2 would ensure collaboration and socialisation of the students, and realisation of participatory learning. Since my lecture class is large, I would divide the class into groups, where about 4 to 6 students would meet on a regular basis to undertake assignments that I set. Each group would be heterogeneous to ensure an acknowledgement of diversity. In principle 7, I would focus on the student’s diverse learning styles: I would ensure personalised system of learning for all students, as I acknowledge that the non-native students may have to contend with problems of interpretation and therefore learn at a slower own pace in English. As a result, I would record the lectures to be posted on YouTube, which students with slower capacity to grasp would refer to in case they missed something during the lecture. I would also assign them readings that use simpler English. The bottom line is: I would refrain from pushing students to learn in ways they feel are problematic to them. Therefore, planning the teaching session by merely generating a realistic plan was not adequate (Cassidy 2004; Cheung et al 2014). Putting my next plan into practice, therefore, calls for the use of the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), as it helps to understand how students in higher education learn as well as engages them. Part 2: Feedback on essays Student 1 managed to design and plan a short lesson plan, which outlined the learning activities for the students. The plan effectively enabled him to teach and provide support to the learners, as well as to develop an effective learning environment that supported and guided the students. However, Student 1 erred in the area of assessing and providing feedback to the learners, as the approach he designed did not incorporate the areas. It is therefore difficult for Student 1 to determine the validity or effectiveness of his practice, such as whether he attained his objective of engaging the students. The plan failed to take into consideration issues of student’s learning skills and cultural diversity. Student 2 demonstrated sufficient awareness, perception and considerable level of critical application of knowledge in the teaching approaches, such as the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) Core Knowledge (K1). He also demonstrated proper knowledge of the professional values needed for attaining significant impact on higher education teaching. His approach also provided a means for assessment of learning outcomes and providing feedback to the learners. For instance, use of a practical formative assessment activity for a group of twelve BSc level 6 students provided the student with a means to determine the validity or effectiveness of his practice. Student 2 also integrated aspects of professional ethics in his teaching, by drawing upon the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards of conduct, performance and ethics, which underscore the behaviours that professional workers should demonstrate. A major drawback was the integration of many approaches and standards, which proved to be cumbersome and took a lot of time, leading to risks of inability to explore the UKPSF approach exhaustively. Part 3 Essay 2 My reflective log is about a teaching session, where I successfully applied the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning (UKPSF). As part of a commitment to ensure effective learning outcomes, I decided to use UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning (UKPSF) to seek for criteria for teaching the students in a way they enables them to respect diversity, and participation in learning. My focus was therefore on two professional values outlined by UKPSF: V1- Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities, and V2 - Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners (UKPSF 2011). By using the UKPSF, I could notice that the document recommends adjustments to the teaching promotions criterion to allow teachers to engage evidence-based teaching practices that inform their teaching methods. The classroom was significantly diverse in terms of gender, cultural, ethnic, and racial background (Santora 2004). I noticed that some students of the same racial background were reluctant to participate in the class discussion during the HMIS lesson. This was, in my view, unhealthy for the learning, as it led to unequal participation in class. My initial reaction was to be sensitive and thoughtful. I was also apprehensive that the situation could be helped using evidence-based teaching methods, despite knowing that there are no universal solutions for response to gender, cultural and ethnic diversity in the classroom. I also noted that several school-based factors affect the learning outcomes of teaching the culturally diverse students. Some of them included a curriculum that is culturally diverse and the general student attitude towards diversity. However, of all the factors, I was convinced that the teacher-student relationship was the most critical. It was therefore up to me to ensure that the culturally diverse students realised their learning objectives. The two professional values outlined by the UKPSF, V1 and V2, proved to be useful. The V1 professional value recommends incorporating supportive learning techniques, activities, and approaches that respond to the learning needs of individual learners (Economics Network nd). To demonstrate commitment to this value, I developed flexible learning activities that all students could access. I also tailored my teaching to fit specific students, such as the non-native speakers. I learnt that the non-native speakers were generally lethargic about answering questions, reluctant to take part in discussion with the native speakers and usually later while handing in their assignments (Bernardo &Gaerlan 2001; Demirezen, M 2007). After identifying their task orientation, I structured the assignments to take them into consideration (Noesgaard&Orngreen 2015). For instance, before they could begin an assignment or answer questions in English, I noted that they needed time to prepare or ascertain the details (TeacherVision 2016). I allowed them time to prepare, recommended some online resources for them, provided them with advance organizers, allowed additional time for language support and even provided them with an enquiry service, where they could reach me via my email in case they needed support. This positively honoured their need for preparations, customs, or rituals (Glynn&Wiest 2012; Howles 2008). On the other hand, V2 is concerned with providing equal opportunity to all learners. The UKPSF framework recommends provision of alternative formats, induction activities, and outreach work. I found these suggestions useful. I adjusted the classroom procedures to make sure they are fair and equitable (Fry et al 2009; Waring & Evans 2014). For instance, since the non-native speakers needed additional time for language support, I reviewed the assignment scheduling to ensure they could submit their work later by some logical time. Still, I noted that the most effective strategy was building relationships with all students, especially those who felt alienated during class discussions (Saravia-Shore 2016; National Council of Teachers of English 2016). Holding out of class sessions to interact with the students on a one-on-one basis enabled me to develop an understanding of their lives and experiences (Lardner 2003; Bartley &Golek 2004). In turn, they also gained confidence to participate in the classroom. 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