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Trust
Before Risk |
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| "If
you're going to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs."
While this may be true for omelets, it is not true when we "make" EMT's. If you truly desire to help form students into a good EMT's, you most definitely do not want any breakage going on! Many of the students we have in our courses are adults who may not have ever had a course even similar to the EMT course. In fact, many of them have not taken a test since they got their driver's license. As instructors, if we want them to flourish without fear we have to create an environment that encourages risk taking. Risks are taken by our students with each quiz, exam and practical scenario. If we can accept that learning is risk taking, we can form a classroom environment that will not scare away even the least hardy of the bunch. Risk taking needs to be structured in an environment where learning is valued instead of dreaded. We also need to be sure that we separate out the learning and evaluating components. (Svincki 1989) What characteristics of an instructor supports the student taking risks? Here are four points that clearly stand out: Modeling taking risks: Be willing to take risks yourself. Be brave enough to let the students see you doing skills and scenarios, brave enough to see that you are not flawless in your performance. A great deal of emotional and social behavior is learned through modeling. (Bandura, 1977) The way in which you handle your own errors and show that even the "experts" make mistakes, the more willing they will be to dive in too. When asked questions that you cannot answer, admit you do not know and offer to help them look the information up in a textbook or other reference. Admit that sometimes there is no "correct" answer. Exude organization and competence: An instructor must be in control of the classroom, however, "in-control" does NOT equate to a dictatorship. They do need to know that if the class gets off on a tangent, you will bring them back to the subject at hand. To do so you must be well organized and solidly grounded in the materials content so that you can handle any eventuality. They need to know you will not let a student take command of the classroom, by use of inappropriate or untimely war stories, or other behavior that stifles learning. They need to know they can trust you to see they are not ridiculed by other students, or by you, when they make mistakes. Minimize the pain and humiliation of making a mistake: One of the biggest reasons that students do not willingly participate, either in lecture or scenarios, is that we place such strong component on evaluation. Keep learning and evaluating separate components of the class. Let them know when each component is being done. As you practice skills, is should be a learning environment. When you are "officially" checking off their skills, it is an evaluation period- in which they have had adequate time to prepare for during the learning phase. Not everything assigned has to have an evaluation component or "grade" attached to it. Encourage in -class participation that includes teams for problem solving. Let them work on a new idea, even if their "new" idea on how to do something is "old" to you. Adults need the freedom to try things for themselves and stumble upon their own errors. If we continually interfere, correct or comment in a negative fashion they will stop participating. Team work, or collaborative learning, takes some of the burden off of your shoulders as well. You do however have to make certain that they fully understand that in the evaluation phase it is they alone who will is evaluated. If we perceive their errors as a learning opportunity, (or as my friend Ronni Sullivan taught me "a teachable moment"), they will continue to explore their own abilities. The relationship between instructor and student can then be based on trust (Adams, 1986) Provide risk-taking opportunities: Inside observers of classrooms were struck by how much the instructor did and how little their students do. (Weimer, 1989) Again, instead of you doing all the talking and work , stand back once in awhile and let them work out the answer to a question. This means you cannot be rigidly tied to your own agenda and schedule. Your ability to "steer " the conversation is vital and you should have an ultimate goal in mind, but again, let the students have an opportunity to "think it through" for themselves and they will retain the information longer. You may get an education as well as there are many situations where there is not one correct answer! Students DO learn more from following their own path and wrong turns than from following the well worn foot steps of the "experts." (Svinicki, 1989) Ultimately it is the students who must do the learning, spoon feeding accomplishes very little. Your task is to make learning possible, not do it for them or force them into it. This involves a high degree of trust building so that risk taking is not only possible, but exciting. It may not be as easy as "covering the material" but in the end, we produce students who can reason better, learn better and retain information longer. And they just might want to 'learn for life.' References: Adams, J.L (1986) The Care and Feeding of Ideas Bandura, A (1977) Social Learning Theory Savincki, M (1989) Excellence in Teaching Weimer, M (1989) Who's Doing the Work
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