personal statement philosophy. my philosophy of education has
TRANSCRIPT
Personal Statement
Philosophy. My philosophy of education has evolved parallel to my involvement with the Essentials of Clinical medicine course, reflecting my similar philosophical views about the patient-‐physician relationship. Standard adult education philosophies can be classified in six styles: Classical (transmission of knowledge), Behavioral (Skill development), Progressive (experiential learning), Humanistic (teacher as partner), and Radical (teacher as provocateur). In medical education, as we build knowledge, build skills, and promote attitude change, all these approaches are valid and useful. As a communications “expert”, and due to my interest in “non-‐cognitive skills”, my educational philosophy is largely humanistic with an emphasis on partnership between learner and teacher. What can we do in the context of that relationship to move the learner forward and at the same time ‘satisfy’ the teacher (for don’t teachers need to benefit in some way too)? Given also that there are typically multiple learners, and sometimes multiple teachers, the dyad becomes instead a rather large and encompassing group which requiring shifts between philosophical approaches, teaching modalities, and feasible assessment strategies. A skilled educator must be able to move among these approaches and design programs and curricula that recognize and match the material to be learned with the philosophy that best supports such learning, simultaneously considering the existing skills, attitudes, and knowledge of both learner and teacher. This task is not easy for any of us. I believe my strengths are the willingness to try multiple methods, to see the world as a platform for opportunities of caring-‐based education and yet to be pragmatic enough to understand that with many learners and varied instructors, sometimes we do our best given the constraints of the learning environment. Professional Development or Ten Things I Believe Today that I Didn’t Realize When I Began Teaching:
1. “Learning” occurs beyond content areas, and I am more “reasoned” and “forgiving” in my approach to individual students.
2. When I think I have teaching figured out, a student comes along to prove me wrong. 3. Repetition of “how I learned it” is probably not the best way to teach anything but is the
most comfortable. 4. Learning is more important than teaching. 5. Rewards are subtle. I cherish every fleeting “a-‐ha moment,” thank-‐you, and positive
comment. 6. Attitudes are the most difficult to teach, and I’m not sure I know how yet. 7. The world is changing, so must I. This is most evident in the technology/medicine
interface. 8. I was taken by surprise when I realized I was a mentor—it sneaks up on you. I wasn’t sure
I knew anything yet, though I was confident I knew a lot when I was beginning. 9. Patient-‐centered principles can be incorporated as learner-‐centered principles. 10. Sometimes students really do know what is best.