Teaching and Learning Concepts

Why do we study principles of learning and health education?

INTRODUCTION

Today, education of the community about health Promotion, wellness, and illness is recognized as an essential component of

healthcare giving practice .

There is an increased emphasis on the healthcare providers functioning as “ a facilitator” of learning , rather than serving in the traditional role as primarily “ giver of information” with respect to patients population of learners.

There is noticeable shift in focus from teaching clients to maintain optimal health and prevent disease.

Educating others, whether the learners are patients and their families, fellow staff healthcare givers, or healthcare giving students, has been a professional responsibility of registered healthcare givers at all levels of education for many

years .

It is imperative that healthcare givers be prepared to carry out their role as educators competently, based on a solid understanding of the principles of teaching and learning.

Although healthcare givers recognize their legal, ethical, and moral responsibility to teach clients, colleagues, and prospective healthcare givers most of them acknowledge that they have not had the formal preparation to successfully and securely assume this role.

It is an accepted fact that teachers are usually not born but made.

Good teachers nurture their knowledge and skills through constant and deliberate efforts. One of the prerequisite to be good teacher is to understand the teaching learning process in more depth.

This facilitates better appreciation of the teaching profession as well as the

process of imparting education.

Concept of Learning

Learning is about a change: the change brought about by developing a new skill, understanding a scientific law,

changing an attitude .

The change is not merely incidental or natural in the way that our appearance changes as we get older.

Learning is a relatively permanent change, usually brought about intentionally.

When we attend a course, search through a book, or read a discussion paper, we set out to learn!

Other learning can take place without planning, for example by experience. Generally with all learning there is an element within us of wishing to remember and understand why something happens and to do it better next time.

Concept of Teaching:

Edge (1993) points out that all learners are different. No two individuals have the same knowledge, skills, experience, behaviour etc. Furthermore, they are influenced by their age and by different social and cultural background. No wonder that some learners are more successful than others.

A good teacher should consider these characteristics and respect learner´s individuality . Firstly, Edge (1993) reminds that

teachers must not see the learners as learning machines because learning is not just an intellectual process. Learners may have many other things on their minds therefore all aspects of humanity have to be respected.

Secondly, teachers have to inform themselves about their learners. All teachers have to be sensitive to cultural background, social distinctions, personal needs and learning styles of individuals

And thirdly, teachers have to provide conditions in which learners are encouraged. In any class the learners are at different stages of personal and intellectual development therefore the teacher must respect learner´s individuality.

Personality significantly affects how we react under different circumstances. It is important to realise that we can not use the same attitude to all learners. It belongs to teacher´s duty to know properly all the learners. The concept of individualization is unavoidable.

Very interesting point of view gives Ur (1991). She says that teachers who have been teaching for twenty years may be sorted into two groups: those with twenty years´ experience and those with one year´s experience repeated twenty times .

In other words, sheer time on the job does not secure plentiful experience and professional progress. Therefore, good teachers must develop throughout their professional lives and innovate teaching strategies.

To sum it up, permanent teacher development can solve problems caused by both first-year stress or later burn-out syndrom. Besides, it is an instrument to satisfaction in professional work today and to teacher´s career in the future.

Without any doubt, good teachers must think about their work, be self-critical and try to develop themselves.

Sesnan (1997) summarizes the qualities of a good teacher in three main points:•a good teacher knows what to teach

(the subject matter, knowing the subject),

•a good teacher knows how to teach (the appropriate methodology of teaching),

•a good teacher is „on the side of the pupils“, he realises their strengths and weaknesses and always help them to make a progress.

Teaching is a set of events, outside the learners which are designed to

support internal process of learning..

There are various kinds of events that might take place in the educational process , such as:

1. Planning the lesson.

2. Explaining the lesson using different ways.

3. Motivating the learners by different kinds of activities

4. Solving problems.

5. Various kinds of exercises.

6. Projects.

7. Researches and presentations.

8. Different ways of assessing the Learners.

Teaching (Instruction) is outside the learner. Learning is internal to learners. You cannot motivate others if you are not self-motivated.

Motives are not seen, but, Behaviors are seen. Is learning a motive or behavior? Learning is both a motive and behavior but only behavior is seen, learning is internal, performance is external

T. Maha m. Arafat

Prepared By:

References Nurse as EducatorJones & Bartlett Learning INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS OF TEACHING AND

LEARNINGDr. A. H. Sequeira Mgr. Jaroslava KunstováUniverzita Palackého v Olomouci