INTERNATIONAL ICT WORKSHOP I M P R O V I N G P A T H O L O G Y T E A C H I N G

October 23rd 2015NATIONAL & KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

The teaching process is a sharing process: mutual challenges and benefits

in the first 30 years of my experience.

Dr Andreas C. Lazaris, Pathologist

Despite amazing advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), p e o p l e remain the m o s t important factor of

your e n v i r o n m e n t to influence your self-education. By b u i l d i n g r e l a ti o n s h i p s with people who have skills, the beliefs, attitudes and perceptions they have, will rub off on you.

Despite the fact that experiential learning is not defined by the presence of a teacher/facilitator since its mechanism is the learner’s reflection on experience using

analytical skills, the p h y s i c a l p r e s e n c e of a c h a r i s m a ti c t e a c h e r remains i n d i s p e n s a b l e

in the adventure of learning, especially because it d e c i s i v e l y f o s t e r s t h e a p p e a l f o r

a c h i e v e m e n t o f k n o w l e d g e . T h e a c q u i s i ti o n o f k n o w l e d g e s h o u l d n o t b e t h e r e s u l t o f

o b s e s s i o n o r c o m p u l s i o n , i n t e r n a l l y o r e x t e r n a l l y i m p o s e d , b u t o f a n o b l e a n d s t a b l e i n t e r n a l n e e d f o r s e l f - d e v e l o p m e n t .

Restoring interest in learning is an i m p e r a ti v e .

Any teaching event will be more successful if the teacher:

• is enthusiastic• has organized the session well • has a f e e l i n g for the subject• can c o n c e p t u a l i z e the topic• is able to create an a c ti ve learning environment in his/her class• is able to understand and share the feelings of the learners• understands how people learn, according to the modern trends

in teaching learning process.• has skills in teaching and managing learning• is alert to context and “classroom” events• is teaching with the preferred teaching style• helps the students feel a sense of ownership for what was

learned.

Why do you think these students look so

half-hearted, incurious, glum and dispirited?

- D i s inclination to s h a r e knowledge ( or anything else, actually…).

- P r o f u s e t h e o r i z i n g : e x c l u s i v e learning of concepts and theories through study and

reflection on the a b s t r a c t .- A sense of mere r o u ti n e processing

regarding teaching tasks. S l o t h and c o m p l a c e n c y .

L a c k of concern, inspiration, creative flair or c o m m u n i c a ti o n m o o d .

Being unreachable, disdainful and megalomaniac ( the latter two with regard to several academic teachers)

Ν ο transmissibility o f a p p e a l f o r l e a r n i n g .

U n w i l l i n g n e s s to implement innovative methods. - The o n l y incentive for any educational endeavor is r e c i p r o c a ti o n , determined s o l e l y on the basis of

the financial benefit of those involved. A prolonged era of

h u m a n i s ti c v a l u e s d e c l i n e , crowding o u t any s p i r i t u a l i t y .

From a sociological standpoint: general social trend and individuals’ propensity towards materialistic wealth accumulation (deification of consumerism, pointless

comforts, obsession for luxurious living).

R e a d your b o o k s ,

study the material and

practice, practice, practice!

Certainly, their teacher has something to do with this.

The t e a c h i n g process is a s h a r i n g process.

What can a teacher actually s h a r e with his students?

Α p a s s i o n for k n o w l e d g eΑ p o s i ti v e w o r l d v i e wA zest for a c re a ti v e o c c u p a ti o n

Α mood for c o m m u n i c a ti o n and o ff e r i n g

Losing interest in learning is a valid reason for protest aimed at

u p g ra d i n g t e a c h e r s a n d t e a c h i n g .

W h y b o t h e r ?Life-changing teachers committed to excellence inspire and encourage students to strive for greatness and see the best in themselves.

Teachers are founts of experience; they have already been where their students are going, undergone what the latter will go through and are in a position to pass along lessons, not only regarding subject matter, but lessons on life.

Teachers should be reinventing themselves, their occupation, the tools and techniques they employ, their relationship with students in order to better serve schools and students.

The conventional, formal approach to teaching.A current need for r e d e fi n i n g and enr ich ing

the role of the teacher and his multifaceted profession beyond merely circulating information.

Reinventing the teacher’s role

• Many teachers today are encouraged to adapt and adopt new practices that acknowledge both the art and science of learning.

• They understand that the essence of education is a close relationship between a knowledgeable, caring adult and a secure, motivated student. They grasp that their most important role is to get to know each student as an individual in order to comprehend his or her personal qualities. A c ti v e learning methodologies are very effective to find out students creativity and talent.

Α d i s ti n c t teaching strategy - Α d i s ti n c t teacher’s role. - Teaching is an activity which is h e l p i n g the student in learning. Teaching and learning are being modified due to innovations in education. Teachers have to understand the modern trends in teaching-learning process and make learning more interesting and interactive, so that students may be motivated to learn and learn better, after having personally e x p e r i e n c e d the value of a subject. - By implementing experiential learning, there is a move to a more student-centered view of learning which has required a fundamental shift in the role of the medical teacher. No longer is the teacher seen predominantly as a provider of information, but rather as a f a c i l i t a t o r or manager of the student’s learning; the learner is the self-teacher. - Students must t a ke c o n t ro l of their own learning. In the experiential learning procedure, the “instructor” is a guide, a cheerleader, a resource, and a support. Suitable experiences are carefully chosen for their learning potential by the teacher who commences the experience and guides students through the process of fi n d i n g a n d d e te r m i n i n g s o l u ti o n s fo r t h e m s e l v e s .

During experiential learning, the f a c i l i t a t o r ’ s r o l e is to:

-Select suitable experiences that meet the criteria above.-Pose problems, set boundaries, support learners, provide suitable resource, ensure physical and emotional safety, and facilitate the learning process.-Recognize and encourage spontaneous opportunities for learning, engagement with challenging situations, experimentation (that does not jeopardize the wellbeing of others) and discovery of solutions.-Help the learner notice the c o n n e c ti o n s between one context and another, between t h e o r y and the e x p e r i e n c e and encourage this examination repeatedly.

The teacher as a f a c i l i t a t o r of learning

Making the shift from teacher as expert to facilitator is sometimes seen as diminishing a teacher’s power and authority, but this should not be the case.

Facilitating learning is empowering for both the learner and the teacher and f r e e s the teacher from many of the burdens that having to be an ‘expert’ might entail. It would traditionally have been seen as a weakness for a teacher to say ‘I don’t know, let’s find out’ or ‘I don’t know, do any of you students know the answer?’ and clearly clinical teachers need to know more about many topics than their students or trainees, but medical science is changing so rapidly that no one can know everything. Implementing an e v i d e n c e - b a s e d a p p ro a c h to clinical learning and to medical practice involves finding out about the latest research. Teachers can use these techniques and this approach to facilitate their o w n and t h e i r s t u d e n t s ’ / t ra i n e e s ’ l e a r n i n g .

Instructor ’s Roles in Experiential Learning

In experiential learning, the instructor g u i d e s rather than directs the learning process where students are naturally interested in

learning. The instructor assumes the role of f a c i l i t a t o r and is guided by a number of steps crucial to experiential learning .

1. Be willing to accept a less teacher-centric role in the classroom. 2. Approach the learning experience in a positive, non-dominating way. 3. Identify an experience in which students will find interest and be personally

committed. 4. Explain the purpose of the experiential learning situation to the students. 5 . S h a r e your feelings and thoughts with your students and let them know that

you are learning from the experience, too. 6. Tie the course learning objectives to course activities and direct experiences so

that students know what they are supposed to do. 7. Provide relevant and meaningful resources to help students succeed. 8. Allow students to experiment and discover solutions on their own.9. Find a sense of balance between the academic and nurturing aspects of teaching. 10. Clarify students’ and instructor roles.

S t u d e n t ’ s R o l e s in Exper ienti al Learning

Qualities of experiential learning are those in which students decide themselves to be personally involved in the learning experience (students are actively participating in their own learning and have a personal role in the direction of learning). Students are not completely left to teach themselves; however, the instructor assumes the role of guide and facilitates the learning process.

1. Students will be involved in problems which are practical, social and personal. 2. Students will be allowed freedom in the classroom as long as they make headway

in the learning process. 3. Students often will need to be involved with difficult and challenging situations,

while discovering. 4. Students will self-evaluate their own progression or success in the learning process

which becomes the primary means of assessment. 5. Students will learn from the learning process and become open to change. This

change includes less reliance on the instructor and more on fellow peers, the development of skills to investigate (research) and learn from an a u t h e n ti c e x p e r i e n c e , and the ability to objectively self-evaluate one’s performance.

Despite the benefits of the experiential concept of learning and teaching ,

it is a fact that the f o r m a l c o n c e p t is in no way uneducative

by definition , and has certainly been well

served in many cases by inspired and effective

educators; the latter concept can contribute significantly to

the organization of thought and the exercise of memory.

Regardless of the teaching method, inspired teachers have a common motive.

What incentives are there for teaching? How does the teacher benefit from exercising his/her profession?

• Nowadays, self-psychotherapy of people through their work is linked to acquiring more and more wealth, power, glory etc., most often to the detriment of others, according to the individualistic world theory. When personal benefit is the motivation of human activity, the person is entrapped by it; gradually he/she becomes

indifferent to the activity itself and gets tied up on how to satisfy this increasingly unsaturated motivation of his/hers

e.g. more and more money, more and more fame, more and more publicity etc.

What incentives are there for teaching? How does the teacher benefit from exercising his/her profession?

• Although the importance of the teaching task should, of course, be assessed by worthy financial rewards and social recognition, moti vati on for teaching always has to be intrinsic and rigidly associated with a hankering for offering to fellow beings. In this way, the self-psychotherapy that the teacher gets from his work will be combined with the benefit of others, pursuant to the sociocentric world theory. Any personal benefits should be the outcome of teaching and not the trigger for teaching.

“An effective teacher is passionate about teaching. It is passion that is an inner drive, that is not dependant on approval or compliments or seeing results right away. It

is passion that prevents discouragement or burn-out because it is an inner fire that motivates and energizes.

It is passion that also excites and inspires students”.

As good as intentions, thoughts and words sound, t a n g i b l e w o r k is the one that

counts, eventually. The teacher is not worthy of praise due to

his/her theoretical positions, but due to his/her courses taught in the classroom

or even through the computer.

The most complete answer to the question:

“ W h y s h o u l d o n e t e a c h ? ” is simple and concise:

“ Te a c h t o m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e ”. How, where and to whom one makes a difference is up to him/her.

HIPON partners have frankly attempted to make a difference in pathology teaching through HIPON e platform in which students decide themselves to be personally involved in the learning, practical, problem-solving experience. Students learn through student -rather than instructor- centered experiences by d o i n g , d i s c o v e r i n g , re fl e c ti n g a n d a p p l y i n g . Through these simulating experiences students develop communication skills and self-confidence, and gain and strengthen decision making skills by responding to and solving real world problems and processes. Thereby, when they next find themselves in an environment that presents a challenge like the challenge presented in the simulation, they will more readily recall that experience and the things that they have learned from it.

HIPON e platform

Let's inspect what has been achieved and let's discuss how we can develop the

platform further.