Adelaine Cailipan

This module is very educational and provided good examples on how to develop a person's soft skills.  It is important for me as an educator to evaluate my strength and weaknesses in relation to my ability to relate with the students. Increasing my EQ will be helpful in helping students have a more positive learning experience.

All of the Individual activities discussed in this module will be effective for students who are not so inclined to group learning activities.  This individual learning activities can be used during downtime or at the end of the clinical rotation. 

There are many concepts that nursing students need to remember and understand. And at times that students are not engaged or focused, learning activities that were discussed in this module can be adopted and applied. Secret Identity and throwing the ball will be very applicable for students in the clinical setting during post-conferences. At the end of the day students need some reinforcements on topics or concepts they learned throughout the day.

As educators we need to understand that there are different types of learners. In order for learners to succeed we need to understand each of them and know that majority have short attention span. There are several reasons why student cannot focus or engage in the classroom or any learning environment. By understanding the reasons, we can adapt learning activities that can be added to the traditional teaching styles of learning through hearing and reading. Learning should be a fun experience especially for adult learners. Long-term memories are established and linked with emotions.  

Soft skills are essential in any kind of profession. Especially with educators, developing their 'soft skills' or 'power skills' will enhance their ability to work effectively and successfully with diverse group of students with various background and personalities.

In teaching, there will always be a big room for improvement. Take notes of your mistakes from the previous class and develop new techniques/strategies for improving class management.

I have encountered different types of students in my teaching career. The 'silent', 'the angry,' and 'the cheaters.' It was a challenge and I ended up becoming confrontational and was ineffective in managing the students. Over the course of time, eventually, I adopted some techniques that were very helpful. This learning module has discussed the management techniques that are effective especially with 'the angry' students. Letting the students express their anger and concerns will always be one of the effective techniques to use.

Very informative about different student personalities and managing each type. As the saying goes, "Different strokes for different folks."  Dividing the class into groups indeed has been a very effective strategy in managing students who are not engaged. I like the 5 colored cards; each student will have a fair share of participation time. 

It is imperative that the course objectives and learning expectations are presented to the students. Moreover, the instructors' methodology for evaluating students' progress (cognitive and technical skills) should also be included. This is to make students at ease and less anxious at the beginning of the class/clinical.

To be effective teachers, we must be role models, managers, and motivators to the students.  It is important to continue learning and developing teaching strategies and apply them to the appropriate class situation.