You are required to post a reflection piece once you have completed lesson 2 & 3 in the clinical setting. Reflect on your learning and share your thoughts.
Reflection is the foundation of purposeful learning. The central component to reflection is to examine one’s experience rather than just living it. When we develop the ability to explore and be curious about our own experiences and actions we create the opportunities for purposeful learning.
The key to reflection is learning how to take perspective on one’s own actions and experience-in other words, to examine that experience rather than just living it. By developing the ability to explore and be curious about our own experience and actions, we suddenly open up the possibilities of purposeful learning- derived not from books or experts, but from our work and over lives. This is the purpose of reflection: to allow the possibility of learning through experience, whether that is the experience of a meeting, a project, a disaster, a success, a relationship, or any other internal or external event, before, during or after it has occurred (Amulya, 2004, p.1).
This lesson is intended to provide the learner with knowledge of the signs, symptoms and risk factors associated with sleep apnea: pathognomic signs and symptoms; orofacial myodysfuncitonal development; craniofacial risk factors; and comorbidities. This lesson is also designed based on constructivist learning strategies to assist the learner in applying prior knowledge from pre-requisite and co-requisite courses in the program. So there are some assumptions that content from these other courses is prior knowledge. In addition, through synchronous/asynchronous discussion and self-assessment activities the learner is given the opportunity to scaffold knowledge in preparation for lesson 2 and 3, that will take place in the clinical setting. During lesson 2 and 3 the learner will be required to analyze and synthesize the knowledge of risk factors in the context of the dental hygiene process of care: assessment; diagnosis; planning; implementation; and evaluation.
This lesson was first designed and implemented in a blended learning environment, with lecture (that was more teacher-centered) and group work activities in the classroom setting, followed by online blogging to promote reflective practice. Transitioning the learning platform to an online environment and adopting constructivist learning strategies based on the CIM, POE & CCM models was a positive and useful learning experience that I will further implement and develop in my own teaching environment.
My goal in the lesson plan is to provide the student with an introduction to Sleep Apnea creating some foundational knowledge and present guiding questions that would require the learner to focus on the importance of bringing their prior knowledge to the process and identify what they know and don’t know about the topic. Creating the self-assessment activities provides authentic and real-life activities that require cognitive demands of the learner, and creates a stimulus for critical thinking, problem-solving and inquiry-based learning required for analyzing the assessment data collected. The intention is to hopefully create a meaningful learning activity for the learner as they are required to simulate clinical practice on themselves in preparation for the “real thing” (Wee, Kek, & Sim, 2001).
This lesson focuses mostly on Driver and Oldham’s Model to identify prior knowledge, create opportunities to explore ideas and make predictions, stimulate the development of new knowledge and opportunities for modifications of ideas and provide support to reconstruct knowledge (Matthews 1986). There are also elements of the Conceptual Change Model presented by Posner et al. (1982). The learner begins the lesson with retrieving prior knowledge, predicting the signs and symptoms during the self-assessment, record their findings, analyze, re-assess and the final stage is to present their findings. The final activity is to reflect and share with the community of learners.
This has been a valuable and meaningful learning activity/assignment that I plan to implement in my course, in addition, as future development of this lesson plan I see great value in adding in the concept map tool as one of the learning activities.
References:
Amulya, J. (2004). What is Reflective Practice? Center for Reflective Community Practice http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/whatisreflectivepractice.pdf
Matthews, M. R. (1994). Chapter 7: Constructivism and science education. Science teaching: The role of history and philosophy of science (pp. 137–161). New York: Routledge
Posner, G.J, Strike, K.A, Hewson, P. W & Gertzog, W.A (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change. Science Education. 66(2), 211-227
Wee, K.N., Kek, Y.C., Sim, H.C. (2001). Crafting effective problems for problem-based learning. PBL Conference. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/5119/1/Wee_Kek_Sim_AV.pdf