Code of Ethics

My field of Medical Imaging has a Code of Ethics. These are the responsibilities of the members of The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT).

The core ethics are patient centered care, evidence-based and reflective practice, providing a safe environment, acting with professional integrity.

This is something I honestly didn’t look at when I was working in the hospital because I feel it just came naturally. As a teacher though I refer to this all the time as it provides context to some of the things we teach and I find it very valuable and am thankful for the time someone put into creating this.

I now realize the importance of documents like this and they should be emphasized more in the workplace. This would make a great in service!

Ch.17 - Responding to Students' Resistance to Learning

Ways to help reduce resistance - create diversity and balance credibility and authenticity

Passages I liked in this chapter are:

"..we cannot become something we are not." p. 232
This was referring to our ability to teach in different ways. We can make adjustments and learn new tasks but we are who we are for the most part. This actually made me feel really good as I feel I have a style but I can't do every style well. For example I use humor in my daily lessons because this is who I am and other instructors would go with the more serious approach, which I prefer not to do.

Assess learning incrementally so the students are able to make adjustments so it is not a surprise and stress filled anxiety moment when they are writing a final that is worth 75% of their mark.

I found this chapter was very helpful with suggestions. For example: "Any time you give out an assignment, distribute as much information as you can about the criteria, indicators, rubrics and grading policies used to judges students' work." p.234  and must importantly check with the students if they fully understand.  I couldn't agree more. Never assume. I do feel thought there is a time where too much material is an overload so the material that is given out must be essential.

"Success is addictive, failure demoralizing." p. 235 I have seen this first hand when the activity is at a level too high for the student. This shows the importance of planning.

"The problem is that students may well experience such interventions as annoying increases in pressure that only serve to create anxiety and inhibit learning even more. When I'm struggling to learn something new and difficult there are times when I just need to pause, take a breath, and think about what I'm going to do next. Having a teacher pounce on me, quiz me about my problem, and start giving me a motivational speech is the last thing I need. " p.236
This was very interesting because this is what I would probably do as a teacher and this has made me reevaluate my actions and give a break to allow the student to take it all in. Learning is hard work and this is something that is often forgotten with teachers because we are driving the bus and have the knowledge. I have marked this passage as very important to remember!

"the learner has to make the internal commitment to become involved" p.237
This quote actually helped me a lot because it takes off some of the stress I was feeling as a new teacher. It is my fault if they do not learn this and pass the national exam etc. Some of the effort and responsibility is on the student.It is a partnership and the student must take ownership of their learning.

"Remember that resistance to learning is normal, natural and inevitable. The trick is to make sure it interferes as little as possible with classroom activities that others see as important and helpful." p.238

Hopefully we can all master the dance of teaching ! (resistance and teaching power)










Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass.



Image retrieved from http://blogs.studyinsweden.se/2016/02/28/thesis-on-innovation-resistance/ on April.26, 2017.

Ch.16 and 17

I have a few passages from both chapters that I would love to talk about.

Ch. 16 - Understanding Students' Resistance to Learning 

Have you ever seen this face and body language in your class? Hopefully not but most likely so. I enjoyed reading the chapter and have picked out a few passages to comment on.

"the ground zero of resistance to learning is the fear of change." p.213

"In the face of what appear to students as unreasonable teacher demands, pedagogic misjudgments, broken teacher promises, or clear incompetence, resistance to learning is often principled and justified." p.215

"Second, and even more troubling, in enthusiastically accepting the challenge the resistant students have offered you, all your efforts are poured into converting a relatively small number of individuals to being enthusiastic advocates of learning.  Along the way the legitimate learning needs of the majority of students take second place to your efforts to prove to yourself that by winning over hardcore resisters that you're a real teacher." p.216-217

This is a good thing to remember. Basically I read this as check your ego and don't get distracted to change one persons' view while hurting the majority of the students' learning experience.  I have experienced this is class and it is usually the loudest student, so is difficult at times. I don't ignore the student, I address and  then try to move forward as a class. Does anyone else have experiences like this? What did you do? 

I really enjoyed page 218. There is a paragraph half way on the page that talks about the effect of a clear, calm and supportive style of teaching. I feel this is what I try to do as I have a nurturing style as my main goal is to prepare the students to be safe in clinical. I expect them to make mistakes but with the mistakes comes learning.  In the same paragraph - the above style "underscored the importance of appropriate teacher disclosure, the importance of sequencing instruction, and the need to provide sufficient scaffolding for learners early on in a learning effort." Something never to forget. This emphasis to me the importance, once again of relationships!

"People will generally resist activities for which they see no justification." p.221 I saw this happen in one of the classes in the program for a specific activity. I could hear the students grumbling and not feeling happy about their product.  It allowed me to look at the activity and I agreed that the task was too time consuming, the students were not getting the intended value from the exercise, and it was making them frustrated and stressed. The following year I took out the activity and the class has not had an issue since regarding activities. Student feedback is so important. I could have dug my heels in and said lets keep doing it but I realize it wasn't about me it was about maximizing the learning for the students and this task wasn't doing the job. Back to the drawing board. I also realized it is ok to try something and if doesn't work try something new. You must be willing and able to make changes in the classroom! 

"Teachers in love with their subjects and caught up in the passion of communicating the elegant beauty of scientific reasoning, literary insight, or historical theorizing can easily overestimate how far, too fast, for their students have progressed."  p.222
I have noticed this before as well, and have been caught up in it by setting expectations too high. 
"misdiagnosing where students are in their command of skills and knowledge and pushing them into a task before they feel they've been adequately prepared." p. 224 Assuming the students will scaffold quicker on what they have already learned. I have since realized that some students will and others won't but that's ok. Each student will learn at a different pace but it is my job to help guide them. The key is setting appropriate outcomes at the beginning of the course.

"To receive unclear instructions for a task or assignment is to feel that you're being set up for failure." p.223 I couldn't agree more with this statement. I have also experienced being a teacher and having to be the face of the instructions and not really understanding them as well, while taking someone else course/vision on.  I have learned to keep it simple, repeat instructions, have the students communicate to me what they think the task is, answer questions and never assume!

Fear of looking foolish in public - I think almost everyone feels this at one point or another. We have helped alleviate some of this by making some of our labs one on one giving the students the privacy and attention they need. The feedback on this has been fantastic as all students want more time like this and enjoy getting to know the instructors on a different level , while getting all their questions answered in privacy. Once again building relationships!








Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass.

Image retrieved from  http://neatoday.org/2015/03/03/engaging-student-resistance-works-better-punishment/ on April. 26,2017.

What type of learner am I?

 The more and more I take classes the more I find out about what I like and don't like and what kind of learner I am . The reason I was thinking about this is I have had trouble getting started on certain assignments with this new course I am taking. I realized it was because there are multiple assignments happening at the same time and that I like things to be sequential. As well I am having trouble getting motivated for group projects. This could be because of the topic/assignment or because it is online. In other online courses I have had the same issue come up. I have known for awhile I enjoy face to face interaction and a traditional classroom.

The reason I feel this is important as a teacher is to realize that no matter how you set up your course someone will probably not agree and like all your decisions but I feel it is ok because as a learner I do want to be challenged and I can't just do the same things all the time. I would not grow! This is one of the reasons I have enjoyed the PIDP courses while teaching because it has allowed me to always think about the student as I have been one since I started this new job. 



I just took a test to see what my learning style is?
The test takes about 10 mintues.
The final result is I am an Auditory/Visual learner.

Feedback Instruments

I have just completed my formative feedback instrument and have found that my Instructional Skills Workshop taken 2 years ago came in handy. One thing that I really enjoy about the PIDP classes is the relevancy of the material. The only problem I have some times is remembering where I have seen the information and when am I going to use it. I guess this is another good use for the blog, to store information that I may wish to use again!
The formative instrument I have found useful is called stop, start, continue.
Check it out at stop, start, continue .

Professional Plan - next 5 years

“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.”

― Harvey MacKay


"It's only a dream until you write it down, and then it becomes a goal." 

-  Emmitt Smith




I have been waiting for this part of the assignment because I am excited to plan for my future and put some thought into it. I have casually done this at work but have not officially written anything down. Hence the quotes above really resonate with me. 

Professionally, I have been instructing for almost 3 years. I have found my place and now have a set of courses which is repeating, which has allowed me to use my development time to gain more knowledge in the area, as some of the material was new to me, and to develop lesson plans and activities that were aligned. This stability has been very beneficial to my growth. I have also been able to produce power points and show my personality within them which is something that was lacking in my first year. I have taken on other roles in the department, quality control of the X-ray rooms, making a roles and responsibilities book for staff and  becoming more familiar with our learning system D2L. I am also now starting to engage with the rest of the campus community because I am not feeling overwhelmed by all my responsibilities. I am now able to balance better. 

In the next few years I plan to complete my PIDP diploma. Specifically, PIDP 3100 by December 2017 and the capstone project by Summer 2018. 
I also plan to complete the development of Radiation Sciences II by April 2018. This includes finding a new text book, power points and lesson plans. The assignments are set up. 
I am also involved in a creativity/innovation project involving Virtual Reality. So this will take up some of my time of the next year. The project is due in May 2018. This involves research on VR equipment, producing a video in the operating room and post processing and application of said video. On aside note, I might even try to use the VR camera to video my lecture for the capstone projection, which I am excited about. 

These are my short term goals and most important to me right now. Completing the PIDP and then using these skills to develop my remaining classes are the top priority. 

Another top priority for me is to get physically back in shape post achilles injury. 

Long term goals:

I would also like to become a super user for our x-ray rooms. This may happen by the time we move to the new building (Jan 2019?) I will try to do this at the hospital as they have the same machines. This is not a major priority as I can get by with the knowledge I have. 
I am hoping to take on more roles and responsibilities within the program. i.e. program leader in the summer.

One of my goals after the PIDP program is complete is to look into further studies and see what will help me reach the next level in my  journey. I am thinking a leadership diploma at Camosun (Leadership Development). This will take me a few years to complete but feel will be valuable in my career and life. I have heard that a Master's will be more valuable but this is something I am not interested in at the present time. 

I also plan to take some courses through the CAMRT,and MTMI on fluoroscopy and digital radiography. This may be more short term as it would be helpful information to apply to the courses I will be developing. 

A long term goal is to become involved with the organization RAD-AID.  An organization that wants to increase and improve radiology
resources in the developing and impoverished countries of the world. I would love if this somehow became part of our program.  

I would also like to continue to work at the hospital to keep my connections and skills up to date. 

I would also like to be part of the Instruction Skills Workshop (ISW) at Camosun as a mentor in the next 5 years. 

Become involved in the CAMRT National Exam. 

Summary

I have lots to do and it almost seems overwhelming but feels good to write them out and have some loose time lines. This will be a list that will change I am sure but I have definitely marked my top priorities. 


Image retrieved April 19, 2007 from Goal_Setting.jpg

Ch.8, 9, 18 - Teaching in Diverse Classrooms, Teaching about Racism, Exercising Teacher Power Responsibility

Below are some thoughts and highlighted quotes from Ch.8, 9 and 18.

"any attempt to work with diversity begins with accurately gauging its presence so we know what we're dealing with." p.99 - Ch.8 The book suggest using an instrument to help gauge this such as the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Inventory. This is something I think I might bring into the program if it is not already being done. I have recently done this as well to see where I fit in with the rest of my peers. It does not take long and it is very interesting and I highly recommend it. Myers-Briggs

I found chapter 8 had some interesting comments regarding team teaching and the benefits for a diverse classroom. I have taught as a team that was very successful and collaborative and also the other way. Still successful but not as cohesive with the planning. I think the most important thing to think about when team teaching is that someone else' s style might not suit yours but it might suit the students. Don't let ego get in the way!


"Nothing draws popped more quickly into considering challenging information and perspectives than a personal story...." p.116 - Ch.9
In class I have told personal stories about situations and I feel this is what adds to the authenticity of the instruction and allows the students to realize that I have experienced situations just like them. Often the stories are of difficult cases or embracing moments and I feel this allows the students to open up more if I share my experiences. My goal is to indicate that it is ok to make mistakes, own up to them and grow from them. It is all part of the learning ! This is also a chance for me to bring the MAGIC! as per a previous post.

"I never agree to be a mentors unless I'm asked by the mentee."
"Any mentoring conversation begins with them telling me about their dreams, agendas, and goals, and how they feel I can be of help."  p.117 - Ch.9

This quote has been very handy as of late as our program has just recently added a capstone project that requires a mentor. I have been asked by 2 of the students to mentor their project and have followed the above advice. I always want them to be happy with their project and find meaning with it and it is my job to listen and to help them sort out their thoughts with questions so they can find their own path. So far I have enjoyed being a mentor and find the students are appreciated of the one on one conversations.

How to become a great mentor


The following quote is about power.... " I started to acknowledge that they were not my friends who, by accident, found themselves in the room with me." p.240 - Ch.18
This is something I struggle with every term. I must keep reminding myself as relationships become closer that I hold some power in the relationship and must respect that.

.." we believe that the learning we are promoting is inherently valuable or socially beneficial." p. 241 - Ch. 18
A valid reason to insert power and making sure certain activities are done even though some students may not be interested.

"Learners power can also stop teachers dead in their tracks when they simply refuse to ask, or to answer, questions." p. 241 - Ch.18
Learner have great power whether they know it or not. What do you do when this happens?

I found this paragraph regarding not liking teaching with an open door very interesting on page 248 Ch.18. " I don't like the idea that a chair or a dean can hover at the door, surreptitiously checking up on me. I want the freedom to experiment, to risk failure, and to have a degree of unpredictability. To get those things I need to have the door closed."
I do not like having the door open when I teach. I think partially I want privacy and don't want to be judged without knowing . Part of it I do feel comes down to confidence though but I agree with the above statement. I had never looked at it like this,  I just had felt uncomfortable with the door open.

When students are allowed to determine the direction of learning ....."they will usually chose circular directions and learning activities that are familiar and comfortable." p. 249 - Ch. 18
I do believe this to be true because I do the same thing. I think sometimes it is just survival as well because it takes  a lot of energy to go out of you comfort level. I do recognize that it is a good thing to help students try something new so they can look at something from a different perspective but I also do not want them to be put into a high anxiety level and out of the "flow".  Maybe the solution to this problem is to have 2 activities/assignments  - one can be familiar and one must be new.

Again any thoughts or comments are appreciated!

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass.

Teaching teachers to create MAGIC!

Teaching teachers to create MAGIC!

I found a subject that is true to my heart! How do you teach that magic to teachers! We have all seen it before, movies like Dead Poet's Society, Lean on Me, Dangerous Minds. Their is a teacher that finds a way to be engaging, to read the students to keep them on the edge of the seats and want to come to class to learn. The students are waiting on what the instructor will say or do next! I challenge you to look at how you teach and ask yourself what could you do different? I sometimes read in instructor books that you do not have to be a performer as a teacher but I disagree with that. I think you do have to perform a bit, you have to read your audience, know when you have them, know when you are losing them and what you can do to get them back. You have to deliver the content in a way that will be heard! This to me is performing! 

I enjoyed what Chris Edin said when he was mentioning that somewhere a teacher is lecturing about engagement and it is not engaging. How ironic! 

I want students to be excited to come to class and I believe some of that responsibility is on the instructor and their story telling! "Make dead classes come alive!!" -Christopher Emdin (2014)

Head to your barbershops, concerts, churches! find a mentor or someone that is a good story teller and study them. What do they do differently then everyone else? and then bring this to your classroom!  

Hope you are inspired by the possibilities! 

Emdin, Christopher (Speaker). (2014, April 8). Ted Talk: Christopher Emdin. Teaching teachers how to create magic. Video retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ddtbeduoo&feature=youtu.be. 

Ch.2 The Core Assumptions of Skillful Teaching

As mentioned in the last post I have written down specific notes and highlights passages and thought I would share what popped out for me in this chapter. I have highlighted some statements in red with the hope of getting some comments from readers. A lot of this post is personal and relates to my specific experiences in the classroom . I feel this book has allowed me to reflect on my first 2 years and analyze what has happened in the classroom and what I can do differently.

This is one of the first times I feel that I can see the positives of blogging. This is a great way for me to keep a record of my experiences/emotions from my first 2 years of instructing before I forget them!!

The 4 core assumptions:

1) "Skillful teaching is whatever helps students learn
2) Skillful teachers adopt a critically reflective stance toward their practice
3) The most important knowledge that skillful teachers need to do good work is a constant awareness    of how students are experiencing their learning and perceiving teachers' actions
4) College students of any age should be treated as adults. " (Brookfield, 2015)

The good news is I agree with all these assumptions and experienced them all in the classroom. One of the reasons I enjoy this book is I feel it really related to what I was seeing and feeling in the classroom. I find it very practical.

Certain quotes that struck me in this chapter (Brookfield, 2015) are:

" a commitment to behaving in ways that we assume are professional gets in the way of helping students learn" p.18

"the only voices they (students) will take seriously are those of former students..." p.18

"Will doing this help students learn?" p.19

"Skillful teaching is teaching that is contextually informed." p.20

On page 21 a paragraph about the issue of our teaching becoming stale. I don't want predictability and boredom to occur. I wrote about this in my first self reflection and have seen this first hand. This has to be part of my 5 year, 10 year professional plan to figure out ways to keep exploring as a teacher for myself and for the students/program. Ways that I feel this can be prevented is by taking courses, trying new ideas, which also means continuing education, asking peers to come into your class for feedback, listening to the students (keeping the content modern and in a language they understand). Taking time to reflect on what you have for material and what you can do to change it if needed. I guess in general constant reflection on what is being done in the classroom with the knowledge that what has been done before might not work with this group of students.

"anonymity of student responses" and "making students feel safe" in the learning environment p.23
This is one of the keys for allowing students to become themselves and this will then allow them to really listen to what is happening in the classroom instead of putting up fronts. I feel as an instructor it is my job to take down the walls. I believe teaching is all about relationships. I have used anonymity with student responses and find this works but I also give them the option of putting their names on comments if they wish as well. This also makes me able to adjust specifically to a student if needed. All about gaining trust in the classroom !!

students would like their teachers to "be authoritative, not authoritarian." p.24
Basically this comes down to treating people the way you would like to be treated. Common sense in my opinion!

Students want "their teachers to know what they are doing, that they have a plan guiding their actions and that they're not new to the classroom." p.24
I definitely have experienced this first hand. In my first year I was unsure of instructions for certain labs, assignments and saw how this affected the students. Part of the reason for this was I was a first time teacher, and just thrown in there (as I'm sure we all have been) and the material was not mine, it was not my vision. I have since learned that the material has to be mine to feel more authentic for the students and myself. I have to be able to but my personality on it and to believe in it. I was lucky to have some development time and have since remedied the problem. I kind of laugh at the idea that students want an experienced teacher  because it always makes me think of when I handed out resumes and the employer always wanted someone with experience and all the applicant wants is the opportunity for experience. I think this can be a double edged sword. An experienced teacher can be good but can also be in the stage of boredom and not in tune with the students whereas a new teacher will be willing to try new things and could be in tune with the class. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? 

"students dislike it when teachers step over the line and make inappropriate disclosures regarding their personal life." p. 24 This is advice I received from a student who was in the program before I accepted the job. I had asked her what she had liked about her instructors and what advice she would give me as she was just graduating from the program. Basically she said "don't talk about yourself, keep to the material." She had obviously had a bad experience! I took this advice to keep the material relevant but feel you do have to show a bit about your person to the class but you have to be able to read when this is appropriate. I feel sharing information about yourself makes the class more of a community and this is something that I have tried to create and I feel I have done so with success. I do not want my students to think I am a robot!  Does anyone else have experience with this or advice they have received from students ? 


"students want to know what they are being asked to do is important and necessary to their development. " p.24
This is so true , students do not want to just do make work projects and either do I.  Being upfront works best. Why are we doing this and why is it important ?! I am always keeping this in the back of my head when I am creating an activity/assignment.

"teachers need to model an initial engagement in any learning task..."  p.24
I made a mistake once of giving a new activity where students might be stepping out of their comfort zone without demonstrating myself first. I did not get the reaction/engagement that I initially thought the activity would produce. I realized that I had to break the ice first and create that community again and this would allow the students to feel more comfortable and then participate openly.

I really enjoyed this chapter and found I was able to relate a lot of the material to my classroom experience. Any comments would be appreciated.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass.

Ch. 1 Experiencing Teaching

I read this book pre injury and therefore it has been almost a month and a half since I have finished it so have forgotten lots. I did really enjoy the book though and found it an easy read and very practical. I have recommended it to my brother who has been teaching for over a decade in high school. I have taken notes along the way and have tried a new technique.  I used to highlight passages etc and take notes on paper but have now decided to try something different, which I think you have to do as an instructor and for that matter a student. I now write comments on the pages and asterisk key passages, making it easier when finding material for self-reflection.  I looked at the chapter and I had marked two passages. On page 7, there is a passage referring to Britzman's (2003) myth that "everything depends on the teacher." Basically if the class has gone well it is because of you and if it goes bad it is also because of you. This is something I struggled with my first year. I felt so much pressure as the instructor to be everything. I found this especially hard when I was teaching a subject I was not as strong in. I was reading the material minutes up to the class and I was expected to know it all. I wonder how many teachers feel like this? Stepping into the class and wondering if a student was going to ask a question I could not answer. Since this first year, I have gained experience and have obtained tools to help me deal with many situations in the class confidently that I don't feel that burden as much. It is still there a bit but the class is more enjoyable for me as a whole. I have since learned that my expectations for what the student brings to the class is higher. I expect them to read up and participate in their learning and contribute to the overall learning environment and not to just rely on the instructor. I am there to guide, to support and be an expert when needed but the student needs to find their way and discover meaning as this is how they will learn. I, as an instructor, can do many things to enable success but it does not always happen.
Key points that have helped me are to be prepared, communicate with your class and listen to your students, have activities that incorporate the outcomes you want for that class and be able to adapt to how the class is doing in that moment. I feel it is always a work in progress.
Communication is key and this is why another passage had an asterisks beside it. On page 8, " I will argue in this book that the key to being a good college teacher is regularly collecting data from your students concerning how they are learning, week in week out, and then using that information to guide your decisions." (Brookfield, 2015) I couldn't agree more.

Britzman, D.P. Practice Makes Practice: A Critical Study of Learning to Teach. Albany:State University of new York Press, 2003.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass.

Week 2 PIDP 3260 - Teaching Perspective Inventory (TPI)

TPI -  Teaching Perspective Inventory

The first thing I thought to myself is what is this ? and why should I take it?  After some reading I realized that this was a great way to gain some insight on who I think I am as a teacher. I can gain some valuable information on my views and perceptions of teaching. As I have never really asked myself some hard questions about teaching I was up for the challenge. For those of you who have not taken this test it does not take long (10 minutes) and your results are instant. Go to http://www.teachingperspectives.com  to start now. For 3 easy payments of $29.99 you too can gain wisdom about teaching. Joking of course, it is FREE! 
Below are my results. First off I listened to the videos and realized it would be much easier if someone was facilitating the conversation about my results but I was still able to take a good look at the results and do some self reflection. 
For future, I would like to try this again to see if my perspective changes as I believe it will and to see what my students and colleagues also think. 

TPI Results:

Transmission Total: (Tr) 35.
B = 12; I = 11; A = 12.
Apprenticeship Total: (Ap) 34.
B = 9; I = 13; A = 12.
Developmental Total: (Dv) 36.
B = 11; I = 13; A = 12.
Nurturing Total: (Nu) 38.
B = 13; I = 13; A = 12.
Social Reform Total: (SR) 29.
B = 9; I = 10; A = 10.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beliefs total: (B) 54
Intentions total: (I) 60
Action total: (A) 58
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mean: (M) 34.4
Standard Deviation: (SD) 3.01
Dominant Threshold: (HIT) 37.41
Recessive Threshold: (LOT) 31.39
Overall Total: (T) 172

Reflecting on Your TPI Results

• Review the Summary Paragraphs
  Remind yourself what philosophical viewpoint each of the five perspectives represents: Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, Nurturing, and Social Reform. Remember, these are Teaching Perspectives; not personality-based 'styles' or technical 'methods'. 

  
  

  I had no idea what each viewpoint stood for. A summary is below:

  Transmission - commitment to content or subject matter.

  Apprenticeship - highly skilled practitioners. 

  Developmental - must be planned and conducted for learner's view. 

  Nurturing - effort to achieve comes from the heart, not head.
  Social Reform - change society.
  Upon looking a this I felt that I would be relatively high with  the majority of the perspectives but the lowest one would be social reform. 
• Examine Your Profile Sheet
  The height of the five large vertical bars on your profile represents how strongly you hold each of the Five Perspectives outlined on the Summary Sheet: Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, Nurturing, and Social Reform. Remember that all teachers embody all five views, but in varying degrees. 

  
  

  The highest perspective for me was Nurturing at 38 and my mean score was 34.4. I was not surprised at this as I think very highly of hard work as this is something I have to do as a learner. 
• Note the Height and Range of Your Overall Scores
  Scores on the profile sheet can range from a minimum of 9 to a maximum of 45. Do your scores overall generally fall in the 40s? Or the 30s? Or 20s? Are your individual perspectives strongly held? Moderately held? Weakly held? Do you know anyone who holds stronger views on teaching? What might this suggest?

  
  

  
  

  Most of my scores are in the 30s meaning I think that I have a balanced viewpoint and nothing really stands out. I don't feel that any of the views are strongly held, except nurturing but social reform is weakly held. This might suggest that I was confused by the questioning or unsure but I feel it means that I think the course I was thinking about does not change society and I don't think I am teaching to change society, even though I feel I am mentoring students  to become more rounded, and contributing members to society.  From the video my results suggest that I am trying to be everything to everybody being a first time teacher. I also have multiple teaching responsibilities as I am in a program and all the courses seem to be inter-twinned. When thinking about the questions I was thinking  of one class which consists of adult learners that I see on a consistent basis. I feel there are peers that hold stronger views on teaching and this may be attributed to experience, more courses dealing with education and personality. 
  
  
  

  Check the Differentiation among Your Perspectives
• On which perspective is your score the highest? Lowest? Are there marked (step-like) differences among your scores, some high and others low? Or is your profile somewhat 'flat', with smaller differences between your highs and lows? Keep in mind that to agree with some items meant that you must logically disagree with others--you cannot agree with everything. As you were completing the TPI, did you keep a single, specific educational context and a single group of learners in mind throughout?

  
  

  highest score is nurturing which is not surprising because I feel if the effort is there , the learning will come. I do support the students through their challenges though and realize there might be set backs in the learning process and I don't make excuses for them
  lowest -social reform .
  My score is typical a flat score with slight variances. The test shows a dominant perspective of nurturing and a recessive perspective of social reform.
  As mentioned before some of my results might be because trying to be everything to everybody being a first time teacher. I also have multiple teaching responsibilities as I am in a program and all the courses seem to be inter-twinned. This is the point where it would be greta to have an expert help me bring out more and hopefully find the reasoning for the results. 
• Identify Your Dominant, Back-Up, and Recessive Perspectives
  Do one or two of your perspective scores fall at or above the upper line labeled 'Dominant'? Which one? Most people have at least one (occasionally two) dominant perspectives that represent strongly held views on their roles and functions as educators. Similarly, most people have one or two 'Back-up' perspectives that are also high, but somewhat lower than their dominant perspective. Which are your Back-Up perspectives? Do any of your scores fall at or below the lower line labeled 'Recessive'? Which one? These dominant and recessive thresholds are keyed to your profile individually (+/- 1 SD around the mean of your own five scores). They are not influenced by how other people score on their profiles. For you, which are Dominant? Back-up? Recessive?

  
  

  See above
• Check for Internal Consistency
  Examine the sub-scores labeled B, I, and A (the short bars within each Perspective bar). Your score on each of your five perspectives is comprised of three sub-scores: a Belief sub-score, an Intention sub-score, and an Action sub-score. These sub-scores are indicators of how much agreement exists between what you do (Actions), what you want to accomplish (Intentions), and why you feel that is important or justified (Beliefs). High internal consistency (sub-scores within one or two points of each other) means that your Beliefs, Intentions, and Actions are all aligned with each other.

  
  B-beliefs
  I-intentions
  A-actions
  My beliefs, intentions and actions are aligned with each other for all the perspectives except for the apprenticeship perspective. There is a discrepancy of more than 3 between belief and intention/action. I believe that this might be the case because our program has a major clinical component where the learning occurs while watching and working with a highly skilled worker. I might have been thinking about this when I answered the questions and related it to the lab where I teach my course and in comparison it doesn't happen as much as it does in clinical, hence a low score. I do believe a teacher should be highly skilled in what they do. If I was to do the questionnaire again nor recommend it to someone I would suggest they read over the definitions of the perspectives before taking it, which I did not. 
• Examine any Internal Discrepancies
  If your B, I, A sub-scores differ by three or more points, inconsistencies may exist that you should consider. Where your sub-scores differ by 3, 4, 5 or more points, look to see where the differences occur. Within which Perspective? Between which sub-scores: Beliefs and Actions? Between Intentions and Actions? Between Actions and Intentions? What might explain these differences? Job constraints? Philosophical inconsistencies? Non-clarity about departmental expectations?

  
  

  see above
• Look for Consistency Across Perspectives
  Examine the Intentions sub-score for all five perspectives. Does the highest Intention sub-score occur within your dominant perspective? If not, where does it occur and what might that indicate? Similarly, look across your Beliefs sub-scores; in which perspectives are your Beliefs expressed most strongly? Within which perspectives do your Actions predominate?

  
  

  My highest intention score occurs in my dominant perspectives as well as two others. The actions follow suite. 
• Self-Corroboration
  Are the scores on your profile sheet consistent with how you see yourself? Do they make overall sense to you? Are there any unexpected insights? Do your scores help you clarify how you see yourself as a professional educator? Do the thoughts, words, and ideas from the Paragraph Summaries or these Ten Steps offer you new ideas and an expanded language for explaining why you teach as you do? How might these ideas help you draft a written Teaching Philosophy Statement?

  
  

  I feel the scores represent who I see myself as a teacher. I like to think that I am fairly strong in multiple perspectives. I feel the pressure to cover everything in my classes but am becoming better with letting the class develop naturally and let the students drive the car more. This has been hard because I have been taught in the transmission education system and most of my examples  come from that. I feel I am creative with my teaching but still am a transmission style with a lot of questions. I am scared to try the flipped classroom! I just don't know if it would work for my course/students. 
• Next Steps: Peer/Professional Validation
  If you have exchanged profile sheets with your peers, have you shared and discussed your results with each other? Do they see you in the same manner as the profile suggests? Compare your profile with norms for other people in your department. Or compare with others in your same professional sector. Or with others who have a similar educational background? Is it now clearer that there are multiple and legitimate views on what constitutes 'good teaching'? Reconfirm or Check for Change: Remember, you can always take the TPI a second and a third time! Look for changes that may occur resulting from professional workshops, departmental discussions, critical self-reflection, discussions with your colleagues, or other important events.

  
  

  I would like to have my students feel this out as well as some colleagues on my behalf and compare the results . It would also be great to sit down with someone who could guide me through the interpretation of my results. Hopefully at the end of the PIDP program I could take this again. 

  
  

  Summary:
  
  I enjoyed this tool and feel it makes me look at myself as a teacher and define who I am. My recommendation for people trying this for the first time is to read the definitions of perspectives before attempting the questions. It would be great to have someone help with interpreting the results and it would be valuable to use again for comparison. I had never heard of this tool before and felt it made me look at myself and what my core perspectives are and why. I will definitely try it again.
  
  Information retrieved from http://www.teachingperspectives.com/tpi/ on April. 13, 2007. 

Week 1 PIDP 3260 delayed because of flu and apathy!!!

A little bit behind on the blog entry mainly because of apathy but a little bit because of the flu. First entry is to be used to explain a little bit about myself so here goes. I am a 40 year old male, happily married, 2 beautiful boys aged 2 and 5, who is a beginner teacher (2 years) who has just ruptured their right achilles tendon. Needless to say I have a lot on the go, or I should say not much on the go, as I am unable to drive right now probably for the next 3 months.

I am an instructor in the Medical Radiography Program at Camosun College and have enjoyed the transition from x-ray technologist to instructor but it has been a lot of work. I am thankful for support of family, peers, students and the help of the PIDP program to help make sense of what was happening in the classroom as I left my last job and was teaching a week later with no experience.

The PIDP classes have given me ideas of how to structure my courses and to help support the students with engagement activities, fair assessment, valuable feedback and all in all just to learn the language of instructing. I am taking PIDP 3260 Professional Practice to continue my growth as an individual and instructor and become one step closer to achieving my diploma.

Image taken from http://www.stoneclinic.com/achilles-tendon