Reflecting on Reflection

You only have to mention the word reflection and audible groans can be heard from the majority of my peers. The negative stigma surrounding this process is a mysterious wonder. I’m forever questioning what is it about reflection that myself and many others dislike?

Now that this 4 week ‘Dr as a Digital Teacher’ block has come to an end its time for me to reflect on this project and discuss some key learning points. It’s been an interesting month with some very thought stimulating topics forming the basis for most of my blog posts. I’ve looked at the role of the internet in modern learning and been introduced to a vast array of tech resources. I’ve talked about my attitude towards studying and discussed some of my views on the current education system we have in place. I’ve also had the opportunity to design and produce a short video learning resource about ‘The Mind Palace Technique’. Throughout the whole process I’ve blogged my thought processes and progress. This is a form of reflection I had not yet used and I’ve enjoyed using this new medium to express my thoughts and feelings.

On several occasions throughout my 3 years at Dundee we have had to submit reflective pieces for marking. We have had the opportunity to write poems, essays, music or even use art as a form of self expression. I appreciate the university’s efforts to explore and move away from the traditional reflective methods of the past however, for each project I have finished feeling somewhat dissatisfied. Being told to reflect on a particular topic and knowing that you must fulfill a certain marking criteria is restrictive task and limits the freedom of your thoughts. It has surprised me therefore, that reflecting throughout this SSC has been an effortless and enjoyable task. I believe this has essentially come down to the freedom that I’ve been given. Although we were directed towards discussion areas I’ve been able to write about and expand on the matters that interest me. This has me concluding that reflection should be a natural process. The motivation should be a personal drive for self improvement and expression of views. With graded work I believe this motive can become compromised. I wonder if students including myself are really opening up about how they think and feel or does the possibility of an ‘A’ encourage them to write what they think tutors want to hear. This has me thinking about the best ways to reflect. Instead of a structured and specified topic we should have the freedom to reflect on what we want from the year. It should be a personal and ongoing process that students value instead of detest. Changing this mindset will be a challenge but I believe can be done if students begin to see the importance of reflection. This isn’t a perception that can be forced upon us but is an attitude we need to discover ourselves. The current reflective pathway in place discourages the true meaning of reflection and has a negative cloud hanging over head. Even after this short block I’ve begun to see reflection in a positive light because I’ve been able to approach it in my own way.

Now to think briefly about my key learning points throughout the block. I’ve definitely been stunned by the hidden world of resources available to us. The web is a source for knowledge and learning and we shouldn’t shy away from the possibilities it brings. There are numerous programs and software’s that I’ve been introduced to and can now use to help with organisation, studying and learning. I particularly enjoyed reading more about different learning techniques and how people learn. I think it’s fair to say that many of us get stuck using a particular learning style when actually there are so many more efficient and effective alternatives. Reviewing how you learn and being open minded about new strategies is definitely key.

It was also interesting to learn about Creative Commons. The internet is great for the sharing of media, work and resources but until now I’d never considered that these may not be free to reuse wherever I please. This kind of knowledge is invaluable for my future! I’m also very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to make a video learning resource. Being introduced to the relevant software’s was a huge step in my learning and definitely highlighted how little I knew before. Although, the process seemed long and the video has only just come together it’s been entirely worth it. I can only hope that my audience can take inspiration from my video as well as some of the discussion points touched upon throughout this blog.

 

Making Motivation

Over the last month I began reading Julie Dirksen’s “Design for How People Learn”. The book discusses the principles behind learning and how to create engaging and effective resources for varying audiences. There was a particularly interesting concept introduced in chapter one that got me thinking a lot about my own learning experience. The chapter talks about the idea of ‘Gaps’ in a learner’s current status and their end goal. These gaps come in the form of knowledge, skills, motivation, environment and communication. When designing a learning resource its key to identify what the gaps are in order to bridge and resolve them.

The main point of interest for me was the motivation gap. As I’ve previously discussed in my posts, my main problem when it comes to studying is my lack of drive. Once physically sat down and working it doesn’t seem so bad but taking the initial steps to get myself into the frame of mind to do work is difficult. The book considers motivation from a number of different angles. Personally, I’d always thought that motivation was an individual’s mind set and something only they could influence or change. However, this approach suggests that teachers and their learning resources can influence one’s will to focus.

This has me thinking about how I could perhaps alter my revision styles and techniques to make it more appealing and approachable. This may then positively impact my mind set toward work and encourage me to study. The mind palace is already something that I find myself adopting for isolated facts and difficult words but is there a bigger role for it in my learning? Or are there other alternative methods out there that would suit and keep me focused on the task at hand? I’m hoping that once my video has been created those who experience similar problems can use it to benefit their learning.

Keeping up with Creativity

Throughout the last few weeks and particularly this week my learning resource has progressed massively. As mentioned in my last post, I’ve been enjoying the new challenges it has presented and the digital hurdles that I’ve had to overcome. However, one of the main motivational driving factors pushing my project along is the opportunity to be creative. It’s refreshing to feel creatively challenged again and solve problems with an original and innovative approach. This creativity has come in many shapes and forms from drawing cartoons to film making, script writing and even writing this blog.

At school I was particularly fond of art and have always considered myself a pretty creative person. At one point I had a tough decision between pursuing my passion for art and design or medicine. Opting for the latter was heavily influenced by the reassurance that art and the opportunity to be creative could always co-exist alongside my studies and career. In addition to the many other discussion points this block has also had me thinking about creativity within the medical curriculum. What opportunities do we as medical students have to be creative?

Creativity of course comes in many different forms and is a very hard thing to quantify. There is no doubt that the medical school has been striving to introduce innovative projects to stimulate the imagination of its students. In first and second year we had to complete a reflective piece on various topics in a chosen medium ranging from literature to music or art. Now in third year we have an allocated group to which we blog and chat about current medical issues. On reflection of these experiences I can say that yes I had the opportunity to experiment and come up with original ideas but I still felt restricted by the laid out guidelines. True creativity has no boundaries and it is this freedom that brings excitement and enjoyment. The pieces of work we completed were all graded and had fixed marking criteria. Working within such confinements limited the true flexibility of the project. However, without such guides it would be impossible to mark and if the work wasn’t gradable then students would undoubtedly argue about its purpose. It all seems like a viscous cycle of problem after problem. You can’t solve one without creating another. All I can say is that I don’t envy the medical schools across the country who continually struggle to please their students whilst meet the necessary requirements set out by governing bodies.

The Hidden World of Technology

Other than the occasional power-point presentation I’ve not had much experience in the development process involved in making a digital learning resource. This project is bringing some new challenges whilst introducing me to a whole new tech territory of programmes and online facilities. Meddling in this unfamiliar environment is fun but definitely complicated. It shocked me to recognise that throughout my education the last official computing teaching I had was in second year of high school. With the upcoming dominance of technology in our society is this enough?

Being exposed to tools such as Diigo, Prezi or Google Plus and understanding their uses has me pondering on the potential of the web but more crucially wondering what other hidden resources there are available. There are undoubtedly many software’s out there to facilitate and enhance learning or aspects of everyday work and life. Of course to know about all such programmes is an unrealistic goal but it frustrates me that I don’t even understand the ins and outs of power-point or how to take full advantage of its tools. Of course this is knowledge I could independently attain but in our modernising era I believe teaching of technology should have more focus throughout school. In the scheme of the population particularly when you consider poor soles like my grandpa I am pretty clued up on technology. However, in the scheme of the web and the real world I am undeniably tech illiterate.

Coming back to my project, things seem to be progressing well but pretty slowly. It’s difficult when I have so many good ideas but my knowledge and skill set of how to digitalise them restricts my creativity. Until today I had a very clear idea of what I wanted people to learn in my resource but a vague idea of how to achieve it. After today’s discussion I’ve decided to explore the use of Prezi to develop a canvas like video about the how to mind palace. I’m hopeful about its success but very aware that some new YouTube tutorials will be added to my pile of recently watched.

 

Developing an Online Resource

By the end of our four week block one of the goals is to create a digital learning resource on any topic and in any shape or form. With the recent discussion on learning theories and my interest in how people retain information I’ve decided to involve this aspect in my project.

Personally, I have always struggled to learn facts and chunks of information that aren’t backed up with explanations. My brain works really well in problem solving and working through questions if I have a thorough view of the topic. For some reason this understanding of concepts doesn’t really feel like memorisation. My brain can reason with all the information and when answering questions on the subject it can logically work out and justify an answer.  However, when it comes to recalling facts I either know the answer or I don’t. There is a limited problem solving process involved and if I don’t know the solution there isn’t really a way to work it out. Unfortunately for me, in medicine there is a lot of this kind of information particularly in the early years where you are overloaded with new details, ideas and language. At this early stage it is impossible to develop a full understanding of everything so I accepted that the memorisation of facts was going to be a big part of my learning. In an attempt to make this easier I began using a technique called the mind palace.

The mind palace also known as the method of loci is a technique used for memorisation and learning. It works by using spatial memory and attaching familiar associations such as sounds, smells, visions and locations to chunks of information or facts. This then makes it easier for you to retrieve the information in an effective and efficient manner. It may seem like ridiculous concept to some but I believe many could benefit from using the technique. My aim is therefor to develop a resource that will introduce people to this idea and teach them how to use it as an effective tool for studying and the memorisation of difficult information.

The Secrets Behind Our Friend Powerpoint

Throughout school and now definitely at university the most common medium for teaching is a classic power-point presentation. With all our lectures and many of our small group sessions being in this format it is a good time to consider what makes a successful and good teacher or lecturer. Is it solely down to the presenter or does the power-point itself impact the knowledge attained?

Thinking back to my high school days my favorite and undeniably best teacher I’ve ever experienced was in my advanced higher maths class. His approach for each lesson was a simplistic writing on the whiteboard with a marker pen. However, it wasn’t this outdated medium that made him effective, in fact his style is easily transferable to the digital era. What made him so good was that he was working through the problems with us and openly encouraged questions. At any point if you didn’t quite understand something you could freely ask and discuss the area of uncertainty. At no point where any gaps allowed to form in my own or my peers knowledge. The collective learning of the classroom would only progress if everyone had a sound understanding up to that point. In comparison to now often concepts or information may not make entire sense but before having time to ponder and question it, the focus of the learning has already moved on. This potentially creates huge gaps in learning and can be very frustrating for the learner who then struggles to understand any further teaching if the initial concept hasn’t been mastered. Obviously, having a classroom of 6 friends in comparison to a lecture theatre of 150 students is the main difference. Lets face it interrupting a lecture and asking a question in front of your peer group can be intimidating so achieving what I had in that legendary maths class is probably a pretty unrealistic goal. But creating a lecture that’s interesting, interactive and easy to follow shouldn’t be.

For myself and arguably the majority of students often the limiting factor in learning from lectures is concentration. It can be exceedingly hard to sit in the same seat and not speak for 2, sometimes 3 hours watching a big screen with different lecturers rambling on. This is where the importance of a good power-point can promote the learning environment. Colour schemes, font types and sizes, wording, words per slide and inserted images/videos are just some of the key factors that should be considered when making power-point that aims to captivate and engage your audience. Obviously individuals are unique and have different preferences but as our most recent tutorial highlighted there are definite ways to make successful power-points that encourage learning. Undoubtedly, the presenter plays a key role in relaying the information but a solid power-point can contribute massively.

So in conclusion and for any power-point makers that may be reading this I thought I’d mention what kind of power-point is ideal for my learning and hopefully the majority out there. I hope the demands aren’t too unachievable: Stick to pretty plain or light colours for the background, anything too bold is overwhelming and an eye sore. Large easy to read fonts in dark colours, you cant go wrong with a dark blue or black. Make titles easily distinguishable from other information and perhaps emphasis key words. Pictures and writing entering in fancy whirls or burls aren’t really necessary but if it means making the power-point is that wee bit more enjoyable for you then I guess it doesn’t really compromise the presentation standard.  Clearly spaced out writing in distinct bullet points are easy to follow and just nice to read. Any information around these points that is too clunky to fit on the page please include in the notes. In fact, any learning at all that is required please include in the notes. There is nothing worse than missing a lecture, having a really nice power-point but no explanation or information in the note footer. Photos and videos are always helpful and engaging but again full explanations in the footer will help with revision, some clinical pictures can look pretty darn similar to a newbie. Try and keep slide number below 50 there is nothing worse than coming back to a lecture of 120+ slides. Oh and if you could throw in some complementary sweets or snacks that would be great too.

Let’s Talk About Exams

Since high school I’ve had some very conflicting and perhaps controversial views about assessments and exams. It may be necessary to have a way of ensuring students meet a minimum standard of knowledge but surely more importantly we need to evaluate whether students are gaining an appropriate skill set in combination with this knowledge. I believe the traditional exam model we use at school and university isn’t an effective way of determining whether students have the ability to perform in a certain class, job or career. With our exam structure in place, many are guilty of focusing only on passing. The actual core learning and attaining a true, holistic understanding of a topic becomes the second priority. Students are increasingly learning in a way to pass exams and this is beginning to compromise a sound understanding and ability to apply knowledge in real life. Exams isolate one particular skill set which is the recall of information, commonly facts. Outside of the exam bubble this seems a completely absurd and unrealistic concept because all our knowledge retrieval or application is continually combined with a variety of other skills.

I find the Finnish schooling system has a very desirable model of teaching. Their students don’t sit any formal examinations until the age of 17/18, in contrast to the UK where we have primary students as young as 11 sitting high school entry exams. Already from a young age we are being encouraged to learn in a particular way that will enable us to answer questions or pick out multiple choice answers. This not only detracts away from a whole range of other and what I consider more important skills, but also puts a scale and grading on ‘intelligence’. When exams become the main aspect of school or university it discourages and devalues the development of other abilities. Being examined at such a young age also introduces grouping and a pecking order of intellect. Lets face it many students won’t do well in exams but that doesn’t mean they unintelligent or don’t have the combined skill set for a particular job or career.

Learning to Learn and the Struggle to Study

How we learn and acquire information is a phenomenon that many theories have tried to explain. In modern times it is common knowledge that all individuals learn differently and use a variety of strategies to retain information. In comparison to the restrictive, rigid beliefs and teaching methods of the past we are fortunate to have such a flexible approach to learning. With the vast range of sources and strategies already available it is interesting to consider how advances in technology and the digital era may affect our learning and the intelligence of upcoming generations. Will it prove as an invaluable source, or as some believe a detriment to our learning capabilities and capacities? With such a controversial topic in mind, I started to think about my approach to learning and studying throughout school and now at university.

For me studying or even the thought of studying has and probably always will be something that I struggle with. It’s not the learning or applying my brain that appears daunting, to the contrary being immersed in knowledge and developing new perspectives, thoughts, ideas or concepts is an exciting prospect for me. Regularly,  I find myself absorbed in books, articles, videos or discussion and naturally expanding my bank of knowledge to feed my inquisitive mind. Even once into the studying I am often awed by my course and the privilege of learning. However, more often than I like to admit I have to guiltily retract from the depths of a web page researching the tiniest irrelevant detail of a topic. Retaining information is so much easier for me when I have accomplished a full understanding of the subject at hand. Pure facts or data with unexplained concepts infuriate me and with no contextual explanation or information I struggle to commit these to memory. Although, no one can argue it is no bad thing to fully understand concepts, when undertaking a medical degree it is a very dangerous game. Already, with a monumental volume to learn its not physically possible to know everything about everything.

Working within the confined and restricted boundaries of studying is what I find so frustrating and difficult about revision. The freedom and excitement of learning now feels forced and limited. Mentally I become uninspired and unmotivated to do something that I actually quite enjoy. Even writing this now I can’t seem to fully explain or justify even to myself the mental blockade and negative attitude I have towards studying. It reminds me of a younger me, sleeves rolled and about to voluntarily delve into the soapy water to begin washing the last meals dishes. I hear the innocent voice of mum across the room ask me to clear up and for some unexplainable yet irrational thought process this once seemingly kind gesture of free will is now a labored and implemented chore that I no longer have a desire to fulfill.

Are you a CopyCat?

Our first tutorial was tackling the issues surrounding copyright. In our current tech savvy society where the world of sharing is at our fingertips it seems increasingly difficult to keep things private. “Once on the web always on the web” seems pretty appropriate. I’d perhaps taken a naive approach in thinking that anything I could get my hands on was free and accessible to use for whatever means I wanted. Of course it makes sense that the original creator should have the rights to and grant permission for the reuse of his or her work but I hadn’t considered that everything found online does not have this consent. That seemingly harmless class power point with pasted google images may not be entirely innocent.

Only now have I learnt how to make an advanced google search to find ‘CC’ images. CC or creative commons is a set of free licences that many creators are choosing to use which means they have consented for the public use and sharing of their work. Unfortunately, the once vast and seemingly endless pool of google images has now evaporated into a puddle of little variety.

To quantify this I searched for a ‘mountain pygmy possum’ one of the rarest photographed animals. An initial unfiltered search did not disappoint with thousands of cute, big-eyed, mouse like creatures staring at me. In contrast, an advanced search eradicating all copyright images resulted in less than 100 pictures most of which didn’t seem to feature our furry friend. Although, I am still impressed with the top image from photographer Phil Spark, even if it did feature at least 5 times.

This brings me onto the final issue of clinical imaging. Sharing of cases and clinical discussion between doctors has and always will be a key learning point. However, with any patient involvement confidentiality is 100% key. All images being shared whether it be on a small scale between conferences or larger scale such as the internet must have full consent from the photographed individual. They must have an understanding of what the image is going to be used for and who may have access to it. Undoubtedly, it is an area with more strict guidelines and serious consequences should confidentiality be abused.

Until now, I can confess that I am myself guilty of using resources that weren’t licensed for re-use. As a student this hasn’t presented any negative consequences but I am glad to have acquired such a skill that will from this point on enable me to appropriately select images, illustrations and videos. And don’t worry the image on my blog homepage is most definitely not copyrighted. I’ve double and triple checked.

 

The Big Bad Web and my Online Presence

I’d never really considered the number of online identities or profiles that may exist under my name. If anything as a bit of a technology noob I would have estimated a number considerably below the double figures mark. It surprised nobody more than myself to learn that in fact my name, email, address and number are potentially stuck in the webs of at least 20 different online spaces. This ranges from social media, email, online shopping, Amazon, Spotify and numerous apps some of which haven’t been accessed since my delightful ‘Farm Frenzy’ playing days.

Dave White and Alison Le Cornu’s “Visitors and Residents” concept describes how individuals engage with the web and explores the way we use it in both a professional and personal manner. This idea made me reflect on how much the internet plays a role in not only my social but now my student and learning life. When it comes to the stresses of exam season online flashcards, question banks, YouTube and not to forget a trusted Google search form the basis for my revision. Even throughout the year lectures, tutorials, timetables and a huge proportion of learning is relayed to students through means of the web. Although, shocked by the sheer size of my online presence using the web and such resources is something we shouldn’t shy away from. We are in a fortunate position were sharing content, work, ideas and opinions has never been easier and we should take advantage of this to optimize our learning experience. Having only benefited from online learning so far, I can only hope that digital teaching will expand in years to come, even if it means adding to my web footprint. It may be time however, to say goodbye to some of the abandoned profiles that marked my youth.