What is your main teaching philosophy? It is my mission to prepare my students for the challenges they are going to face in the future. Students should understand health care is undergoing tremendous transformation, in addition to professional knowledge and skills which is fundamental to safe practice. It is necessary to be competent in 21st century skills, which include creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, information management, effective use of technology, career and life skills and cultural awareness, so that they would be successful after their graduation. I believe in experiential learning which engages undergraduate students purposefully in direct experience, focused reflection, and authentic assessment to increase knowledge, develop skills and strategies, clarify values, and apply prior learning. It is a holistic integrative perspective of learning that incorporates perceptions, cognition, experiences, as well as behaviour. What is the most rewarding part of teaching? When I found students discussing about the patient, reminding their peers the standard practice and warning about the risks in clinical simulation after deliberate practice and debriefing, I know they have learnt how to learn. They will be safe interns when they join the workforce. It is extremely rewarding to witness how students grow in the process, even though there were ups and downs in the middle. How do you promote teacher-student rapport? I discussed with students a real life scenario in the class, as a practicing emergency physician, and let them interact with standardized patients or simulators. Within a couple of minutes they got into their roles, they think of very practical questions and help each other to manage patients with complex conditions, such as sexual assault victims. I was very impressed about the high quality of discussion in that class, which was not common in town. What have been your greatest challenges in teaching and how did you overcome them? |