By Coby Tschanz
Poor little bug on the wall.
No-one to love her at all.
No-one to blow his nose.
No-one to tickle her toes.
Poor little bug on the wall!
Have you ever wondered what happens in the classrooms of your colleagues? An inspiring conversation with two colleagues—Dr. Gweneth Doane and Dr. Deborah
Thoun—has me thinking about the in-class world of teaching-learning. Indeed, I began to wonder what you’d think about one of my most favourite learning activities (LA), which I designed to focus studies on teaching-learning. I thought you might be interested to read about it, and make recommendations for developing the activity.
So, here goes:
Ends-in-View
In this LA, students have an opportunity to:
• articulate and explore beliefs about teaching-learning;
• draw on principles or processes of teaching-learning to analyze a learning activity;
• discuss implications of their learning for nursing education in class and clinical settings; and
• be a bit goofy in class!
In preparation for class I refine the LA according to student learning levels and class and course ends-in-view.
In Class
After reviewing our ends-in-view in class, I explain that we will engage in a fun activity as an example of teaching-learning. Specifically, we’ll learn
a children’s song, after which we’ll share discussion about teaching-learning: beliefs, assumptions, principles, models, and so on.
To begin, I tell a story about the time I was accused of waking a man from a coma with my (less than stellar) singing. The story takes place in an auxiliary hospital where I worked as a nursing assistant. I was assisting residents of a 4-bed room complete ADLs. Two men — Hal and Dave — were already up and in the dinning room having breakfast. The third man, Sid, was in bed—I was told he had been in a coma for the last 2 days. I’d bathe him later. Hank was at the sink, brushing his dentures with my help. For some reason, I was singing.
Hank seemed to enjoy the singing, or perhaps he was an unfortunate captive audience. Suddenly, from across the room Sid yelled: “Whose that?! Whose singing over there?!” His voice was very rusty. I was startled, of course, but said, “It’s Coby. Uhm. I’m your nursing assistant today.” And then, defensively, “I sing in a church choir, you know!” There was a pause, and Sid snarled: “No wonder nobody goes to church anymore!”
Yikes. True story.
After the students finish laughing at, er, with me, we begin our own efforts at song. I invite everyone to participate in whatever way they want—as songsters, observers, spoken-word artists, lip-syncers, or via sign language or actions. I tell them we’re going to learn “Poor Little Bug on the Wall,” and that it’s a good song that will come in handy in all sorts of situations: paediatric nursing, parenting, babysitting, campfire singing. First we recite the words I’ve posted on the wall, then they hear the tune (of sorts) from me, then we have a sing-a-long, then we add actions to suit the 4-line song: wringing of hands, sad eyes, etc. etc. Once we have the words and semblance of the tune memorized, we turn our backs to the wall, and try it again. Then we add a twist. Maybe the bug has flown into a closed window and is flattened! We then sing with a hand smashed against our lips. We ad-lib a few more scenarios.
At some points in the activity participants might feel a bit bewildered. Some students spend the whole time giggling. Others roll their eyes, but are game. Others enjoy being the parents or camp leaders they are outside of class. After singing, comes the time for us to ask: “What just happened?” We discuss what was effective, not effective, enjoyable, not enjoyable, and why. We are likely to discuss how vulnerability, authenticity, confidence, learning styles, and other influences and experiences are lived in class. We draw on strategies, principles, concepts, and processes of teaching learning in our analysis. We discuss how what happens in class is relevant or not in clinical situations. We may also discuss our hopes and concerns for continuing studies in our class.
On Campus
It occurs to me that the question of “What just happened (in that classroom)?” might yield some surprising accounts, as told by students and educators throughout the SON and HSD. Perhaps we will be able to read about the diverse plans and hopes of educators and students for in class activities in future editions of the Communiqué. (And, if you have thoughts about how I can refine the above LA, please email me at cobyt@uvic.ca.)
From the 2014 Spring Communiqué — Student Issue
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