OSRC believes that seeking knowledge requires a mindset based on life-long learning. Part of this life-long learning comes from teaching. When we teach, we reflect upon our ideas as well as our methods of communication.
“I enjoy learning. If you are not enjoying, you are not learning”, one of our members told this website.
Teaching medical students has its unique character because the knowledge acquired will be transferred into clinical practice and impact on patient care are long‐term outcomes.
There are some basic principles in effective teaching:
The following teaching philosophy gives a framework for how OSRC teach however, teaching philosophy is a dynamic process that constantly evolves with the growth of experience on the individual as well as on the organisation levels.
OSRC usually matches teaching with the levels of expertise of the learners, a consideration of whether theoretical or practical educational material is being taught, and the purpose and context of learning. This adaptability is a key skill of a flexible teacher and is demonstrated as differences in teaching style.
One popular teaching model has been credited to Anthony F. Grasha, includes five classic teaching styles:
Teaching is usually a flexible combination of these styles adapted to the classroom dynamics and students’ abilities.
A good way to begin is by listing, in simple terms, how students learn best and then choose effective teaching strategies accordingly. Before teaching in our workshops and courses, OSRC makes a list of take-home messages. What is essential to grasp. Then our teachers make a plan how to present these messages in the simplest form, how to repeat the presentation in another way and then how to check that these messages were received successfully.
Our world is complex and getting more complex with time. Here comes the teacher’s most important role: how to simplify a complex model, enhance students’ learning, develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will contribute to their success in the profession. The are many teaching methods but there are no magic recipes that can be used in all setting at any time. Every class is a unique in its composition, dynamic and the time factor in which it exists. As teachers, we need to understand our class dynamics, our students’ abilities, potentials and the institutional goals before developing the teaching plan. This is an interactive process that matures with interactions and evolves over time.
Learning assessment is complementary yet a parallel process to this evolution. OSRC rigorously assess the effectiveness of each teaching method to demonstrate student learning in a fashion that relates directly to the stated teaching beliefs.
We receive important feedback from multiple sources (e.g., peers, course coordinators, students, self-ratings) about our ability to translate those believes into effective teaching practices.
