Borton's (1970) Framework Guiding Reflective Activities

Introduction to Pedagogy Module DIT - Week 2

As mentioned previously I have no students at present to demonstrate too, so I am finding myself spending my weeks searching for incidents that occur that I feel would be suitable for reflection and that I can reflect upon these ‘incidents’ effectively.

Last week I explored Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (Gibbs 1988) as a model of reflection. I quite liked the structure that this provided me and guided me with my reflecting. This week I was approached by one of my PhD supervisors with regards to giving a talk at the Association of Optometrists of Ireland (AOI) annual general meeting (AGM) in November. As this talk of course hasn’t occurred yet I decided to look at some of the other reflective writing styles that might lend more to my current predicament. I find myself combining a reflection on how I felt after that brief conversation and the immediate happenings post-conversation but also looking into the future and reflecting ‘before action’ as one might in this situation (Greenaway et al. 1993).

What? – So What? – Now What? ...

What happened?

Last Thursday (25/09/2015), one of my PhD supervisors came to me during my clinic with a small request. She had been approached by a member of the AOI to give a lecture on ‘Demodex blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and dry eye’ at their AGM in November. As this is essentially the essence of my PhD my supervisor asked me if I was interested in giving the talk as it would be great experience for me.

I was initially taken aback, flattered that she would consider me to give the talk but immediately anxious at what this would involve. Also I had a gut feeling that it was going to clash with a pre-arranged weekend with friends overseas. Of course it did. Regardless this was not the opportunity to pass up for a boozy weekend with mates so I cancelled those plans. Now minus the cost of the flights I was free to give the talk at the AGM. All that needed to happen of course was for my supervisor to advise the AOI board that she could not attend the meeting but that she would recommend I take her spot. She did this and within several hours I received an e-mail from the AOI board to confirm that I would be giving a talk at the AGM.

By agreeing to do the talk I’m trying to take more initiative with regards to my research. A major part of my research is recruiting volunteers to partake in the study. This has been a long and difficult road so for me the more people that know about it the better, but also the more eyecare professionals’ i.e. Optometrists that are aware of the study the better. These are the people who will see first-hand patients who they feel may benefit from the treatment given as part of the study and could refer people in to me to help me get my numbers.

The best thing about this happening is that I will get the chance to promote the study to the perfect/ideal audience. I can make sure the people that need to know, know exactly what they need to. I can’t say that there is anything bad about being asked to do something like this. As I said it is an opportunity that one certainly in my position cannot turn down. I feel it is important to treat it as a privilege.

So what?

I chose this moment to reflect on as it is a very important moment for me in my career both as an Optometrist but also as a prospective researcher/academic. The AOI is the professional representative body for the majority of practising Optometrists in the country. It is responsible alongside the Opticians Board for providing supervisory and ethical environment for all members. Newly qualified Optometry graduates must pass the Association exams before they are legally allowed to work unsupervised. Naturally the AOI and the college work very closely together. To be invited to speak is a big deal – it will get my name out there, it will allow me to publicise the research I’m doing at the moment among other professionals, and hopefully get them on board with helping me to recruit patients for my study.

I am at a slight advantage as this is not the first time that I have presented at the AGM. During my final year as an undergraduate student I presented a case study to the AGM on an interesting patient I had seen on pre-registration work experience. While that was only 15mins long and this is likely to be closer to an hour they’re not exactly the same but I do believe previous experience of even speaking in front of such a large group will stand to me.

Now what?

I have approximately one month to prepare for this presentation, but there is a lot of work to do. It is going to be a continued professional development (CPD) presentation so there will be CPD points on offer for the professionals who attend. The scariest part of this is that the vast majority of professionals that I will be presenting to will be older and far more experienced as Optometrists than I am. I am going to need to consider this when I am writing and delivering the presentation. In this situation they are my peers, so it is going to be a little different to your ‘University classroom’ dynamics.

I will try to incorporate some of the group learning activities we have discussed in lectures. Certainly I think giving example case studies, and problem solving that will promote self-thinking throughout could be a good way to keep people engaged. Asking rhetorical questions that promote self-reflectance of the members. I will give some examples of technology enhanced learning - online video’s etc. … where practitioners can get more information if they wish (Morss & Murray 2005). I don’t feel that it is the appropriate audience to be splitting people into groups and giving different tasks, so from that side I don’t feel that active learning and audience participation will lend appropriately to this presentation. So in some sense this would follow a more old-school behaviourist type of presentation (Carlile & Jordan 2005). There will be a Q and A session at the end for the members if they do have any queries.

I have read some guides about how adults learn, and the big factors that seem to appear repetitively are; that the topic needs to be immediately useful and relevant to the adult (which it is), that I as a presenter am welcoming, that the presentation is engaging and above all respectful to my peers (NCFPH 2012). I plan on using stories and anecdotes from my own experience to help make a connection with the members.

The beneficial consequences of this action are that everybody enjoys the presentation, finds it interesting and engaging and that they take on board what I am asking them to do. That they leave being more aware of Demodex and that they might refer patients in to see me who can take part in the trial.

If the presentation doesn’t go well it would be devastating for my personal self-esteem, for my courage to get up in front of groups and lecture, teach, facilitate – whatever verb you want to use. It would certainly knock my confidence. I feel the AOI would be less inclined to ask me to help out with any future events they have or workshops etc.… that they may wish to run. But hopefully this won’t happen. I would like to avoid this situation by working hard on creating a presentation that will cater to the audience as outlined previously.

References:

Carlile O & A Jordan (2005): It works in practice but will it work in theory? The theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy. In: O' Neill G, Moore S and McMullin BE (eds.) Emerging Issues in the Practice of University Learning and Teaching. Dublin. All Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE): 11-26.

Gibbs G (1988): Learning by doing : a guide to teaching and learning methods. London. FEU.

Greenaway R, Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. & Endeavour Scotland. (1993): Playback : a guide to reviewing activities. Windsor. Duke of Edinburgh's Award in association with Endeavour Scotland.

Jasper M (2003): Beginning reflective practice. Cheltenham. Nelson Thornes.

Morss K & R Murray (2005): Teaching at university : a guide for postgraduates and researchers. London. SAGE Publications.

NCFPH (2012): Effective Adult Learning: A Toolkit for Teaching Adults. Northwest Center for Practice Health. url: https://www.nwcphp.org/documents/training/Adult_Education_Toolkit.pdf [accessed: 02/10/2015].