I consider my Academic Identity, prior to embarking on PGCAP and writing the Personal Academic Development Plan (PADP), to have been very restricted. I focused solely on teaching, the “job description” and the “contract” obtained. (Boyd and Smith, 2016) I believed that as a lecturer of a clinical discipline, it was my role to transfer knowledge to my students in order to teach them how to become Dental Hygiene Therapists. The only mode of action was via lectures and my focus was on “practice” rather than “identity”. (Boyd and Smith, 2016)

For me to achieve status as a successful and accomplished academic, consideration and prioritising the role and identity of an academic requires “reflection”. (Boyd and Smith 2016) Areas that I recognise as my role within my academic identity are;

• To support and develop student learning

• Research responsibilities

To support and develop student learning

I have identified the need to create learning environments that allow students to build their own knowledge and understanding of the discipline. Regurgitation of facts, learned verbatim, is a demonstration of ability to memorise facts but does not verify understanding. Within my teaching I want to generate learning opportunities that support students to build their knowledge. The success criteria of this strategy will be measured by the students’ demonstrating their ability to respond independently and confidently to real time issues that patient cases present.

I have utilised Top Hat in my teaching this semester thus allowing students to share their ideas and opinions on subjects such as patient care and professionalism. Although we have very small cohorts and verbal discussion is easily achieved, I often find that the more confident students engage in discussion while others merely sit and observe. By employing Top Hat, I enable all students are to give input (anonymously) without fear of making mistakes publicly. My aim in using this teaching tool is to increase participation from all students in a non-threatening forum.

I have also developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of errors in learning and teaching process. Students strive to constantly impress and achieve perfection and fear any form of failure or negative feedback. Shifting mindset would benefit students learning if they are focused on accepting errors and failure as an integral part in the construction of knowledge.

Peer assisted learning (PAL) is an approach to learning and teaching in which students support one another through feedback and collaborative study. I benefitted from being paired with a colleague from the student association, at a PGCAP orientation course. Her role is to support schools, staff and students in the integration of PAL in the curriculum and timetable and she was willing to meet to discuss the how I might best utilise it. PAL would integrate well in clinical skill teaching as students are responsible for independently arranging sessions to practice technical skills such as restorative dentistry and give feedback to one another, thus improving communication skills and learning how to identify weakness and strengths in restorative dentistry processes. I plan to contact my peer this forthcoming semester and discuss with our team as to how we can best integrate PAL.

Research responsibilities

Boyd and Smith’s (2016) paper on researcher identity of higher education lecturers in health care professions reflects my insecurities with beginning research with little to no experience. The paper recognises that many health care professionals like me, enter academia from a successful career in patient care, rather than from further education such as a PhD.

My PT advised that through PGCAP I could begin to introduce research into my academic identity through “research your teaching” course. I have since completed the initial orientation for the course and feel confident that I can contribute to discipline development through my own research. I am also inspired to consider other data collection techniques such as collage making in response to a question. I noted from own experience of this technique that my answer to the question “what does PGCAP mean to me?” was significantly more in depth and enlightening than if I had been presented within a questionnaire.

In the time since first writing my PADP, I have had the opportunity to be a sub-investigator for a worldwide, randomised, double blind, placebo control trial (the Willow study). Although my role is quite far down the hierarchy chain, I hope to gain a lot of insight into the process of research, particularly areas of ethical approval which I have l ittle awareness and understanding of.

UKPSF dimensions – A1,  A2,  A4, A5, V2, K2, K4 and K5

References

Boyd, P. and Smith, C. (2016) “The contemporary academic: orientation towards research work and researcher identity of higher education lecturers in the health professions”, Studies in Higher Education, 41:4, pp. 678-695.

For Block three course outline assignment, I elected to redesign a course within BSc Oral Health Sciences. Reflecting on my proposed developments for Clinical Practice, I referred to Ramsden’s (2003) journal “issues for addressing”. Ramsden (2003), poses questions which I utilised when considering how the Clinical Practice 2a (CP2a) might be developed.

1 “Goals and Structure” and “Evaluation” (Ramsden,2003)

The nature of teaching of restorative skills lends itself nicely to peer interaction and feedback. It is essential that students are able to identify why a cavity design or restoration placement may fail. In addition, students must also understand the process needed to achieve a successful preparation and restoration of a carious tooth. This is an evident “goal” within the course which students are required to achieve. (Ramsden, 2003)

In the past, I have found that students are often reluctant to present work that they deem as failure. We must assist our students in recognising the value and benefits of presenting failures and successes, as both are valuable in the learning process. Through peer feedback on clinical tasks, students are required to identify areas for improvement in the integrity of a restoration, demonstrating recognition and knowledge of gold standard restorative dentistry. I have considered the feedback element of the course design and the incorporation of “evaluation” from both peers and teachers. This adjustment encourages the student to focus on the desired goal of achieving the clinical competency. (Ramsden, 2003)

An important consideration when engaging in peer feedback is ensuring that students feel secure when carrying out such an exercise. Students should not feel judged as inadequate or unable to give constructive criticism to close peers. This is a fundamental measure of students’ development as a medical professional; effective communication. To avoid these potential problems, students are invited to record and submit the feedback. The teaching staff will review this periodically whilst discussing their own feedback on work that has been presented.

This current academic year, I have begun to incorporate ideas from the course design into my own teaching of Clinical Practice 2a. Trialling the recording of feedback (on paper within hard copy of the restorative handbook), students have utilised the feedback recording tables, thus allowing them to reflect on areas for improvement. This has given students autonomy and independence during self-directed and revision sessions. Students use the individual feedback to personalise timetabled revision sessions, where they are able to focus on their own specific development needs. This allows students to optimise their clinical practise time and work on individual clinical skills that they have identified for themselves rather than clinical tutors setting broad tasks.

2. “Teaching strategies” (Ramsden, 2003)

Traditionally, CP2a was arranged in the following format; a lecture was delivered on a specific clinical skill followed by a practical demonstration. The remaining time allowed students to practice the skill on the phantom head. This traditional organisation can be ineffective for the student in terms of grasping the concept theoretically and practically as the time is insufficient.  Through the introduction of video demonstrations, the students can access the content with adequate time to process the material. This prior knowledge will give students increased opportunities, within the clinical skills session, to practice the technical aspects and prepare any questions in advance.  This is an example of constructive alignment that I have attempted to incorporate into the course design. (Biggs, 1999)

With this alteration, students can use the learning materials available to develop their own understanding of the restorative technique. The student “constructs” (Biggs, 1999) their own understanding of the restorative process through watching the online materials and independent reading of relevant literature and resources. Prior knowledge from students active and investigative learning will optimise the time available for practicing the skill where the session was previously occupied by a lecture. Students will also have increased access to a tutor for feedback and guidance. As a lecturer, the design of the online resources and set up of the clinical skill practical tasks will achieve the “alignment aspect” (Biggs, 1999) of constructive alignment. In addition to feedback, the course will set mock examinations allowing students to experience and practice in an environment simulating real-life. Consideration of delivery of teaching will assist students in achieving the “desired learning outcomes”. (Biggs, 1999)

Over the next academic year, I aim to embark on video recording my practical demonstrations and gradually build an online resource. Current resources are available from fellow Dental Schools in Scotland that I plan to review and utilise. I hope to collaborate with other schools discussing how to successfully create content that will improve teaching and learning.

UKPSF Dimensions – A1, A2, A3, A4, K2 and K4

REFERENCES

Ramsden, P.  (2003) “The goals and structure of a course” in Ramsden, P. Learning to teach in higher education second edition. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. 119-121.

Biggs, J (1999), ‘What the Student Does: teaching for enhanced learning’, Higher Education Research & Development, 1(18), pp. 57-75. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/0729436990180105?scroll=top&needAccess=true (Accessed 06 Feb 2018).