A Personal Perspective on Philosophy of Teaching: The Clinical Learning Environment, Teaching Session and Assessment.

Abstract

A clinical educator's job includes having a philosophy on teaching. This involves defining their roles, responsibilities and values within a teaching setting. By exploring the factors that contribute to a philosophy of teaching, teachers can build an approach that might best service the learners. I use my own experience and reflections as an example of how this works in practice. The utilisation of environment within the context of various teaching modalities becomes a key contributing factor in this. Unfortunately, specifically designed spaces are often in short supply. Environment means much more than just the physical space and also encompasses the psychological safety of the learner and how the educator can foster a culture to accommodate this. By gaining an understanding of the impact of space on the learner, changes can be made that better utilise space in education. I also explore other features of my philosophy including structuring sessions and utilisation of assessments. It is important to correctly utilise formative and summative assessments; acknowledging evidence of a recent shift towards greater use of formative assessments. Previous literature on constructive alignment of education, from grass-roots through on-the-ward teaching and up to modular learning objectives demonstrates the necessity for consideration of the bigger picture. A 'bigger picture' perspective allows oversight to ensure decision-making is aligned through all levels of the education structure. Through this evaluation of my experience, I hope to highlight the need for a teacher or teaching organisation to identify and define its teaching philosophy. As well as highlighting the need for this, my reflections should provide a few pillars upon which an individual philosophy of teaching can be built, and justify why they are crucial foundations through evaluation of relevant literature.