Teaching and learning are two concepts that have always been thought of as one. As a health professional, I interact with various individuals who have different knowledge and are willing to share. It is through teaching and learning that one can become competent in their different areas of practice. Throughout my career, I have led different teaching sessions and also interacted with individuals who have unique learning styles. I also have a unique learning style since it has helped me easily understand new information that I get in my daily interactions. This paper will expound on my learning style, professional teaching in correlation to one theoretical underpinning. I will also use detailed examples to support how my values and beliefs are linked to teaching and learning. Lastly, the essay will be backed by evidence from scholarly sources and course readings.
My learning style
I believe that my learning style is auditory. On most occasions, I effectively learn and grasp different concepts effectively through active listening. Instead of maybe visualizing what I am being told or reading a textbook, I would prefer to listen to a presenter. I learned about my learning style through personal assessment and an online assessment (McLeod, 2021). I agree with this information because I find it challenging to visualize and comprehend vast chunks of information presented in textbooks. However, my active listening skills have always helped me grasp the presented information without struggling whenever new concepts are presented. According to (Anderson, 2016), learning styles are an essential aspect because it helps every individual to reflect of their preferred ways of learning and have more control when learning. Although I am an auditory learner, I prefer incorporating different teaching styles since every person has a unique way of grasping information. For instance, when delivering health promotion messages, after explaining the theoretical aspects, I often accompany my presentation which different visuals or demonstrate using hands how to do what is being presented correctly. These strategies have helped learners who have different learning styles to retain what is being presented easily.
Teaching Philosophy
Feedback is an essential aspect since it helps in promoting personal and professional growth. As a health professional, I value getting feedback and opinions from my learners after a presenting has elapsed. Since I incorporate an open communication teaching approach, it has always helped me gain insights into my learners’ diverse learning needs. When there is a mismatch between a teacher’s style of teaching and learning style from learners, it can lead to most learners being inattentive. I closely associate myself with the social cognitive theory since it is founded on the idea that we learn by observing others. According to Luszczynska & Schwarzer (2015), SCT describes how individual and environmental factors play a role in influencing the behaviors of others (Luszczynska & Schwarzer, 2015). As a result, I like using skills and models that will positively impact my learners when teaching. By encouraging and setting achievable goals for my learners, I believe they can also emulate my examples in the future.
Theoretical Underpinnings
I believe the social cognitive theory relates well with my life experiences. I am the youngest in a family of four growing up; I liked observing and imitating things that my older ones did. Observing my siblings and the people around me has played an influential role in shaping most of my personality traits. On most occasions, I liked accompanying my dad to a school where he taught. I would sit back and listen as he lectured the other students. I believe this played an influential role in shaping my learning styles. According to Zhou and Brown (2015), when an individual performing a behavior and the consequence of that behavior, they tend to remember the sequence of that behavior and use the gained information to guide their subsequent actions (Zhou & Brown, 2015). I believe that this concept also applies to learners. Although some may have different learning styles, using various teaching styles can model them and help them grasp concepts using different learning styles. Having this in mind, I believe that by incorporating different teaching strategies for my learners, they will observe and follow my path.
Values and Beliefs.
Values and beliefs are essential since they serve as an important influence on someone’s behavior and guidelines. Additionally, values and beliefs serve as abroad guidelines for handling different situations. As a health professional, I interact with people from different backgrounds. I value working with integrity and openness. As a result, when teaching, I strive to deliver concepts that will positively impact my learners. When integrity is embraced in a learning session, it helps learners to embrace similar aspects when interacting with different aspects of their lives. By embracing integrity and open communications, I can prepare my learners on how to handle diverse situations in their lives.
Conclusion
Conclusively, health professionals interact with individuals who have distinct learning styles. As a result, it is their responsibility to incorporating different teaching strategies since this will ensure that all the learners’ needs are met. By embracing integrity and openness, the confidence of my learners can be adequately developed. I look forward to impacting positively all the learners I interact with during my presentations.
References
Anderson, I. (2016). Identifying different learning styles to enhance the learning experience. Nursing Standard (2014+), 31(7), 53. https://www.proquest.com/openview/59b4629d560513e470a794dad5106727/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2042228
Luszczynska, A., & Schwarzer, R. (2015). Social cognitive theory. Fac Health Sci Publ, 225-51.
McLeod, S. (2021). Kolb’s learning styles and experiential learning cycle. Simply psychology.
Zhou, M., & Brown, D. (2015). Educational learning theories. https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=education-textbooks
