Becoming one of those teachers

Becoming one of those teachers

26th February 2023

[The Probe, February 2023]

As a student I can remember instinctively knowing which teachers I related to and got the most from. We all have ‘those teachers’ from different stages of our student days (and of course now as professionals continuing to learn) who stand out. I’ve always wanted to be one of those teachers.

It’s interesting to try and work out why some teachers are effective whilst others leave you out in the cold and uninspired. I’ve been teaching dental foundation students now for almost a decade and after many years observing from both sides – learning and teaching – I’ve realised that it’s largely a combination of personalities, content, delivery and environment.

By definition, learning is a process of “acquiring or changing knowledge, understanding, behaviours, skills and competencies”. To me that suggests that to learn effectively it’s likely that there are both theoretical and practical processes involved to really get to the heart of what we’re aiming to process. This theory applies specifically to dentistry where understanding the science and translating that into dextrous, successful treatment is the goal. 

My passion for teaching led me to do my PGCert in Clinical Education at Oxford Brookes. This gave me greater self-awareness of my teaching style and, in particular, how to work with different personalities. Knowing how I liked to learn suddenly became irrelevant as I realised that you become one of those special teachers by taking the time to recognise what will work for the individuals in front of you. 

Unless your teaching group is very small it isn’t always possible to adapt your style 100% to each student. However, using a combination of teaching methods – using visual stimulus; short, clear vocal delivery; and plenty of hands-on practice – covers many of the bases. We’ve all been subjected to long, dry, lecture-style sessions read word for word from a presentation that have you desperately searching for the nearest exit.  

Teaching inevitably involves feedback and this is one of the areas I believe to be key in turning teaching into learning. Encouragement, appropriate praise and gentle redirection is usually the most effective combination for feedback. By working with a student, appreciating their efforts and guiding them to achieve better results creates that wonderful eureka moment where your training course starts to generate tangible outcomes. 

The content of your course is something we should all, as teachers, be prepared to be flexible about – even during the course itself. A well-planned session has a number of modules and learning points to get through of course. But if your students are asking questions and taking you off-plan you should consider a) going along with it b) making time afterwards if possible to return to it and/or c) including it in the next course. This is one of the ways I learn from my students as I teach. Questionnaires and follow up afterwards also help me to see if there is anything more students need or expect from the session. It’s a two-way process.

Being approachable is a vital teaching skill. I make myself available after the sessions, both immediately and via email until the next course date. Breaking down teacher and student barriers is useful so students aren’t afraid to ask those really important basic questions that they might otherwise feel worried to ask. Some of the more obvious questions are often on everyone’s mind and it’s fantastic when someone asks them as it gives us chance to revisit some foundation knowledge again. 

Of course there will always be aspects of teaching that are universal and these are often environmental. Everyone wants to be warm, comfortable, in a well-lit space, with the correct equipment, decent acoustics, clear vision and time allocated to an effective amount of general and individual attention. On the subject of environment I don’t believe there are mountains to climb in meeting everyone’s needs. And of course there should always be good coffee.

On reflection I would add a final word to my original list of essential teaching ingredients and that’s mindset. More of that in my next article as it’s a big one and in terms of teaching success, probably the most important. 

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