Teaching Eye Health

do a better job - they get satisfaction

Teaching and Learning from the feeling that they are competent.
People are also very strongly motivated
by the hope that they will be rewarded -
Detlef R Prozesky nation. However, a bit of reflection will for instance, by gaining a qualification,
show us that ‘learning’ is much wider than leading to a promotion and better pay.
MBChB MCommH PhD The need to pass exams is therefore a
that. After all, children learn a great deal
ProfessorofCommunityBasedEducation before they even get to school - they learn very strong motivator.
Faculty of Medicine to speak, to walk. Educational psycholo- • Learning continues throughout a per-
University of Pretoria gists tell us that any activity which leads to son’s lifetime - at least informally. We
South Africa a change in our behaviour is ‘learning’.1 all know that health workers should con-
tinue to learn throughout their careers,
Here are some more ideas about ‘learning’:

T his article is the second in a series of because new information about health is
eight, dealing with ‘Teaching Eye
• Learning can be formal or informal. We constantly becoming available. How-
learn informally from what we experi- ever, many workers do not have access
Health’. Almost everybody who is ence day by day: things which happen to to formal in-service training. This means
involved in community eye health is also a us make us change the way we think and they themselves have to take the respon-
teacher - but many have never had any act. We may not even be aware that we sibility for staying up-to-date - they have
training on how teach effectively. The aim are learning, which may cause problems to become ‘life-long learners’.
of the series is to stimulate readers to teach - for example, health workers may learn
and learn more effectively, and we will be bad attitudes from the example of others. ‘Teaching’
working through important topics related Of course, learning may also be formal:
to teaching and learning in a systematic Once again, our understanding of what
we attend a course which is planned in a
and practical way. This article sets the ‘teaching’ is, is based on our past experi-
structured way, in a school or college.
scene by examining some important con-
cepts related to ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’.
• We don’t just learn knowledge and facts ence. Our earliest experience was in
- we also learn skills and attitudes. This school, where the teacher was also a ‘mas-
is especially important for health work- ter’ or ‘mistress’, standing in front of the
Words we use to Talk About ers, since it is in our practical work that class, telling us what to do and what to
Teaching and Learning we have an effect on the health of the learn. Some of us experienced the same
People use different words when talking people we serve. Interestingly, we learn kind of ‘teaching’ at college. Others may
about teaching and learning. Sometimes knowledge, skills and attitudes in differ- have experienced teaching where the
the same word will mean different things ent ways - for example, we may learn a ‘teacher’ is more of an equal, who takes
to different people, and sometimes differ- new idea from a discussion, but we learn account of the learner’s experience and
ent words will carry the same meaning. skills by practising them and getting even learns from the learner. That is why
For example, Americans tend to use the feedback. Abbatt and McMahon say: ‘Teaching is
word ‘evaluate’ to describe testing stu- • People learn in different ways. helping other people to learn’.5 They go on
dents to see if they have learnt, while the Researchers have identified different to say that the job of ‘teaching’ health care
British often use the word ‘assess’. Here ‘learning styles’.2 Some people are workers has four elements:
are some other examples of words with ‘receivers’: they like to memorise what
is given to them. This is a very common 1. The teacher has to decide what students
related meanings:
style, and it is reinforced by teachers should learn. The students may take
• ‘educator’, ‘teacher’,‘trainer’,‘tutor’, part in this decision, but all are guided
‘lecturer’, ‘facilitator’ who expect students to memorise, and
reward them for it. Other people are by the same principle: it is the job that
• ‘student’, ‘pupil’,‘learner’, ‘scholar’. people have to do, that determines
What do these words mean to you? There ‘detectives’: they like to investigate
what they are learning themselves, to get what they should learn. They have to
will never be full agreement about the
to understand it. Yet others are ‘genera- learn all the knowledge, skills and atti-
‘real’ meaning of each of them. If people
tors’: they like to decide themselves tudesthattheyneedtoperform a specific
appear to misunderstand us, we have to
what they want to learn, and then look job. They learn what they ‘must know’
explain what we intend them to mean.*
for opportunities to learn those things. and ‘should know’, not what is ‘nice to
* Pleasealsoseetheglossarycompiledby • Learning can be superficial or deep.3 If know’.
SueStevens(page31) knowledge is only memorised (superfi- 2. The teacher has to help the learners to
cial learning) it is soon forgotten, and learn. This does not mean that the
‘Learning’ may never affect the way that person teacher ‘spoonfeeds’ the students, as if
does her/ his work. If the learner is made they were babies. It does mean that the
All of us understand things in the light of to use the new knowledge actively, the teacher’s first concern should be that
our past experience. This is also true of learning becomes deep. The learner con- the students should learn as well as pos-
‘learning’ – we get our ideas of what nects the new knowledge to the concepts sible. Teaching sessions or classes have
‘learning’ means from what happened to that s/he already has, and understands to be planned carefully, taking into
us in the past. So, for example, we may how it can be used practically. It is, account the learning styles, the lan-
think of ‘learning’ as something which therefore, much more likely to be guage, the background of the students.
takes place in a school or college, in a remembered and used. In short, the teachers must be student
classroom. We may think of it as a person • Motivation is important for learning.4 centred, not teacher centred.
sitting alone at night, trying to memorise a What is it that makes people want to 3. The teacher has to make sure that the
lot of facts so that s/he can pass an exami- learn? Some learn because they want to students have learnt - s/he has to assess

30 Community Eye Health Vol 13 No. 34 2000

 Teaching Eye Health
them. Assessment helps teachers and are stressed and unhappy do not learn References
students to see how well the students well. Good teachers try to ensure that
1 Stones E. An introduction to educational psy-
are progressing, so that they can attend the general living conditions and envi- chology, London: Methuen, 1966; 50–1.
to any weaknesses. It sets a standard, so ronment of their students are adequate. 2 Harris D, Bell C. Evaluating and assessing for
that society is given people who are They also provide opportunities for per- learning, London: Kogan Page, 1986: 118–26.
3 Pedler M. ‘Learning in management education’,
competent to practice. Assessment sonal counselling for them. Teachers
Journal of European Training, 1974; 3 (3):
must be carefully planned so that it need to cultivate an open and trusting 182–95.
supports the learning we want to see - relationship with their students. 4 Handy C.B. Understanding organizations,
we know that students learn what they Harmondsworth: Penguin 1976: 31-47.
5 Abbatt F, McMahon R. Teaching health care
believe they need to pass the exams, and In the next article in this series we will start workers, second edition, London: Macmillan,
leave out the rest . . . applying these ideas and principles, by 1993: 15–21.
4. The teacher has to look after the wel- considering ‘Communication and Effective
fare of her/ his students. Students who Teaching’. Stay with us! ✩ ✩ ✩

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN TEACHING Sue Stevens

Nurse Consultant
TERM USED DEFINITION
Aims A general statement of what is intended in a particular lesson or course of study
Assessment A means of comparing students’ actual achievement with a desired standard of achievement as out-
lined in the syllabus
Brainstorming A collection of ideas shared in a group encouraging free expression
Buzz group Discussion in groups of 2–4 people
Case study**** Text description to facilitate imagination and discussion of a possible situation
Course design The systematic planning of a period of study for a particular group of students
Curriculum planning A plan worked out in advance fixing the order or the timetable of a group of educational activities
for a particular course - aims, content, methods, evaluation
Demonstration Teacher activity – e.g., to teach a practical skill or why certain outcomes occur
Directed private study Time set aside by the teacher for students to study a particular subject
Evaluation The process of reviewing particular areas of study to estimate their effectiveness according to
student needs and any changing factors
Exposition An interrupted lecture where the teacher will stop to answer a question or explain further
Feedback Information received by the teacher about the success of, or problems experienced with, a session or
course as it is progressing
Learning objectives/outcomes Specific statements of behaviour by a student after a period of learning – proving they have learned
Learning strategies/ teaching methods Activities chosen by the teacher to help students learn
Lecture Subject introduced and delivered by the teacher in a specific time which transmits information
Lesson plan A ‘sketch map’ of a particular session for a particular group of students, based on objectives and
teaching methods with intended timing of activities
Practical Student activity – e.g., learning a skill or group work
Programmed learning A planned exercise to enable individual learning, e.g., in a manual or a computer programme
Project A task based on investigation with a specific time-table. The teacher will advise the student on
resources and materials. The student reports back with findings, usually in written format
Resources (a) Any source of information from which students are able to learn, e.g., library, teaching materi-
als, human resources (other students, teachers, etc.). All these are referred to as ‘learning
resources’
(b) Funding, staffing, equipment – anything required to run a course
Role play **** Similar to case study ( see above). A situation is acted out to create insight into students own behav-
iour
Scheme of work A session by session plan addressing a specific topic for a particular group of students which
includes objectives, methods, content, resources, and assessment procedures. Based on a syllabus
Seminar A group of about 8 –12 people following up something that has already been introduced on the
course. Involves reading of an essay or paper by one group member followed by discussion
Simulation**** Similar to a case study and role play (see above)
Syllabus A statement of aims and content for subject areas
Syndicate work A task given by the teacher to a group of students to complete in a period of time. The students are
required to report back to the teacher
Tutorial One-to-one teaching (student and teacher) usually for counselling purposes based on the student’s
work
Weighting The emphasis, in terms of time and the allocation of marks in assessment, placed on an area of study
in comparison with other areas of study
Community Eye Health Vol 13 No. 34 2000 31