Reflective Substantive Paper

16 July 2009

Course Title: MDH 601 Clinical Teaching and Evaluation
Assignment: Reflective Substantive Paper
Student: Miriam J. DeLaRoi, RDHAP, BS

Though I am confident in my experience as a practicing dental hygienist, I have been intimidated by the idea of teaching in any setting, be it a classroom or a clinic. Keeping this in mind, it was extremely motivating and encouraging to have the opportunity to role-play and step into the position of “clinical instructor.” I also enjoyed the dynamic of splitting into groups, exploring the process of skill evaluation, calibrating and then discussing this experience with our entire class.
Breaking down into groups and trying to calibrate our evaluation skills, showed to be challenging when evaluating somebody else’s skills. Perceptively, we seemed to notice and focus on many of the same skills, while other aspects of the skills criteria were overlooked or given a different value. In this case, value can mean how many times we noticed a negative behavior before or after the behavior occurred 50% of the time. Perspectively, it was interesting to share what we had observed from whatever position we stood around the mock student. Depending on where we positioned ourselves, there were different things we had difficulty seeing, like which tooth the dominant ring finger was fulcrummed on or what finger the person was fulcrumming with.
Allotting the time to stop and discuss the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly, showed to be motivating, encouraging and tremendously insightful. Listening to my group members and the clinical instructor who acted as the student, I was able to see where I could improve. Through my experience as a practicing dental hygienist and evaluator of second year dental assisting students, I definitely have a base on which to build. Even my memories as a student seem to add to this basis for learning because I still remember what it was like to be scrutinized by my clinical instructors. As a student, especially when working with living patients and instructors, every little aspect is intense and full of awe.
Some great examples of tactful criticism were offered by my group members. In the past, I have curtaining been tactful while giving aid or criticism, but I never thought of using a more subliminal approach. For example, if the student were to position the light away from the area they were focusing on, I may reposition it for them and mention that they may be able to see better with the light positioned differently, but, I like the proposed idea of putting the direction into a question. Given the same scenario, if you ask, “are you able to see ok,” it comes across as if the student thought about it on their own, and they are then able adjust their lighting with hopefully less anxiety, which otherwise could lead to other mistakes. It was also proposed that asking a direct “why” question may not go over too well and the use of “how is it” may be received with more thoughtfulness on the part of the student.
In our class discussion, more and more examples emerged and it expounded upon the whole learning experience. In fact, it was a mention of learning styles which broadened my interest. Where we had been focusing on some of the specifics of instrumentation and appropriate criticism, we had not discussed how to give clinical instruction, based on learning preference.
Looking back on this experience, I feel positively enhance. Where I felt unsure of myself and weary of the skills evaluation paperwork, I am much more confident and excited about using this experience when working with dental assisting and hygiene students.