Teaching Students to Learn: Helping PTA students to build resilience to facilitate academic and career success
Purpose: This session is designed to highlight the benefits of explicitly teaching physical therapist assistant students about the neuroscience of learning. Contemporary evidence related to the neuroscience of learning will be introduced and discussed. Practical application of the concepts will be presented including suggestions for how to embed these strategies into an existing PTA curriculum. Small group discussion will allow part participants the opportunity to develop strategies appropriate for their own programs and courses.Methods and/or Description of Project: Not applicable - this is not a report on a research project.Results/Outcomes: Not applicable - this is not a report on researchConclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: This session will provide both a “30,000 foot” as well as a “ground level perspective.” The “30,000-foot perspective” will be accomplished via a review of current research related to contemporary learning theories. The information from this discussion will then be brought down to the “ground level” where small group sessions will provide participants with the opportunity to discuss how to practically apply the strategies to their programs. The session promotes the following subthemes in the following ways: - Taking flight and advancing PT education to promote access and equity Although not directly addressed by this session the concepts described in this session do support equity in education. As students begin to have a more robust understanding of the learning process it allows them the opportunity to be more in control of their own learning. Self-control over one's own academic course helps to encourage equity in the process. - Embedding leadership skills across didactic and clinical education Similar to the point above, once an individual has an understanding of how they learn they have the opportunity for more self-directed learning in the future. When an individual has the ability to take control of their own learning and advancement they are in a better position to begin to lead others. - Developing strategies to build resilience in academic and clinical environments This subtheme is the one the session most directly addresses. As noted in the comments above, helping our students have a more robust understanding of how they learn allows them greater control of their own learning processes. Helping our students establish effective learning strategies facilitates an individual’s resilience when learning whether in the academic setting, the clinical setting or in their personal life.References: Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2013;14(1):4-58. Bjork RA, Dunlosky J, Kornell N. Self-regulated learning: beliefs, techniques, and illusions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:417-44. Holmes JD. Great Myths of Education and Learning. John Wiley & Sons; 2016. Cash RM. Self-Regulation in the Classroom, Helping Students Learn How to Learn. Free Spirit Publishing; 2016. Fink LD. Creating Significant Learning Experiences, An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. Jossey-Bass; 2013.Course Objectives: Discuss contemporary research and theories regarding the neuroscience of learning. Identify the benefits of explicitly teaching PTA students about the neuroscience of learning. Describe practical, evidence-based strategies to help students learn most efficiently. Describe how to implement evidence-based strategies into specific PTA coursework.Instructional Methods: Lecture Small group discussionTentative Outline/Schedule: 5 min - Introduction 15 min - Evidence-Based Learning Theories 10 min - Small group discussion of implications 5 min - Large group sharing of small group work 15 min - Practical strategies for the classroom 15 min - Small group work to create content specific learning strategies 10 min - Large group sharing of small group work 10 min - Q & A 5 min - Conclusion