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During my clinical teaching internship experience, I found it most valuable to have flexibility.  Throughout this experience, I saw different types of learners and communicators. Finding ways to help the student grasp the information was key and took strategic planning which also had to be implemented on the spot. When there was a challenging situation for a student, I found stepping back was harder than I thought, but it was a must. Balancing when and how to guide a student through instrumentation, assessments, injections, etc. presented its challenges. However, it was necessary to find a way to step bac and facilitate the students learning.  After working with the same students repeatedly, I began to learn each students’ habits, learning styles and ways of communicating.

Many of the teaching strategies I learned throughout my clinical teaching course and other education courses have aided in my interactions with the students.  I tried incorporating critical thinking exercises, give constructive feedback, and use innovative teaching techniques etc. to encourage students learning.  I am also a firm believer in building confidence while facilitating learning with the students.

I was surprised the most during this clinical experience when senior student’s felt unsure about being efficient and effectively removing calculus. I can understand juniors feeling this way, but the last semester for seniors and them not feeling confident was disheartening because their clinical board was coming up very soon, along with looking for a job in the real world.  Being confident, knowing your skill, and always finding gaining knowledge about their profession is important to the student’s success when assessing and caring for patients.

My future career goals are to complete my MDH degree so I may one day teach.  I do not want to limit myself in my profession or have my only career option be a clinician.  I want to teach one day in some capacity, may it be online, clinically, in laboratory or didactically.  My career goal is to be the most well-rounded Dental Hygienist who can be of service in any capacity.

KS

For my spring 2017 internship, I will be observing the clinical teaching experience.  I choose this because I have already interned with Dr. Iannucci, observing course prep and didactic teaching.  Clinical teaching and didactic teaching are vastly different, but they both have the same end goal, which is making sure the students learn. They both offer opportunities to incorporate many of the teaching strategies I have learned.  One I use often in the clinical teaching setting is telling “war stories”. The students like hearing relatable stories to aid in their learning.  I also apply skill evaluation and feedback in the clinical setting daily.

The student’s skills are being groomed in the clinic therefore, it is important they receive valuable feedback with their evaluations to help with development of their knowledge, awareness, and skills.  When I give feedback I have found myself using the “sandwich” technique occasionally.  My goal when working with the students is to build their confidence, yet reinforce critical thinking and offer constructive criticism.

The clinical environment constantly changes from moment to moment. Whereas the didactic setting is more controlled. It is important to have the ability to strategize and multi-task quickly in the clinic setting because each of the patient and student experience have a diverse subset of needs.  I appreciate and enjoy this experience.

This internship contributes to my ultimate career goal, which is gaining as much knowledge to support me becoming a well-rounded clinician, instructor and individual. I am still exploring what I want to do specifically with all this new knowledge.  What I know is, I am on the road to becoming an instructor but, I have an open my mind to research, recruitment and administration.  I am willing to learn and will strive to do my best at whatever I do.

A teacher must be willing to learn and have a desire to impart knowledge, which will impact the development of another.  To teach is to learn! – KS

The best experience so far in my internship is watching the students grow and become more comfortable with the information, have more of an understanding of the material, and use the terminology more comfortably.  I have learned and experienced that some students learn new material easier, some students learn much slower, and some are just more challenged in general with concepts.  I always want to help the “light bulb” go off in the students minds.  Therefore, it is important to find ways to communicate and translate information to students through ways in which they understand.

I have been working on developing my skills in delivery of feedback and constructive criticism.  I find that how you initially approach a student will determine how feedback is received.   I always make sure my tone and energy are positive, and I definitely think before speaking.  This have been a helpful and useful approach in my delivery of feedback, teaching, and constructive critisism.

The one change I see in myself since I began is how I am not so nervous when speaking to students in a classroom or clinical setting.  Perhaps this is  because I am getting use to the students and becoming more comfortable with the material and just being in front.  Another change I had to adapt to was being looked at as the expert, that was a lot of pressure at first, I had to settle down and trust myself, know I have prepared, believe in myself and just do my best.  During my internship experience I have become more comfortable with being in front of the students and understand certain students learning styles.  This has made working with students much easier than working with them the very first time.

This internship has allowed me to experience first-hand what goes into didactic and clinical teaching, which is something I want to do in my future.  This experience has aided in me understanding my strengths and making me aware of areas in which I need to improve.  Also, my mentor provides me with strategies to improve, which is quite helpful in the developent of  my teaching and speaking skills.

I have been surprised the most by being able to speak in front of the students and hold the students’ attention for an ENTIRE class period.  At the beginning of this internship experience I was not sure how that would go, however I make it through and now wonder where does the time go.  My teaching experiences, though quite overwhelming at times; is fun, invigorating, and an inspirational experience.  I love helping people in any way possible. I want to be apart of inspiring minds.

KS

It has been approximately 7 plus weeks and I have experienced so much during my time interning with Dr. Iannucci.  All that I have done and gone through so far is a lot to absorb.  When this semester settles down and I look back, that is the reflection period I am looking forward to.  I hope to see growth.  However, after each teaching experience I sit down with my mentor to debrief.  So I get to reflect instantly and receive feedback on any calibration issues, my areas of improvement, my strengths during my teaching experience, and ideas for to better my experience.  I have a couple of experiences that have stood out during  my teaching experience thus far.

Experience 1:

I was going over my presentation and I recall being so nervous, which is something I do not experience often. I was preparing a few last minute touches while practicing my presentation. When suddenly I could not speak a full sentence and I was loss for words, even though I had everything prepped and written, my nerves got the best of me.  Thank goodness this was happening in a room with just my mentor and I.  When my brain shut down, she made me stop take a deep breath, she excused herself and she came back when I was more relaxed and ready.  I put on a song, prayed and tried again.  When she returned she shared with me, her first teaching experience, it sounded quite similar to what I was experiencing.  I realized at that moment, even though she is so graceful and natural during her presentations, that did not happen overnight, it came with time and practice. I shook it off, as she suggested, and tried, and tried again.  When it was time to stand before the class I was still nervous, I rechanneled that energy and use it during my presentation.  I actually had fun and my nerves began to dissipate as time passed.  That teaching experience taught me the situation is as big as I make it. So just relax, have fun and enjoy the ride.

Experience 2:

One day after class a student approached me with a concern about an upcoming competency. She was not understanding how sit in the proper area when adapting certain instruments.  I took a moment found a few videos to show her, then explained how to properly seat while adapting the instruments that challenged her. Then I shared my personal experiences when going through some of the same challenges she was having.  I was happy my explanation helped her understand and she passed her competency.

That is what teaching is all about helping guide someone in through their process of learning.  I want students to feel comfortable enough to approach me and communicate with me.  I learned instructors will never know what a student may ask of you.  Therefore, being open-minded and as prepared as a person can be, are qualities I feel a good instructor must possess.

I believe in areas of organization, preparedness, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn and listen are areas I am doing well in. My biggest challenge has been vocal projection during my didactic teaching experiences. I use to sing, I need to get back into singing and so I can use my diaphragm.  Diaphragmatic breathing is needed when speaking and projecting vocally.   I need to build my endurance when speaking for long periods of time.  I commend Dr. I for being able to speak and do it with the same vocal projection for hours.  She has such a grace and finesse when speaking. She makes it look easy.  One day with much practice, I will do the same.

I relate to my mentor, Dr. Iannucci, through her since of organization, quality, and patience. She makes herself available to students and she creates an atmosphere of approachability. She is a great listener and problem solver.  My mentor has encouraged and supported me throughout my DHYG journey.  I hope to pay it forward and become a great mentor as well.

I have learned instructors need a heart of compassion and patience for students.  That compassion is what inspires teachers to want to help students through their learning process.  Teaching takes patience.  I understand the students’ perspective because I am still a student and I sat in their seats not long ago. And now I see the instructor’s perspective.  Going though internship experience I realize what type of instructor I want to be; patient, open-minded, flexible, creative, fun, focused, organized, respected, approachable, knowledgeable, willing to learn and much more.

The biggest challenges I notice is being asked a question on the spot.  If I would be asked something I do not know, I will have to get back to the student.  I do not want to give the student wrongful information. My mentor will do just that, get back to the student, if she does not know an answer to a question.  That situation does not happen that often with her, but I experienced how she handles being asked questions on the spot.  She always gets back to the student or finds the answer if she does not know.

I find that I am doing well in being patient, open-minded, flexible and good at finding ways to communicate information to a student.  Each student learns differently and I understand how it feels as a student to be made to feel uncomfortable if I did not know something and asked a question that the instructor felt I should know.   That is not the type of instructor or communicator I want to be, I want to be the opposite and have open communication with students.

Overall, this experience has been helpful and has given me experiences that will stick with me forever.

During this internship experience, my mission throughout this process is to gain a greater understanding of the background an efforts put into course preparation. My goals are increase my exposure to course alignment, learn to develop creative test writing skills and learn how to implement innovative teaching methods.

I will be experiencing writing test questions, editing, grading, creating a lesson plan, clinical teaching, and how to use innovative teaching strategies within a course.  I choose Dental Radiology because I will be able to have a variety of experiences, such as lab instructions, clinical instructions, didactic and online course preparation experience. This internship contributes to my career goals by offering critical skills through the variety of experiences that will helpful in my future endeavors.

I am looking forward to throughout this internship experience is becoming more confident in lecturing (public speaking), having a diverse subset of course development strategies, and increase my overall knowledge of course preparation. Interning will allow me to experience, hands-on how important creative and resourceful course alignment can be.

I will hope to accomplish a new and more enhanced skillset and implement some of the teaching strategies taught in my past education courses.  Applying what I have been leaning will reinforce the teaching strategies I have been taught and this experience will again be useful throughout my career. I am excited for this experience because it will help me identify my strengths and areas of growth/ improvement necessary to be successful in my career.

An internship is a time for new experiences, a time to foster new relationships, a time to learn and help me blossom. The key is to learn and experience as much as possible during this time.  My concerns are limited because I am in the beginning stages and I will be learning from experience day to day.  I don’t like to stress over things I do know or have control over.  During this process I believe one must be open to learning, advice, constructive criticism, new ideas, success and failures.  From my perspective, failures are stepping stones for improvement.  This process is to help me grow and develop into the best educator I can be.

KS

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