Enhancing Learning in the Childbirth Classroom

• Published in: The Journal of perinatal education Vol. 3; no. 3; p. 39-42
• Main Author: Rice, Gail Taylor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Publishing Company 30.09.1994
• Subjects: Births; Obstetrics
• ISSN: 1058-1243; 1548-8519

Make each person feel valuable. Be sure to express appreciation for each student's contribution to the discussion. Say "Thank you for sharing that insight," "Thank you for your comment (or question)," or "That is a good question." And mean it! This will encourage group participation and active involvement by even shy or reluctant learners. Guide the class discussion and keep it under control. As you review your plans for teaching the class, decide how much time you will devote to each topic. If your students' questions are taking you too far afield from the planned discussion, evaluate whether this is a worthwhile side trip or not at this time. If it seems that it represents the interests of a small percentage of the group, you may need to use a prepared comment to bring the class back to the topic. You might say, for example, "I'm sorry, but we do not have time to pursue that matter further just now. Perhaps we can return to it later." Or, "please catch me at the end of class so we can talk some more about it." Use closure. Closure is one of the most effective teaching tools, and, according to many experts, one of the most neglected. When you bring a discussion or a portion of the class session to closure, you ask the class members to summarize in a personal way the meaning of the learning that has just occurred. One way to achieve closure is to ask class members to talk about the learning experience they have just completed. To get them started, you might hand out slips of paper that begin: "One thing I will do differently as a result of this class is..." or "The most valuable thing I learned today was...," or "Based on what we did in class today, next week I want to learn more about..." You can also ask students to share their responses with their partner or the couple sitting next to them. Verbalizing important concepts from the class discussion helps to reinforce the principles in their thinking.