Vet nursing anatomy class
Professional Development Portfolio
This work is based on my participation in the "Teachers & Research" pilot group as part of the National Professional Development Framework for Higher Education teaching staff. This group was led by Teaching Expert Dr. Bernadette Brereton at Dundalk Institute of Technology from February to May 2017.
What follows in an reflective evaluation of my teaching practice using the National Forum's typology of Professional Development Activities and Framework Domains.
I'm a vet by profession and I worked in equine practice in Ireland and New Zealand before becoming a veterinary nursing lecturer at DkIT in 2008. I love the job: the students are so enthusiastic and helping them to learn how to be a competent and professional veterinary nurse, able to provide excellent animal care, is really rewarding.
My publications and other relevant details are available here.
Professional Development Activities
1. Collaborative non-accredited (informal)
Having completed a MA in Learning & Teaching (MALT) from the DkIT Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT) in 2012, I have collaborated with a number of colleagues as they completed the programme. The MALT curriculum encourages participants to engage a "critical friend": a colleague who can informally assist them as they develop and reflect on their teaching practice. I have learned a lot from these experiences, been exposed to new teaching methods and technologies, and it has also been an excellent way to improve collegiality and develop a sense of teamwork within the department.
This peer networking has led to some more formal outputs, such as this National Forum pilot project and the TEAM study which is currently underway in the School of Health and Sciences. It also creates a positive environment within the academic staff, as colleagues can share teaching tips and ideas and learn from others' practice.
2. Unstructured non-accredited (non-formal)
As a tech fan I enjoy trying out new teaching tools and gadgets and figuring out how to effectively implement them in the classroom. This can range from the distinctly old-school (such as getting the students to make plasticine anatomy models to improve their awareness of the three dimensional nature of anatomical structures) to experiments with wearable technology (GoPro cameras) to give them a first-person view of animal handling and examination.
Developing and adapting teaching tools requires me to consult the literature for both inspiration and an evidence base to support my teaching strategies. Creating digital tools has also enabled me to improve my technology skills, such as cloud-based file management (Google Docs, Dropbox, iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive), digital photography software (Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop), screencasting (QuickTime Player, YouTube), film editing (Final Cut Pro X, Vimeo Video School) and website creation (SquareSpace).
I am also an avid podcast listener and enjoy educational content from shows such as RadioLab (WYNC Studios), Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell), 99% Invisible (Roman Mars), VETgirl (Dr Justine Lee), The Hidden Brain and the TED Radio Hour (NPR). Some of these episodes can be integrated into a flipped classroom approach, to stimulate thought and debate amongst the students.
In a more traditional context, I have improved my research, presentation and writing skills by preparing journal articles for publication and presenting at educational conferences. I had the opportunity to work as a guest editor for a special edition of the All-Ireland Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (AISHE-J) in 2018. The issue is available here.
Anatomy model-making
3. Structured non-accredited (non-formal)
VetEd Conferences 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. "VetEd" is a veterinary education conference which is held each July on behalf of the Veterinary Schools Council in UK and Ireland. It attracts delegates from all over the world and is an excellent opportunity for veterinary educators to meet and share their practices and experiences. I have presented several posters as this conference, winning the best poster prize in 2017 with my colleague Celine Walsh for "validation of a low-fidelity equine nose twitch model in veterinary nursing education".
I have also attended and presented at EdTech in 2013 and 2015. This conference is run by the Irish Learning Technology Association. It draws speakers from across the Irish higher education sector.
The Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT) at DkIT run a range of workshops and seminars every year. These are presented by both DkIT colleagues and speakers from other third level institutions. This ensures academic staff have the opportunity to develop their skills in a wide variety of areas. It's also an excellent opportunity to engage with colleagues from others discipline and schools within DkIT.
Opportunities to engage in collaborative educational research projects have also come up. Examples include the Technology Enhanced Assessment Methods (TEAM) in science and health practical sessions project and this National Forum Professional Development Framework pilot project. The aspect of this pilot project that has had particular meaning for me was the opportunity to develop mentoring skills in association with my friend and colleague Dr Bernadette Brereton from DkIT.
4. accredited (formal)
2006: RCVS Certificate in Equine Medicine (Stud Medicine).
2012: Masters in Learning & Teaching, DkIT CELT.
2013-present: Doctorate (part time) in Veterinary Nursing Education, University College Dublin.
2017: Research Supervision Certificate, Dundalk Institute of Technology.
I came to lecturing after a decade in industry and without any postgraduate qualifications beyond a professional veterinary certificate in equine medicine. Luckily my entry into the classroom on a full-time basis coincided with the launch of the MA in Learning & Teaching for academic staff at DkIT. This programme gave me the knowledge, tools and confidence to put my industry experience to effective use in the classroom and really turned me from being "a vet who teaches" into an educator. On completing the MA I started a part-time doctorate in veterinary nursing education at UCD. Combining this with work is a challenge in time management but it has been a challenging and (mostly!) enjoyable experience. I am on track to submit my thesis during the 2018-2019 academic year.
The Framework Domains
1. "The self" in teaching & learning
Personal values, perspectives and emotions
My teaching...
is based on collaboration. I prefer to work in an environment where people attempt to make progress and solve problems by working together in a flexible and respectful manner. Hierarchy is common and often useful, but if overly rigid or enforced it just stifles real learning and effective change. I'm luck to work with inspiring colleagues whose expertise and enthusiasm contribute to a really positive workplace.
I tell my students that I am not here to teach them, but rather to help them learn. That's the key to it for me.
The job can be draining at times and having worked in clinical practice I'm aware of the need to review what I do and think about how to improve it. It's also important to have a balance so I find running very helpful. It's a great way to do some quality thinking while getting away from the desk/laptop. Often I find that after a run I have found a new perspective on something that was on my mind or a problem I was trying to solve.
2. Professional identity, values & development in teaching & learning
As someone who has been in clinical practice I have personal experience of the challenges that students may face. It's important to me to try and help them develop the "soft skills" that will assist them in their careers and develop them as people, not just focus on the medical/scientific content of the curriculum.
It has been noted in recent veterinary educational literature that it is practically impossible to engage students with communication training or ethics unless they perceive the person providing the training to have genuine experience of the situations that arise in the workplace. Communication or ethics training may be provided in generic modules which the students perceive as irrelevant (even though they're absolutely key!). I therefore try to incorporate "real-life" scenarios into my teaching and assessment, and ask the students to apply their knowledge and skills to solve them. I feel it's important that all educators are prepared to publicise/publish their successes and failure, so that others may learn from them, instead of having to repeat similar mistakes to figure it out for themselves.
Listening to and engaging with the students is also vital: there is no point thinking your teaching is great if you never give learners the opportunity to genuinely report back on their experience of it. You then need to act on this feedback, and explain to the students why and how you have done so (closing the feedback loop). Equally, sometimes there are things that the students dislike or resent about your teaching that you have a good reason for doing. Once you can explain this to them they can see the rationale for it (even if they still don't like it!). The relationship needs to be respectful and based on mutual trust.
3. Professional communication & dialogue in teaching & learning
I am committed to improving my standard of academic writing. Working on journal articles, especially with the assistance of experienced colleagues, has been very useful in this regard. I don't think it will ever not be challenging but hopefully I can keep making progress. I also write for a lay audience as a contributor to the veterinary advice section of The Irish Field, the weekly paper for the Irish horse industry. Students fall in between these two audiences: clear and well-written notes are an important teaching tool whilst demonstrating how to use the technical language needed by a veterinary professional.
Communication with students often takes the form of feedback to help them review their work to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Written feedback is useful but also time-consuming and may not be understood or even read by some students. Therefore I have made efforts to integrate other feedback methods into my teaching. I have found screencasts to be an efficient use of my time whilst also providing the students with more instructive and helpful feedback that they report as helpful. The main challenge with it is the need for decent broadband width to upload the screencast videos. The college network is unable to support this so luckily I live in an area with access to fibre broadband.
I also developed a Vimeo video channel to share customised teaching videos for vet nursing students. These are used to help students prepare for practical classes: by watching a video of the technique before the class they turn up ready to get started and I can therefore spend more of the class time helping them with their technique than explaining what we are going to do. The videos are also helpful for revision before exams or while the students are on work placement. The video below is an example of one I developed to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
4.Professional knowledge & skills in teaching & learning
It's important to keep up to date with clinical practice so that my teaching reflects current best practice and is not getting outdated. Locum cover during the holidays is one solution to this but it is quite hard to find in equine work in Ireland. Maintaining industry links is often more practical so for example I remain a member of Veterinary Ireland, the representative body for vets, even though their work is primarily aimed at supporting vets in practice.
Personally I felt that this domain overlapped a lot with the previous one. Maybe this is because at the end of the day teaching is, for me, an exercise in communication. One area that I have found challenging to communicate to students was error guidance when it comes to practical competencies. To try and address this I developed some additional videos that highlight common mistakes made when performing practical skills and how to avoid them (see below). I hope that this will promote deeper learning and better understanding of the principles underlying these tests, so that the student knows not only what to do, but also why. Initial feedback from the students is encouraging but more formal evaluation of this teaching approach is a goal for future research.
Video to help students avoid common mistakes when using pipettes.
5.Personal & professional digital capacity in teaching & learning
Again, there is a lot of overlap here with previous domains. Technology is a theme running through all my work. The last decade has seen lots of digital tools be added to the lecturer's tool kit. To me, teaching remains a social and human exercise in communication, which technology can alter and hopefully enhance, but not replace. I am happy to try out technology in the classroom where I feel it has the potential to improve the student experience or address a problem. Like any teaching intervention however, it has to be introduced into a carefully planned curriculum, with due consideration given to how and why it will be used to improve the lesson.
This pilot programme was an excellent opportunity to discuss teaching tools with colleagues from across a range of disciplines. Invariably we find that we all face very similar challenges and it is very empowering to hear about the range of inventive solutions and approaches that they have developed and were then happy to share. It also resulted in a professional practice support network, as it man that if I wanted to try out a new piece of software for example, I now knew of someone who had already used it and so could ask them for advice. This results in a learning curve that is a lot faster and less painful for myself and the students!
The biggest challenge I face with using technology is a lack of resources and support in the college environment. It is disheartening to be writing this in the summer of 2017 in a work environment that still has neither a reliable wifi network nor functional digital projectors and speakers in most classrooms. Nevertheless, I really enjoy my job and will continue to work with the learners to help them develop their knowledge, skills and self-confidence. I had a phone call a few days ago from a former student who had just been offered a job in a long-desired career role. She was full of excitement as she told me how well the interview had gone and thanked me for helping her to achieve her dream job. It's conversations like that that make the frustrations with the worn-out hardware and lack of library books pale into insignificance beside the privilege of getting to engage with students and seeing them literally learn to believe in themselves.
Karen Dunne, July 2017.
Commitment to PD digital badge, awarded September 2018.