Constructiong Courses AKA run off my feet

I have just started a paper on constructing courses to enhance learning and here are a few posts I have made about the topic. the picture is of Fin's feet, he had a hard day seach training and rubbed the soles of his paws quite badly so he is on three legs at the moment but luckily he has mum to fix it for him.






THE POSTS

Hi Guys, I have been thinking about our students in the Veterinary Nursing school and what they might expect from us, and what we can expect from them.


I work mainly with the animal care distance students with a little bit of teaching on the full time certificate in Veterinary Nursing, these students have a range of ages and life experiences, from the yougster who doesn't really know what they want in life and caring for animals seems like it might be fun, to the mature student who has had enough of one careeer and is looking for a change (I did just that) and knows something about the way the world works.

With these diferse ages and life skills come a range of learning styles, some straight from school still think we 'teach' everything and can't understand the concept of self directed learning, while our mature students often question us more as they have experience challenging the norm and have had chance to form stronger opinions.

The school has a good reputation around the country and abroad because we supply the Veterinary industry with well trained and confident nurses, the school's vision is to improve this reputation through more diverse teaching, so we end up with students who can do the job but also use new technology and have more initiative. the poly's vision is a successful relationship with our employer stakeholders, like Veterinary clinics, animal care facilities and the New Zealand Veterinary Association. A happy set of students who will be sustainable in their employment, because they are enjoying nursing and being valued as professional (so more likely to stay in the industry) and a financially viable school through word of mouth recommendation and industry support.

Our aim as lecturers and facilitators is to try to accommodate all of the above, and in my opinion to give the students some valuable life experiences that can set them up to work in the animal care industry, I often think about the younger students who sometimes think it's all fluffy bunnies and the shock they must have when they help with their first euthanasia. If we can help give them the reality we are doing them a good service.