Assessing and Teaching for Dental Nurses

1. Assessing and Teaching for Dental Nurses Catherine Macdona

2. OUTCOMES: • Recognise the skills and attributes needed to become an effective assessor or tutor. • Discuss the importance of good communication skills relevant to the assessing and teaching process. • Have a clear understanding of the qualification process and where to access training. • Explore the career pathways for assessors and tutors working in dentistry.

3. Why become an assessor/tutor?

4. Advantages? • Opportunity to be able to have a new career. • A good way for me to maintain interest in my chosen profession. • Opportunity to be able to pass on my own skills and knowledge. • I will be constantly learning new things/ will keep me current. • Will help me to identify gaps in my own skills and knowledge. • ANY MORE?

5. Disadvantages? • Time element involved in retraining. • Lack of confidence in my abilities. • Lack of knowledge in my profession. • Worried about my lack of key skills. • Could I stand in front of a class and deliver a lecture? • ANY MORE?

6. Skills and Attributes • Organised • Professional • Honest • Articulate • Committed • Flexible • Good communication skills • Empathic • Respectful • Supportive • Patient • Realistic • Assertive • Fair

7. Challenges you may face when teaching adults. • Boundaries – even adults need rules! • Limited basic skills of your learners. • Bad experience/past experience. • Time issues – family pressures. • Cultural/language difficulties.

8. How can you overcome some of these barriers? • Identify key skills at initial training – signpost learners to access extra support. • Treat adults like adults! Let the class set some ground rules and write them down to refer to if needed. • Be professional at all times – let learners know they can come to you for support and advice. • Arrange 1 to 1 tutorials for learners who may need extra support. • COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

9. QCF • Qualifications and Credit Framework is a national credit transfer system. • Every qualification has a credit value. • AWARD – 1 to 12 credits • CERTIFICATE – 13 to 36 credits • Diploma – 37 credits or more • I credit represents 10 hours of learning time

10. Assessing • Usually but not always one to one. • Can assess in a college or a work environment. • QUALIFICATIONS AVAILABLE: Three new QCF units replacing the A1/D33/32 Qualifications • Level 3 Award in understanding the principles and practices of assessment. This is a theory based assignment, suitable for people wishing to understand the role of the assessor, but not currently working with candidates.

11. Level 3 Award in assessing vocationally related achievement. • Suitable for those assessing in a college or training environment. • You must have access to at least two students. • You are required to plan four assessment activities – two for each student. • You will be observed by your college tutor at least once. • Portfolio of evidence required. • You complete Understand the principles and practices of assessment assignment as part of your award.

12. Level 3 Award in assessing competence in the workplace • The same criteria applies to assessing vocationally related achievement, but you assess learners in their place of work. • You can complete all three units together by taking the level 3 Certificate in assessing vocational achievement.

13. What next? • You could go on to complete Internal Quality Assurance qualifications within your place of work. • Become an internal verifier/moderator for the qualification you are involved with. • Assessing and mentoring other assessors.

14. PTLLS, CTLLS, DTLLS • Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector level 3/4 • Certificate in teaching in the lifelong learning sector level 3/4 • Diploma in teaching in the lifelong learning sector level 5 (also called Cert Ed) • (New suite of qualifications being rolled out in 2013).

15. Mentoring • A role usually taken on by an experienced person who can pass on their knowledge and experience to a less experienced colleague. • Can be formal or informal. • Focus is usually on career and personal development. • Mentoring courses are available in colleges/distance learning so you can achieve a formal qualification.

16. How do you see yourself? • How do your students see you?

17. A little bit about communication... • NON VERBAL – body language – including ACTIVE listening skills. • VERBAL – including paralinguistic – tone of your voice.

18. ACTIVITY How would you handle the following situations?

19. What will I learn? • Planning learning – how to identify needs • The training cycle • How to write session plans, schemes of work • Aims and objectives – SMART • Formative and summative assessment principles • Learning styles and how to use them effectively • Theories and principles of learning – humanist etc • A lot about yourself!

20. Berne’s(1973) Transactional Analysis Theory • A method of analysing communications between people. • He identified three personality states – • CHILD - PARENT - ADULT • Adult to adult state is best. • Recognition that people need encouragement and appreciation to achieve. • Can you think of any examples of these three states, perhaps in your own work environment?

21. MOTIVATION INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC • Comes from within – a learner may want to learn something just because the subject interests them. • They may want to learn something in order to advance in their place of work/earn more money. Motivation can be difficult to sustain.

22. Hierarchy of needs Maslow (1960)

23. Responsibilities of a Tutor • Completing attendance records • Learners progress reports • Marking homework • Giving feedback • Preparing sessions/lessons • Attending standardisation meetings • Keeping records (very important)

24. Who can you go to for help? • Line manager where you deliver your course • Awarding body - NEBDN, CITY&GUILDS etc • An experienced colleague • A mentor • Internal moderator/verifier • External QA • Syllabus to follow

25. Feedback and evaluation • Feedback should be developmental and constructive. • Even negative feedback can be useful to a learner if given in a professional manner. • THE PRAISE SANDWICH! • Always try to turn negative to positive. • Evaluation of yourself and your session should be carried out also – a good teacher is always learning!

26. Feedback exercise

27. Legislation • Equal opportunities legislation • Health and safety • Data protection • Disability Discrimination • The protection of Children • GDC • The awarding body for your course – always follow the guidelines and principles laid down by them

28. What next? • Examiner for the NEBDN • Formal assessing position in a college • Informal assessing role in your place of work • Mentoring role/new staff/trainees • Formal teaching position in local college or training centre • The confidence to seek out other duties/place to work – confidence to further your nursing career (post qualifications?)

29. “By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn” (Latin proverb, quoted in Sedgwick, 2008)

30. Useful contacts • www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk 0845 045 7275 • www.yorkcollege.ac.uk 01904 770400 • www.wakefield.ac.uk 01924 789789 • www.nebdn.org.uk • Catherine.macdona@yh.hee.nhs.uk