November 16, 2004

The Six-Day workshop for Childbirth Educators

I’ve been very remiss in not keeping up with my Diary entries over this past week. I could cite computer problems (now rectified), incredible amounts of spam Diary comments that I am being flooded with daily and which take an extraordinary time to eliminate and block, or I could mention trying to do two and a half jobs as I assist one new member of staff with their learning curve and try to do the job of General Manager (now vacant) and my own work at the same time

However, the main reason has been that over the past week I have also been involved in the facilitation of the six day workshop for the Graduate Diploma in Childbirth Education.

This group, on paper, seemed very diverse: one from England, another from Taiwan; several from other States; some home birth midwives, some hospital based midwives; a consumer activist and three from Tiwi Island (close to Darwin) including two Aboriginal Health workers. Given this wonderful mix of skills and talent, we wondered how they would gel and develop as a group. In the event, they have formed some close bonds and have supported each other well during the many and varied tasks they have been asked to undertake as part of the program.

I have been particularly interested to observe how the Aboriginal women and the Taiwanese educator have adapted to our workshop format. Learning styles are very different in those cultures and there was great potential for them to feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed by the way we have approached the workshop and its content. My impression so far is that they have learned a lot about different ways of doing things and that this discovery may change the way they tackle the tasks of preparing and presenting their own programs.

It is easy to slip into stereotyping people and cultures. Assumptions are made about how people from often unfamiliar cultures prefer to learn and what they expect when attending educational programs. Of course it is important to select teaching activities and strategies with care and to be mindful of individual’s and the group’s reaction to various presentation ideas. I believe that adults from any culture like being involved in their learning and enjoy involvement and exploration, where they can bring their own resources to the program as part of the learning environment. Just because they may never have learned in the way being suggested does not mean they may not like it, and perhaps even prefer it, when given the opportunity to try.

I am hoping that everyone in this group will take away many new ideas and be willing to risk introducing them into their educational programs. This is the best way for everyone to learn, through trying, evaluating and adapting. It certainly means more learner centred rather than educator centred programs and stimulation that can help prevent burnout for educators. It may also encourage more parents to join groups where they feel their needs will be met, fun can be had and learning is relevant and useful.

Tomorrow is our last day and a big one: student presentations, where they each have a chance to present a given topic in an appropriate way while managing group dynamics and dealing with individual needs. It is challenging yet fun and I am sure we will all have a great day (and be glad when it is over!).

Posted by andrea at November 16, 2004 07:00 PM