Overall, I am very happy with the results of our workshop. We have worked very hard to provide a fun educational activity for our learners and I think it’s a success! Based on the discussions and feedback we received, here are the strengths of our workshop and the aspects to improve:
Strengths:
- The organization: the organization of our workshop is one of our main strengths. Our schedule, task allocation and equipment had been carefully developed (Exley, 2005). I believe that this organization has helped us rise above the challenges that may arise along the way.
- The objectives: the creation of objectives was carried out with Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson, 2001). Each of the objectives conformed to the SMART method. Well written objectives provides, “credible and usable benchmarks by which the results can be monitored and evaluated” (Ogbeiwi, 2017). The more I progress in my own learning, the more I realize that objectives represent the basis of student’s learning but also the foundations of teacher’s teaching.
- Relationship with the group: the interactivity between teachers and learners was also highlighted. Each in our own way, we have created a comfortable and supportive learning environment. I noticed that we used humor and non-verbal language frequently. In addition, the organization of the classroom and the folders we prepared for each learner contributed to this beautiful atmosphere.
To improve:
- Interactive activities: collaborative activities helps to build trust, respect and relationships (EHPIC, 2008). Our workshop included more than 50% of interactive activities, which is good in a way! The main activities were the creation of a scenario, the application of the scenario and the debriefnig period. They were useful and had concrete meaning for learning. We added several other activities (e.v .: PollEv, Think-Pair-Share, Family Feud) which were less significant. I think they were overstimulating for our workshop. Now I realize that interactive activities must be used wisely and be useful for learning. We mist find a balance between theory and activities!
- The explanations: we had a lot of documents and theoretical concepts to provide to learners. At some point we realized they were confused and the comments also expressed this idea. The intention was good and we wanted to make the workshop as interactive as possible. However, I realize that the explanations of the activity must be very clear and a written document can be useful. Also, I think it is important to allow enough time for the group to ask questions related to activities. Finally, we should have taken a moment to present all the materials and documents. In retrospect I believe that if we had practiced our workshop with a group (before the presentation in class), we could have been better prepared. This is what I will consider in the future.
- Evaluation of outcomes: to assess learners’ knowledge, we used a pre- and post-workshop PollEV questionnaire (see below). I liked working with this tool but our questions were not specific enough. They concerned feelings related to the creation of a scenario rather than the knowledge gained during our workshop (Level 2 of Kirkpatrick evaluation model). In my opinion, this assessment does not allow us to target areas for improvement or changes for the future; catalytic effect (Noricini, 2011). Thus, to measure outcomes, it would have been interesting to ask questions about learners’ knowledge.
Finally, I am very satisfied with my workshop experience. I’m proud to see the progress made by my team since last fall. Obviously, we learned a lot about creating a workshop, but the learning experience doesn’t end there. We learned to work with a new team, to use technology, to integrate interactive activities to our presentations, to organize a 3-hour teaching session, etc! I hope to have the chance to present this workshop in other contexts. I am sure it could be useful for many people in the field of medical education and other. In addition, based on my reflections and the feedback we have received, I have many ideas to improve it!
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