Teaching Techniques

· Lecture: The most straightforward teaching technique: stand in the front of the classroom, and tell them all the information they need to know.

o Advantages: Way to get the most information out in the least amount of time.

o Disadvantage: students only retain about 20% of what you say to them.*

· Lecture with Visual Aids: Using posters, models of pelvises, real medical equipment, etc. is much more effective than pure lecture, as seeing objects helps to reinforce your words to your students.

· Lecture while writing on the board. When you write a few key points on the board, it can help to emphasize those points to everyone in the room, but it’s especially beneficial for visual learners to see it written down, and for kinesthetic learners to watch you write it.

· Question and answers:

o Advantages: gets people thinking more as they come up with questions. They will better integrate information they hear in response to questions than they will information that just gets handed to them in lecture form.

o Disadvantages: Too few questions, leaving you standing and waiting for someone to talk (to prevent this, ask more specific questions. Or, too many questions: it’s easy to get distracted, so remember to keep the group disciplined and on-track.

· Brainstorming: Instructor asks a question, all the students give answers. (For example: “what are some comfort techniques which you have heard help with labor pain? Or “What are some benefits of breastfeeding?”)

o Advantages: Gets students involved. Gives them a chance to share what they know, and reinforce their competency.

o Disadvantage: Don’t overuse this technique: students can quickly feel as if you don’t actually know any information and are hoping they will provide it…

o Things to consider: It’s very important that after they give suggestions, you provide feedback which gives even more information and amplifies what they have said. Also, if you use this to cover a topic where they need to come up with all the answers (like warning signs), make sure you have a list of everything that needs to get covered, and you bring up anything they missed.

· Demonstrations: Doing demonstrations (e.g. of breastfeeding positions, or of the open-knee-chest position) helps to clarify what you are saying, and also is helpful to the visual and kinesthetic learners to help them remember what was covered.

· Demonstration-return demonstration: It’s even better if you demonstrate, then have them do what you had done, with you offering feedback. Great for teaching counterpressure and double hip squeeze.

· Pop Quizzes: A quiz can be done as a small group activity, or homework, or a worksheet handed out in class. Good for reviews of information already covered, especially really concrete info like “where do you go in the building when you arrive at the hospital in labor.” Also good for things that they don’t have to know the answers to, like breastfeeding advantages.

o Advantage: Gets them to really think about whether they know the information or not, and may stimulate some good questions and answers (can also show you where your teaching was effective.)

o Disadvantage: Can be stressful, so it’s important to present it in a way that reduces potential stress.

· Diagrams: Some information is most easily presented in diagrams or charts, like length of labor, stages of labor, and so on.

· Small group discussions: Dividing the class up into groups, either randomly, or by gender, or by first-time moms versus experienced moms, etc. Sometimes it makes sense to keep the couple together, sometimes it’s better to split them up so they gain the advantage of hearing two different conversations.

o Advantages: Informal, interactive, gets group members connecting to each other and the class material, fun.

o Disadvantages: You can’t be with all the groups at once, and there may be times when a misconception gets passed around the group that you’re not there to correct.

· Teachbacks: One of the best ways to make sure students really understood the information is to have them teach it. After you have demonstrated breastfeeding positions, have them “teach” you how to do it. After you teach dads to diaper, have them teach the moms. You can also assign homework to students one week, then the next week have them present what they have learned.

· Reflective writing: Good for feelings questions (“list some fears you have about labor and birth”) or questions where each person’s answers will be unique (“list some of the activities you enjoy that are really important to you to continue after baby is born, think about how your partner could help you make this happen, and write them a nice note asking them to do so.”) You hand out papers and pencils, and give students a few minutes to write things down.

· Games: There are many different styles of games, from dice games, to “Jeopardy” to trivia games, and so on.

o Advantages: Fun, interactive, people solve problems and retain the memory of that problem-solving.

o Disadvantages: tend to take up a lot of time for how much information actually gets covered.

· Homework: Worksheets to take home, or lists of skills to practice, or reading assignments.

o Advantages: Gets them thinking about things between classes, and integrating things into their day to day lives.

o Disadvantages: Many students won’t actually do the homework.

Compiled by Janelle Durham, 2003

There’s a nice article on adult learners and how teaching them is different than teaching kids at www.usdoj.gov/adr/workplace/pdf/learstyl.pdf

Some Trivia from the Web to reinforce the importance of teaching materials in various ways, and the importance of repeating key points in various formats:

· Students remember 10 percent of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see together, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they do.

· If you tell 100 people something once, without repetition: After 24 hours, 25% have forgotten it. After 48 hours, 50% have forgotten it. After 72 hours, 75% have forgotten it. After 1 week, 96% have forgotten it.

· When adult learners hear content only once in thirty days, they only retain 10%, but if they hear the same content six times in thirty days, they retain 90%.

Activities for Childbirth Education Classes

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