Back on that horse, again

Well, despite my good intentions I fell off the wagon and didn't manage to complete the course in 2011 due to busy-ness. So I'm back again and feeling resolved! In my third year of lecturing now, and I feel like this year I have hit the ground running, and that even though its as busy as ever, I have my head around what I'm doing. A few new things on our horizon this year, as we are moving to some new forms of assessment with the midwifery students, using video recorders as an assessment tool for the students' practice assessments. In the past we have completed a Midwifery Practice Skills Assessment by having the student meet a 'woman' and after information-sharing, discussion and gaining informed consent, the students have performed practice skills (eg blood pressure recording, postnatal check etc) in front of a lecturer who is assessing their performance against a set of skill sheets. These assessments are quite stressful for students, and we are trialling a video assessment where the student uploads a video of themselves performing skills in mock-up situations which can be assessed and moderated by lecturers. The benefits to the students include being able to repeat the 'take' as many times as is necessary for them to perfect the skill (learning by repetition) as well as being able to reflect on how they 'come across' in terms of their communication with the 'woman'. Seeing oneself in this context is always illuminating, as watching your own demeanour and body language etc can give good insights into how you are perceived by the recipient of your attention! So I look forward to thinking and learning about the different dimensions of this new form of assessment and whether it will assist or hinder the goal of successful skill development for the students.