Professional culture and learning: CRADLE Seminar Series
20 November 2018
A strong turnout at Deakin Downtown and many more online joined us to hear visiting academic Prof. Chris Watling (Western University) explore the influence of professional culture in shaping learning. Drawing from the worlds of medicine, sport and music, Chris’ presentation generated plenty of discussion amongst the audience. If you weren’t able to make the seminar on the day, a recording is now available.
Here, CRADLE Fellow Dr Bryony McNeill reflects on Chris’ presentation and shares her key takeaways. A recording of the seminar, along with a link to Chris’ slides, is also available to view at the bottom of the page.
At last week’s seminar, Professor Chris Watling presented his research on the similarities and differences in learning and feedback between medicine, sport, and music. Throughout his presentation, Chris used specific examples from these three fields to demonstrate the inextricable influence of culture on learning.
Photo: Phillip Dawson
Chris started by highlighting some of the key features of the learning culture in music and dance. He then compared these to the environment typical of medical education. The difference that I found most striking was around the role of direct observation in learning and teaching. In music and dance, direct observation by a coach or teacher forms a central component of the learning process. Such opportunities for observation are highly valued by learners and are seen as essential for improving performance. In contrast, direct observation is less common in medicine and can be a confusing and uncomfortable experience for the learner. Notably, the act of learning and receiving feedback is usually separate from assessment in dance and music, but not in medicine. Another key difference between the disciplines that I found interesting is that while medical educators are generally involved in both teaching and medical practice, in dance and music there is no expectation that coaches must be skilled in the performance side of the discipline to be an effective instructor.
By considering the culture of other disciplines, Chris explained, we can gain an external perspective on our own discipline, making “the familiar seem strange”, and use this new perspective to improve our practices.
The seminar stimulated lively discussion from the audience. Given the inextricable links between professional culture and learning, we discussed the implications of Chris’ findings for undergraduate courses in which learners are not studying to enter a particular profession such as medicine. In these courses, opportunities for the development of a relationship between learners and educators are likely to be particularly beneficial.
As a medical educator, there were several take-home messages which I found relevant for my own teaching. Firstly, Chris reiterated the advantages of separating feedback from assessment, a theme which was also central to a previous CRADLE seminar earlier this year given by Associate Professor Rose Hatala. Chris also encouraged us, as educators, to consider being more open about our own experiences of feedback, to help break down some of the barriers between learners and educators. Finally, Chris’ talk made me reflect on the particular culture in my discipline, and to consider the aspects of this culture which support learning as well as those which create challenges for ensuring our teaching and learning goals can be achieved, particularly with regard to feedback.
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View slides from Chris’ presentation here.
