I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to get away with saying I’m a new/early/baby academic – at the time of writing I’m 4 years in…
But I suspect there’s a theme that comes along in every academic’s life where they fall head over heels in love and strive to implement their new-found love into every facet of their practice. Other than my wife, kids and Newcastle United, my greatest love is Simulation.
Why do I love simulation so much? Because when done well, it’s real. It’s authentic. It’s intense. It’s learning.
This may be the nature of our Physios coming through but they crave ‘practical teaching’ – I’m not sure that’s what they mean. What they mean is experiential learning. They want to try the clinical experience and make mistakes which aren’t judged but are celebrated as part of the learning. THAT’S SIMULATION.
I recall my mum always telling me we learn from our mistakes – so why do we not give learners the opportunity to make them and learn from it? I’ve learnt more as a Dad by getting it wrong (sometimes horribly) reflecting with my wife (which is unbelievably tough) and actioning my corrections in the future. THAT’S LEARNING.
Simulation is my pedagogical interest for life. I’m so happy I found it early in my academic career…
Dean Walker 