Leading a session - a non-practical subject (ideal for virtual microteach lessons)

So we've already covered what our introduction, our summary and the body is for practically taught sessions, and we're going to quickly look at what it is when we've got a non-practical session where it's mainly theory-based. It could be that you're doing soft skills where it's just a time for people to have an understanding of and take away that information. So we're gonna look at how we would build that because if you're doing a non-practical session, we just have to check that learning's taking place, so we need to include some form of testing, questioning, whichever method we might feel is the most appropriate for the subject we're teaching. Now, depending on the size of the session that we're delivering, so if we reflect on a microteach session, we've got 30 minutes, and we broke that down into where our introduction was 13 minutes, the summary was two minutes, so our main body was 15 minutes. Part of that 15 minutes now has to be the test, quiz, whichever way you're gonna assess the knowledge part of this course or this session. So, ideally, the quickest way to do a knowledge test will be using multiple-choice questioning or true or false answers, because you can use mnemonics or you can use letters to cover... Depends on the individual learner needs as well... In that you ask one question with four specific answers, one's correct. It's easy to quickly summarize that and check that everyone's completed.

So the general idea behind this is if we've got four learning outcomes, we should have at least four questions, one from each outcome. So if on that basis, we've got to have four questions now, the idea of trying to work out how that works is: How long would it take for a learner to read the question, go through four answers, and circle the right answer, okay? Now, the reason why we're making it as simplified as this is 'cause if we set a question and they've got to write an answer, it's: How long will it take for them to write an answer, and then how long's it gonna take for you to read that answer and to mark it? So for speed of essence in what we're doing, multiple-choice questions or true and false, we can get the learner to read it, then circle or put their answer down, and then it is very, very quick for us to actually get the answer and check that learning's taken place in this micro-teach. If it's a longer session, of course, we can actually develop and make longer questions, so that's fine.

So, four questions, generally looking at potentially 30 seconds a question. So if we've got four questions, that's two minutes. If I have to introduce it, probably about a minute to introduce that, so we're looking at the questioning should be about three minutes. So that would go under our last outcome, so I'm gonna put that in first. So in this section, this will be our... I'm going to put "MCQ," which is multiple choice question, and that's what we're gonna be using. So what do I want our learners to do? So it's "Take quiz" 'cause it's multiple-choice questions or quiz. So while we're doing that, we'll put in our time. So as I said, my introduction of it, and then how long it takes to read it, and we're gonna put that down as three minutes. Now remember, for here, we had 15 minutes after we completed our introduction and our summary, so we've gotta take three minutes off of 15 now, so that gives us 12 minutes. So this in effect means we've gotta teach our four learning outcomes in 12 minutes.

So I'm gonna just use an example, real quick. The subject I'm gonna be talking about is epilepsy. So we're gonna go off with learning outcome one, so by the end of the session learners will be able to understand "What is epilepsy?" So this could actually be an activity, so we can get our learners to use the activity to ask them what their opinion is of what they believe that epilepsy is. So we know it's a neurological condition, we know it affects the individual's brains, it can be hereditary, also in the genetics, and it also can be a causation of a traumatic incident, so like head injuries or certain other things, stroke, in different parts, which can then cause people to have epilepsy. So it's that activity, we can get the learners to get their sway on that. I'm not gonna put any times in yet 'cause I wanna get my four learning outcomes out there. So, "What is epilepsy?" So that will be our first learning outcome. Our second learning outcome, learning outcome two, would be, "Types of epilepsy." So again, what do we want my learners to do? I'm gonna again do another short activity, and get them to give me what their understanding of what different types of epilepsy are. So this part again will be participate activity, so it's "participate" and that could be list. Same thing with here: "Participate, a list."

Then we go on to our learning outcome three. So we can actually go into the realms of recognizing the signs and symptoms that someone's having a seizure. So, "Signs and symptoms of seizures." So signs and symptoms of seizures, that can go into the realms of when we're maybe observing someone, they're going to have an aura first, which they know their seizure's coming, then it could be they're doing in different categories. Someone could be having a mild seizure, which will be... They will still be conscious, still have some awareness, slightly not fully aware of what's going on around them. They're not fully focused. They're conscious. So, they're having a smaller type seizure. And then, we can go into... They're going into tonic-clonic, which is the television seizure. An individual falls on the floor and start convulsing. And it's the most dramatic one that there is, but there are other types. You can have an absence seizure where somebody's staring off in a space. So, this is what we are looking at within this. How do we know that someone's having a seizure. What's going on? So, that will be the next outcome that we have got there. So again, this would just be on for this part, listen. Q&A. We could have participate again, because I feel like I could ask them questions.

And then, we get on to the last outcome. So, outcome four would be times to call emergency services. EMS. Okay. So again, this could then be another activity. By each activity I'm using, of course, I'm gonna have my own list so the learners get what I've put down as part of my answers. So, an activity... That could be list. Exactly what we are doing. Okay. Now, because we've done this this way, and we know this is a theory-based or a non-practical session, we went from the multiple choice question being three minutes, taken off the 15 minutes, that gives me 12 minutes to cover these subjects. So, as I said previously, we don't have to divide these up exactly. So, there's four outcomes. We could do three minutes per outcome, but the first one might take me two minutes. The second one might take me five minutes. The third one might take me one minute. It's about practicing and then going through this. Scripting your information so you've got an identifiable way of knowing how long is this gonna take me. Use your bullet points for hitting key points. And then, just talk about it.

Okay. So, what is epilepsy with no little activity? I'm gonna give that... I am going to give that three minutes. Type of epilepsy, I'm going to give that five minutes. We're already up to eight minutes from 12. So, that only gives me six minutes. Signs and symptoms of a seizure. I'm gonna give that, I am gonna give that three minutes. So, that does give me... That's three, six, 11... I've only got one more minute. So, one minute to talk about time to call the emergency services. Alright. So, you can see we're quite tight on time when we do have non-practical and theory-based questions, theory-based lesson. So, from that then, again, remember we've got to complete all the boxes and fill-in. So, where we did previously our introduction, we got down to, I think it's PowerPoint. One, two, three, four, five. So, this would be PowerPoint six to eight maybe. And then this could be PowerPoint nine to 11. This could be 11 to 12, only two slides. And this one could be 13. Oh that would 12 to 13, wouldn't it? And then, this could be 14 to 15. Okay. Now, multiple-choice questions, if this is not a virtual session, or if it is a classroom-based session, we'll have a handout.

Okay. So, my resources, it would be hand out, because that will be the test to the quiz paper of the multiple-choice questions. So, you give people access to write that down. They can swap over in the class, pass it on to another learner, or they can mark their own work. It depends on the setup. If it's virtual, I would do put the multiple-choice questions on slides, and then go through your four slides with your four questions, let the learners read it, write their answers down, and then give the answers at the end by asking the learners to give you back the answers. Okay? So, this is going be a quiz in the assessment. This will be a quiz, 'cause we are using one-point quiz and quiz. So, it's really important that when we are either doing a practical session or a non-practical session, that we actually plan out exactly what we need to do. We know what the bits that are already fixed. And we know we have got to do an introduction. We know how long that takes. We know we got to do a summary. We know how long that takes. If it's a theory, there is no practical element to it.

We've got to ask some questions to check learning, 'cause that's part of the peer assessment, that's part of the learner assessment. So, we have to do something along the lines of a quiz, but it's working out how long that's gonna take. And then, we can fit the rest in the rest of the body. So summarizing this, then folks is really, really important that we are planning our sessions properly, that we are working out timings properly because it's a key component to pass in any of our education and training courses, is that you can show... You can plan a subject, you understand the different learner needs. So then, you use different things in their activities. You're using different types of assessment. You understand what resource is required. And you're being supportive to your learners so they can get through that session that you're delivering.