Thursday, January 26, 2012

So THIS is what problem based learning is...

Well, I haven't really had a chance to sit down and write anything since I've started this semester because I am so busy. This semester is different than last semester; whether this is different good or bad I am not really sure. In some ways this semester makes last semester feel like a cakewalk, but then I think about my huge anatomy exams and life doesn't seem so bad.

This semester I was finally introduced (officially) to problem-based learning. I had learned how to teach inquiry-based learning (which is very similar... in fact without looking, I don't know what the difference[s] would even be) with my education degree, so I was interested to see how I liked it from a student perspective. It's... interesting. There are times when I really love it; I love the discussion and coming together to bounce ideas off of each other. The group that I am in has an almost perfect dynamic and word is that we are eons ahead of the other groups in terms of being able to accomplish what we are supposed to from these sessions. There are other times when I am not so sure... this is mostly when I am spending anywhere between 4-8 hours researching outside of class time and creating 10+ page word documents with tons of information. Then, after discussion, sometimes it's still a little iffy as to what I need to know vs "extra stuff" that I had found.

But, all in all, it's pretty good. We just had our first exam that correlated with our PBL sessions, lectures and labs. It was hard and easy at the same time. Mostly, I messed up on small details (like what does a T1 wave MRI show) and vocabulary that I tried to learn but got mixed up on when it came to the test. It will be interesting to see if I pass it or not. The nice thing about these tests is that if we don't pass them, we simply retake them. So, I already know from taking it what information I was supposed to know that I was iffy on, so I know what to look over if I do, in fact, need to retake it. Plus, it's just not worth having a mental breakdown over. Or that's what I'm trying to tell myself.

I am finding my clinical skills lab time easier; we are actually correlating all that boring, background information with real therapy, like modalities. That's been nice. We just started electrotherapy though, and it is intense. There is so much information. We are having 3 lectures on it and 2-3 lab sessions on it. I hope that I end up understanding it all... our professor told us we should plan to re-read our class notes/the chapter in the book at least 3 times.

Other than that, my other classes are not so bad. I am enjoying Neuroscience so far, although to be honest, we have not really covered too much of anything. Exercise physiology is really boring, but I am trying to be a really good student since I've never had an ex phys class before... The only other course I have is my 1 credit Correlative Neuro and it's almost as time consuming as PBL, even though it's not supposed to be since it's a 1 credit course.

I need to figure out how to be more efficient in my information gathering for both PBL and Correlative, because I am just spending so much time outside of school researching it's insane. I need to learn how to reel it in and try to stick to my objectives and not go "too far" into detail if I don't need to... right now it seems like I go too far when I'm not supposed to and not far enough for other things... I think as time goes on and we do more and more cases, I'll get better at balancing and figuring out what is exactly expected of me from the course.

So, with that, I am pretty much done studying for the night; I tried to work on some of my Correlative but J* is on his way home from Tampa, so I'm anxiously following him/his flights and also had to take a brain break from the 3 tests (and 1 quiz) I took this past week.

Monday, January 2, 2012

About to start Semester 2...

So, tomorrow I continue my journey in PT School and will start my second semester. Honestly, this two week break for Christmas has been GREAT. It was just long enough for me to get caught up on all of my personal life issues (minus seeing a couple of friends) and enough to recharge my batteries. I am happy to say that I am not dreading going to school tomorrow like I was before I started.

This semester will be interesting, I have the following courses:

Neuroscience (4)
Foundations of Movement Science I (7)
Fundamentals of Exercise Physiology (2)
Correlative Neuroscience (1)

For a grand total of 14 credits, as was my first semester. This semester will be my first semester with problem-based learning (PBL) and I'm excited. Coming from a background in education I am familiar with PBL and how to teach it, so I'm excited to use that particular knowledge to (hopefully) succeed with the course. It's a large amount of credits and I'm really just interested to see how this is all going to play out. The course is 7 credits, and it is all day Tuesday/Thursday. We have our PBL groups in the AM and then a lab portion in the afternoon. I have no clue what the lab portion is about, but I'm assuming it will be similar to my course in the Fall that was clinical skills 1.

In any case, I am trying to start this new year off with some changes; I am trying to remain positive although there has been a lot of stress surrounding me outside of school. I am thankful that although I had so many factors going against me in the first semester, I managed to pull through with good grades and am able to continue in this journey.

So, wish me luck! :)