Introduction
Every content delivery to meet the desired objectives has an experience garnered by the instructor. Normally, the experiences are both positive and negative. The learning experience is important because it helps the instructor and the learner to make improvements in future teaching and learning opportunities. This paper seeks to discuss the teaching experience garnered from the previous community teaching experience as depicted in the teaching plan.
Summary of the community teaching plan
The focus or topic of the teaching plan comprises primary prevention of Covid-19 disease. The target population for community teaching comprises the elderly, ages 65 and over. This population segment is vital because of the high morbidity and mortality rate caused by the pandemic. The teaching targeted this group because they are highly susceptible to the disease infection. The use of andragogy theory in the content delivery was because the learners were older. The theory is engaging and assumes an interactive approach, thus advantageous to the selected population section. Creativity through the use of technology was applied as a pedagogical technique to enhance the teaching and learning experience. The lesson plan was structured into the Introduction, body, and conclusion, whereby each section was made as interactive as possible (Learner-centered) in incognizance of learner-individual differences.
The epidemiological rationale for the topic
Covid-19 emanates from Server acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiologically, the disease as an agent comprises virulence and pathogenicity of diverse strains (Chowdhury & Oommen, 2020). The environment refers to the various factors that may affect or interfere with the agent and the exposure opportunities, including surfaces contaminated with the virus and respiratory droplets. Any uninfected persons are the host of the disease. The uninfected persons are possible hosts irrespective of age, gender, comorbidity, or virus susceptibility. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) database, 651,918,402 cases of coronavirus infection, which incorporate 6, 656,601 deaths globally, have been confirmed as of 23rd December 2022, evidencing the high mortality and morbidity rate. Therefore, developing a teaching plan will positively impact the community, thus mitigating the disease’s adverse effects, specifically among the elderly.
Evaluation of teaching experience
The teaching experience depicted various pros and cons. Some pros include the following: First, community teaching incorporates learners with rich experience, which becomes part of the teaching resource in the lesson. Some learners had personal experience with COVID-19 infection; thus, they were a resource in teaching other learners during the lesson. Secondly, rich experience can inform policy change. Interestingly, even the instructor learns from the interactions with the first-hand data, thus impactful to research. Some of the cons depicted in the teaching experience include the poor concentration span of the elderly population, which impedes class control, thus affecting the quality of content delivery and information retention of the learners. Therefore, teaching is significant because it impacts both the teacher and the learner. The fact that the insights from the teaching can enrich research and impact policy change also benefits the whole society upon following the right procedures.
Community response to teaching
The community demonstrated appreciation for the community teaching initiative. The lessons garnered from the expedition directly affect the lives and livelihoods of the learners. The principles of disease prevention, as asserted in the epidemiological triangle, can easily and effectively be applied at home. Therefore, such community teaching should be expanded and extended to incorporate diverse diseases and different age groups. However, the long-term indicator of community reaction to the teaching will be depicted through implementing the lessons learnt, thus decreasing the infection rate among the target population.
Areas for strength and areas for improvement
The areas for strength in community teaching comprise the following: First, the use of diverse teaching and learning strategies, including technology, i.e., slides presentation and learner involvement techniques, sustained the attention of the selected population little longer. Second, the selection of teaching theory was much more appropriate. Third, public promotion and advertisement of the community teaching was done in time and were quite elaborate; thus, there was a significant number of participants. Forth, community teaching focuses on all learning domains; thus, the learners master the lessons. The area that needs improvement includes: First, there is a need for the increment of learner feedback time for proper learner assessment regarding the lesson objectives. Second, there is a need for teacher or instructor assistance for proper heuristic learning. The function of the teacher assistant during community teaching is scaffolding. The learners need to be assisted in following up on the lesson; the assistant will also be instrumental in classroom control.
Conclusion
The teaching experience is significant, especially for improvement in future community teaching. There is a need for further diversified community teaching to incorporate other diseases plaguing the young, youth, adult, and elderly segments of the population. Community teaching profits both the learners and the instructor. The learners benefit from the scientific knowledge of proper disease prevention; whereas the instructor learns from the rich practical experience the learners bring into the lesson.
Reference
Allan, M., Lièvre, M., Laurenson-Schaefer, H., de Barros, S., Jinnai, Y., Andrews, S., … & Fitzner, J. (2022). The World Health Organization COVID-19 surveillance database. International Journal for Equity in Health, 21(Suppl 3), 167.
Chowdhury, S. D., & Oommen, A. M. (2020). Epidemiology of COVID-19. Journal of Digestive Endoscopy, 11(01), 03–07.
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