Primary educator education track

[Icenine]

Hi all,
I am a newly minted Paramedic and through all my training I've found one universal truth. In my small part of the world there is an epidemic of under-qualified and just plain terrible primary educators.

We are plagued by:

• Unprepared instructors with poorly formatted lesson plans.
• No understanding of accepted educational methods.
• Death by powerpoint as a "way of maintaining the standard".
• Perpetuation of well debunked myths and whole lies.
• Ignorance of current events and practices
• The list continues ad nauseam

As a long term goal I've set my sights on entering the scary field of primary education. Specifically I want to direct paramedic education courses. I am fully prepared to spend several years in the field and earn all of my battle wounds. But while I'm doing that I think I'll finally go to college and get a degree.

All of that to ask ...

When choosing my personal degree track with the above goals in mind, is there a specific program or degree track that would be most/more appropriate than others? Any colleges you know of specifically teaching with these goals in mind? I have several local very good community colleges to get the Associates out of the way. I would specifically be looking for an online program for the rest.

Thanks all!

 

[mycrofft]

Once you accept a teaching position, you are being paid to pound home an agenda in a curriculum. And each semester you are tasked with more and with fewer resources per student to do it.

 

[DrParasite]

We are plagued by:

• Unprepared instructors with poorly formatted lesson plans.
• No understanding of accepted educational methods.
• Death by powerpoint as a "way of maintaining the standard".
• Perpetuation of well debunked myths and whole lies.
• Ignorance of current events and practices
• The list continues ad nauseam

as for the first two on your list, then they shouldn't be instructors.

#3 is quite common. have you taken an AHA CPR class? the instructors job is to file paperwork, press play and pause on the DVD player, and grade the evaluations. that's it. death by powerpoint is a bad thing, but the class needs to be standardized, so if instructor 1, 3 or 4 are teaching it, the information relayed is the same.

as for 4 and 5, all too often the debunked myths and lies are still in the curriculum, and the current events and practices aren't in the text book, and aren't in the test. so I, as an instructor, can teach you the latest and greatest, but if the book still says "you will backboard every neck and back pain", and if you will be evaluated to ensure you do that, than that's what i have to teach you.

My student text book (the only one approved by the state) was published Aug 31st, 1995. It's old, it's outdated, and it's the only one we use, until the state comes up with a new one. thankfully the powerpoints are a little better, but the book is still really old. the tests sucks, are poorly worded and test on non-important stuff, and don't test on important stuff. but again, thats what I am given to use, so that is what I, as the instructor, will use.

If you really want to be more than an instructor, and be an "educator", get your PhD in paramedic science, or a related science field that will get you the research background and education background to know how to properly educate people.

 

[Clare]

I imagine some sort of qualification in adult (or tertiary) education plus a clinical qualification would be helpful,

Most of the university faculty here are ICP with BHSc Para or higher (e.g. MHSc) and sort sort of educator qualification (e.g. PGDip or above).

That is what I am looking into as a 5-10 year plan.

 

[Veneficus]

Hi all,I am a newly minted Paramedic and through all my training I've found one universal truth. In my small part of the world there is an epidemic of under-qualified and just plain terrible primary educators.

It is not just your area.

The reasons though are rather simple but unlikely to be fixed.

1st. Paramedic class is still designed as a vocational curriculum. The last 2 changes have helped a lot, but in the end, in the US, it is still a nondegree votech class.

Even if it is taught by a community college, many do not complete the whole degree, just enough to get the cert.

2nd. The institutions do not want to hire people who understand the science or have a higher degree.

Those people cost money. A lot of money. You have to be nice to them.

In order to maximize profit, you take the lowest qualified instructor you can, pay them the least, and churn as many students through your program in the shortest amount of hours possible.

Occasionally an institution attempts to break this model and usually pays the price in reduced enrollment forcing them back to the tried and true method.

3rd. In most places you don't actually need a degree to teach paramedic class. All you need is a certain amount of chronological experience. So the person who sees 1 patient a week in a vintage system is just as qualified to teach as somebody who sees 100+ patients a day in an ER.

When you add in the laborer mentality of "how it works in the field" and "true paramedics" attracting the high class help is almost impossible. Students just don't want to pay for it.

In order to change the instructor base, you must change the system.

We are plagued by:

[*]Unprepared instructors with poorly formatted lesson plans.
Because the instructors don't understand the material.

In the latest curriculum, a considerable amount of basic science these instructors probably never had and certainly don't understand was added. So they buy premade presentations from publishers and make people memorize them as a random collection of facts with no continuity.

It is the only way teaching something you do not understand can turn out.

[*]No understanding of accepted educational methods.

They don't know the material, you are asking them to know the best ways to deliver it?

Such a dreamer...

[*]Death by powerpoint as a "way of maintaining the standard".

Many people cannot deliver a powerpoint. But when you don't know the topic, it is best to stay on message.

[*]Perpetuation of well debunked myths and whole lies.

Because they teach what they know. What they know is what they have been doing. Anyone who attempts to stray from that line might hear something like:

"We are not doctors..."

"In the field how it really works..."

"the protocol says..." (note they select only the parts of the protocol that supports this)

[*]Ignorance of current events and practices

Outside of academic medicine this is common in all healthcare fields.

But it is also a very typical indicator of a vocation vs. a profession.

[*]The list continues ad nauseam

Yes it does.

As a long term goal I've set my sights on entering the scary field of primary education. Specifically I want to direct paramedic education courses. I am fully prepared to spend several years in the field and earn all of my battle wounds. But while I'm doing that I think I'll finally go to college and get a degree.

I know of only one instructor who managed this. With a master's in adult education. On top of his engineering degree. Sadly his salary isn't much better than any other paramedic instructor.

All of that to ask ...

When choosing my personal degree track with the above goals in mind, is there a specific program or degree track that would be most/more appropriate than others? Any colleges you know of specifically teaching with these goals in mind? I have several local very good community colleges to get the Associates out of the way. I would specifically be looking for an online program for the rest.
Thanks all!

You will not find what you seek in community college. You are looking at at least a 4 year university education with a teaching credential on top of it.

Be wary of community college courses, even if they have the same name and same equivalent level. The point of CC is to teach you enough to enter the workforce.

When I was pursing my undergrad for medicine I had already a host of community college work. My academic advisor suggested I simply forget about it and do the university classes I would have already recieved transfer credit for.

It was nowhere near equal. In medical school I was required to take the exact samer classes, only they were taught at yet a more advanced level and the instruction was focused on how the basic science applies to medicine. From chemistry to nuclear physics, the higher you go, the more detailed it gets. You may discover the CC level education base is not sufficent for your advanced work.

 

[escherichiaColi0157]

Hi all,
I am a newly minted Paramedic and through all my training I've found one universal truth. In my small part of the world there is an epidemic of under-qualified and just plain terrible primary educators.

We are plagued by:

• Unprepared instructors with poorly formatted lesson plans.
• No understanding of accepted educational methods.
• Death by powerpoint as a "way of maintaining the standard".
• Perpetuation of well debunked myths and whole lies.
• Ignorance of current events and practices
• The list continues ad nauseam

As a long term goal I've set my sights on entering the scary field of primary education. Specifically I want to direct paramedic education courses. I am fully prepared to spend several years in the field and earn all of my battle wounds. But while I'm doing that I think I'll finally go to college and get a degree.

All of that to ask ...

When choosing my personal degree track with the above goals in mind, is there a specific program or degree track that would be most/more appropriate than others? Any colleges you know of specifically teaching with these goals in mind? I have several local very good community colleges to get the Associates out of the way. I would specifically be looking for an online program for the rest.

Thanks all!

Unfortunately, that is so normal. People get hired to teach merely because they have experience in the field. However, just because someone knows the subject doesn't mean they know how to teach it! WAY too many in that category.

 

[NYMedic828]

A girl from my paramedic class which graduated last november has been working overtime 5 days a week as an instructor at the academy teaching a new medic class.

I guess anyone can read a powerpoint or follow a skill sheet. Such is EMS...