All teachers want students to be engaged in class discussions. Class sessions are more interesting and rewarding for everyone involved. When students do not seem to be engaged and don't participate, we tend to blame it on their lack of preparedness. Reluctance to talk in class may be due to other reasons, however. Probably the most important factor is probably unease about a fear of failure in front of their peers as well as the instructor.
A few months ago I gave a presentation about the new Situational- Judgment Test Questions that the ARRT has on the registry examination. I did extensive research concerning this topic and found things that were, well, disappointing. It really makes me concerned about Ethics in Medicine, and if Ethics can really be taught. Did you know that at least 56% of business students in graduate school have cheated at some point? Statistics in other areas were almost as high. Surveys that I produced and gave to my classes as well as other general education classes at my college in which I asked one simple question " What would you do if you saw the person next to you cheating on their exam?" yielded alarming results in all sample populations. Most respondents had answers like " If I didn't like the person and they were always copying, I would tell", or " I would mind my own business", or, " It is the teachers responsibility to watch for cheaters".
So Educators, what do you think?
In what kind of setting do you practice? Please describe what it's like working in that kind of setting.
I work in a very progressive community college that is recognized for its state of the art technology as well as its efforts in student success. I feel so fortunate to have in my classroom an energized laboratory with film/screen technology and cassette-based digital technology (CR) with a mini-PACS. Our classroom has Smart technology, and we love having the capabilities of viewing our CR images in the front of the classroom and manipulating them on the Smart board. I couldn't ask for more dedicated students, and while I have two of my own in college, the plaque in my office window reads "Mom's Place." That's for the other 26 of them in my program.
How/why did you get into your particular field?
I have been in education for 28 years. I started this part of my career in Indiana as a clinical instructor/adjunct faculty for a college based program. The clinical education center where my office was located was the same hospital that I attended and graduated from X-ray school as a hospital based program. When the opportunity presented itself across the Ohio River at a local community college in Kentucky to begin a new radiography program, I accepted the program director position. I remained there for 13 years before relocating to Pennsylvania to again begin a new program as the director.
What are your greatest professional accomplishments thus far?
Having the foresight to complete my Masters degree in 1983; passing the mammography advanced level examination the first time it was offered; serving as president of a state professional organization; authoring a radiography workbook and speaking at a state conference. But my two greatest professional accomplishments by far are the number of students I have had the pleasure of guiding through the journey to this profession and the number of life long friends I have made across the United States.
What are your professional goals for the future?
To finish the rest of my career as strongly as I began by remaining active in the profession I love and being the best mentor I can possibly be.
| Occupation: | Director, Radiography Program |
| Setting: | Community College |
