Tony Brewer View

My parents sent me to public school and I feel that I did get a pretty good education. I don’t regret anything from my school days other than the fact that some of the required classes were boring and I would sit in class wondering why on earth did a high school student need to know about some of this stuff. But the way children are taught in public school and the way we are taught as adults is a world of difference. For example, an adult taking a medical teaching course is going to learn from a variety of teaching materials, not from a teacher giving a lecture and writing on the blackboard in front of 30 other children.

There is an amazing difference in the way information is presented to adults, who are there to learn this material because they need to learn and they have the desire to learn it. Adults are usually given a variety of materials, such as textbooks, handouts, graphics, models and samples to have a hands on experience and real world relevancy. Can you imagine taking a medical management course without ever having been inside a doctor’s office? Adults get the benefit of relating the coursework to real life experiences.

A friend of mine shared some insight with me on how adults are evaluated, as well. Students of a consultant interview course actually practice their interviews and have the sessions videotaped. Their interviews are then evaluated by professionals and the student gets feedback on areas that need improvement. That is such an effective way to make sure someone has learned what they need, as compared to a standardized exam with multiple choice questions.