CPD activities: methods for engaging occupational health learning

These activities, following on from Dr Simon Walker and Professor Anne Harriss’ article on providing engaging occupational health learning, will assist in the development of training courses that bring complex subjects to life.

Short CPD activities

Design a non-verbal teaching material

People learn in different ways. A common unifier is the ability to communicate an idea or piece of information without the need for words.

Your task is to design a teaching resource to convey a complex idea that could be understood without needing to understand the language or words. Test this with colleagues and consider what limitations the resource might have and how these could be overcome.

Create an ‘investigation board’-style learning resource

There is a reason there are millions of detective stories, crime shows, and mystery tales; humans are curious and love to solve problems. The investigation board works like a jigsaw puzzle, which with enough pieces it is possible to deduce an answer.

Design an investigation board that would encourage learners to autonomously form connections. Consider what evidence you can provide to answer the key questions and consider how to overcome any limitations this resource has.

Extended CPD activities

Create a lesson plan outside of your specialism

Teaching is more than the sharing of knowledge – it is the process of facilitating learning. What is taught is as equally important as how it is taught. One of the best ways to assess your ability to teach rather than convey your knowledge is try and teach something you have limited knowledge in. This will encourage you to think about how to involve students, present information clearly, and not make assumptions about your learners’ prior knowledge.

Design a training or teaching session complete with activities on a topic you have no specialism in. You should devise a reading list, lesson plan and potential assessment. Find a way to create an instructive session without having to conduct a significant amount of personal learning. Finally, reflect on the experience and the potential pitfalls.

Be a mentor

One of the best ways to confirm your own ability, and encourage you to think about improving your technique is to teach someone else.

Your task is to create a structured six to twelve-month mentorship programme, complete with goals, intervals and milestones. Sketch out ideas for learning resources to use with your mentee. Then, write a short reflective analysis considering whether designing a training programme for another has changed your perspective.