Active Learning Partners

Working with people from different industries is a great way to gain new insights and ideas for how to do things better.

Partly as a result of my simulator background, and partly through personal networks, I was invited last weekend to the inaugural Advanced Emergency Performance Training (ADEPT) aimed at enhancing non-technical skills for critical care doctors and nurses.

As many of you know, Active Learning Partners were the project managers and instructional designers for the ADAS Dive Supervisor Training Simulator, where we worked closely with flight simulator engineers and consulted with medical simulation specialists in the design of the simulator. I was invited as an observer, to provide feedback after the training, and to be available for the facilitators or participants to ask questions about how we do things in this field in the commercial diving industry.

This ADEPT training was run at the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore, NSW, and organised by the editor and author of the Emergency Protocols Handbook, and leaders of the Trial of Emergency Medicine Protocols in Simulation Training, Dr. Charlotte Hall and Dr. Dean Robertson. (see http://emergencyprotocols.org.au/about/)

The facilitation team did an excellent job using case studies, simulation, roleplays and teamwork exercises to develop practical skills with some clear techniques and tools to add to the personal toolbox of the participants. There was significant value derived from the cross-functional nature of the facilitation team, which included people with backgrounds as pilots, doctors and nurses.

More information on this training can be found at http://emergencyprotocols.org.au/adept/

Thanks again to the team for inviting me as an observer and inspiring me to further enhance our non-technical skills training in the commercial diving industry.

Here I am in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, a few hours out of Shanghai. Enjoying the springtime, and watching the blossoms and the greening of the willows along the canal on my ride in to work at the Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power.

I'm teaching Marketing Management on behalf of the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. A great experience, lovely students, a beautifully landscaped university, fantastic canteen and a lot of fun learning how to read and say a few words in Chinese.

The main learning with teaching in another country and culture - be flexible, continuously update your approach to find out what works, and have faith that the students will rise to the occasion. Treat them as your customer, find out what works best for them, and try to inspire them to learn. Take advantage of their smartphones - it is a great way to communicate! I've set up a Moodle site so that they can message me, find the materials and even respond to surveys in class in real-time.  Learn to speak clearly, slowly and use international English (lose the idioms and colloquialisms), and most of all, be patient.

Last but not least, get out and see the countryside, interact with the people and enjoy the food.

Great to be teaching in my original home country. Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology has provided me with the opportunity to teach Human Resource Management and Principles of Marketing in their international program for their post-graduate course. With students primarily from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, there were many new ideas and experiences to share.