Dr. Theodora Dedo Azu

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is to create an enabling environment that ensures the supervised exploration of my nursing and midwifery students. The more significant learning occurs in environments that are both meaningful and realistic. The learning environment must be realistic to the learner so that the knowledge and skills acquired by the student apply to similar situations in the future. However, the setting for the learning needs to be safe so that the student feels empowered and actively involved in exploring the boundaries of their skills. My goals in teaching are to ensure that my students become competent in their nursing and midwifery skills to save lives and improve their client's holistic well-being in a safe and enabling environment. I have followed this philosophy throughout the various levels of teaching. 

I establish specific goals and objectives for each stage of training my students, and I am willing to be flexible when necessary to meet their individual learning needs. Regularized formal assessment and feedback are essential; however, transitioning from a teacher-centred learning environment (lecturer) to a more student-centred environment (hospital wards), students may be required to identify the learning needs of their clients and assess their progress. The use of journaling, demonstrations and peer-reviewed activities are some ways that I have worked to encourage self-assessment and inspire life-long learning habits among the students. 

I demonstrate empathy, inquisitiveness, respect, team management, and analytical thinking in every encounter with my students. Successful learners must evolve from just connecting their clinical experiences with the literature knowledge they are taught in the classroom. They need to be competent at identifying problems, developing possible solutions by critically appraising the client's condition and showing respect in all circumstances. Everyone is unique and needs to be treated as such.