7Use Examples
- Provide as many examples as feasible when presenting material. Novices are
extremely interested in seeing “what it looks like” and “how it’s done.” One
technique is to refer students to places in the text where there is an example and
ask them to generate several more. This will facilitate their learning and
comprehension. - Concrete examples are very helpful for illustrating concepts. When you able to,
provide students with video and/or audio recordings and live demonstrations of
genetic counseling (preferably by more than one genetic counselor). If possible,
bring in volunteers to serve as genetic counselors and patients for some of the
demonstrations. - Make your examples basic enough that students do not need a lot of knowledge
about the genetic condition. Provide them with some details about the condition
so they can proceed with the activities.
Organize Class Sessions
- When preparing each class, prioritize activities so you know in advance which
ones you will delete if you run over time. - Arrange your class activities so they progress from easier to more challenging
ones. You should also begin with less threatening activities (e.g., defining defense
mechanisms) and then move to more threatening activities (e.g., discussing one’s
own defense mechanisms). When arranging activities, remember the more
threatening an activity, the fewer people you may want to have listening to a
student’s disclosure (e.g., use a dyad format in which students select who they
want as a partner). When processing a more threatening activity, don’t ask for
details, although students are free to offer them. For instance, in processing a
defense mechanisms dyadic exercise, ask, “How was it to do this activity? What
did you learn about the impact of defense mechanisms on genetic counseling?”
Do not ask, “What defense mechanisms do you use?” - Have on hand an assortment of role-play scenarios you could assign to students
for role-play practice. Various exercises and activities in this book include sce-
narios that may be used for role-playing. You can also assign students the task of
creating role-play scenarios. The objective is to give them practice in perspective-
taking, thereby promoting empathy as well as practice in case conceptualization.
For instance, a 24-year-old white male might create a scenario in which the
patient is a 38-year-old Asian female with breast cancer, thus providing practice
with cultural empathy (Ridley and Lingle 1996 ). Appendix 2 contains a descrip-
tion of a written exercise for developing genetic counseling role-plays. If you
have students create scenarios, we recommend you review them in order to
insure their appropriateness and accuracy.
1.2 Active Learning Guidelines and Techniques