Simple And Achievable Strategies For Higher Standards In Osteopathic Education / Symposium B

Six fundamental criteria are common in successful education schools worldwide and these are only partially utilised in Osteopathic schools. This study proposes a more effective way to make use of these measures in order to achieve higher standards in Osteopathic education. Primarily, it is necessary to adopt the student centred method, supported by the direction of the schools, together with a training for Osteopathic teachers for a better understanding of their roles and utilising simple strategies for teaching (individualising teaching and learning). Without these elements it is very difficult to achieve a higher educational standard. The next step is to define three simple strategies for high-quality teaching and learning. Firstly, the importance of a dynamic planning which considers the student at the core, with flexible lessons and prompt integrations; the result is also the possibility of teaching effectively in larger classes. Secondly, it is a priority to assess students according to the student centred method, utilising simple tasks without marks, self-rubrics where the criteria are also decided by the students, and continuous verbal feedbacks to improve the student's learning and help teachers to recognise weak students and support them. Finally, a better use of technology (self-videos for teachers and students, collecting data) to help both teachers and students in teaching and learning. In this way, all the steps for a better level of Osteopathic education are covered and they will be the basis of a positive development using data collected from the preceding years.

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My name is Luciano D'Onofrio, D.O. BSc. Osteopath, with more than 10 years of experience as private practice and a Lecturer of different subjects (mainly Articular Techniques), Clinician and Clinic Coordinator at Institute Superior of Osteopathy (I.S.O.) and Institute Italian of Osteopathy (I.I.O.) in Milan. Previously, I have also taught IT at secondary schools in Pescara for more than 5 years. I have participated at two meetings organised by Ocean in 2009 in Maidstone and in 2010 in Milan about Clinic Tutor Training. Since 2011, I have been living in Australia where I have been assisting at conferences, lectures and researching materials about a better way of teaching and learning education. In particular, I have been focusing on understanding the main successful criteria in educational systems worldwide and adapting them to Osteopathic schools in order to achieve a higher standard of teaching and learning in Osteopathy.