As a childbirth educator, you have little control over how your parents-to-be will apply your lessons to their real-life situations. However, you can provide encouragement for them to continue educating themselves between class sessions — and even after class has ended.
Below are three simple ideas for how to keep parents learning outside of the classroom.
Make technology your friend
Since parents are already using computers, tablets and smartphones for many different everyday tasks, try incorporating these devices into your class activities to promote further engagement. These devices can also make it easier for you to connect and communicate with your students.
Many hospitals and other healthcare facilities use our interactive eLearning products, eBooks, and mobile apps to facilitate learning between classes and to enhance the classroom experience. Our clients often find that their parents-to-be come to class better prepared and knowing what questions to ask when they integrate these products into their curricula.
Use social media
Social media is a fantastic vehicle for allowing parents to ask questions and stay in touch with one another outside of the classroom. Social media can keep the conversation going throughout the duration of your course, providing an easy way to continue discussing topics of concern and exchanging ideas.
To make the student experience even more enriching, let your parents know you’re listening by bringing social media conversations that receive a lot of attention and concerns that are expressed by multiple parents back into the classroom.
For more tips on how to incorporate social media into your teaching practice, see our post on reaching patients through social media.
Plan a meet-up
Once during each class session, plan to call a class meet-up outside of your regularly scheduled class time. Whether the program is informal or formal — from a general Q&A to a discussion of a specific topic of interest that you can’t otherwise cover in detail — convening a meet-up offers additional value to the parents in your classes.
If scheduling an additional face-to-face meeting poses too many challenges, you can schedule a digital meet-up via a class Facebook group.
Additionally, if you’re aware of a community event relevant to some aspect of your curriculum, encourage your students to attend as a group, take notes and share what they’ve learned with one another.
