Providing Honest feedback on the course so far
I have attempted to provide honest feedback on the course by answering all questions truthfully and honestly with the hope that it will affect how the course is given
I do not agree with the method of teaching so far and honestly think that i am not learning about Healthcare Administration
I believe the course has deviated from its true purpose of teaching us about something we don’t know about to teaching us about a novel method of teaching that we will not use once the course is over
I had a hard time reading your plectica map (my screen resolution wouldn’t allow me to read everything) but I think I saw you used your wife for your 4 ways of seeing. Were you guys opposites? My wife and I are and I think we seem to compliment each other well.
Hi Don
Yes i have included my wife in the 4 ways of seeing thing. Yes we are polar opposites and you know what they say, opposites attract. She definitely makes me a better person, i don’t know about my effect on her but i would like to think i am contributing to something.
Marc – as I stated in the Facebook Group… I appreciate the candor (and this will not have any impact on your grade in a negative way). However, time for some candid feedback from me.
1. You are making way too many assumptions with nothing to back them up.
2. I understand that you didn’t enjoy the Personality survey or the NFCC, but I never said there was anything scientific to back them up. Regarding the NFCC, I have sampled over 50 students now and the data is starting to show where most students typically fall. It has been a really good indicator for how a student interacts with me.
3. You and I were off by one letter on the Personality test. I was an INTP. My wife was also an ESFJ. I can easily see my answers being similar to yours in the 4 Ways of Seeing method (I am curious to hear what you think of the method). However, I am not Judging (I was Prospecting not Judging). That is the main difference between the two of us.
4. Hopefully, you see the connection between the Personality test and the NFCC after KT5. As an administrator, your role will likely be different than as a surgeon. You have to understand the people you work with. People will not agree with you and you will have to find a way to cope with that. In order to do this (as I have learned), you must understand who they are and who you are. I used to joke with my wife (well… still do) that I show her empathy by poking her with my finger while saying “empathy”. As you could probably guess… that didn’t work. Therefore, I started looking for strategies to find out how to be more empathetic. I examine everything through a logical lense, but I couldn’t see anything subjective until a few years ago.
5. You don’t think the feedback survey’s work. Yet, you contradict yourself in your remarks as you stated you could tell I used your feedback to improve something. Do you seek feedback as a surgeon? If not, please explain to me how you make sure everything is clear on your team?
6. So, you don’t like the Facebook group. You also stated you had to join. That is not correct. You did not have to. It was optional.
7. You stated you are not learning anything about healthcare administration in this class. What module are you currently in? If the answer is Introduction, then why are you not giving it time. If you have read some of the healthcare textbook, then why haven’t you learned anything? If you haven’t, is there any self-reflection that needs to take place? This class started on 17 August (that was 3 weeks ago). Again, please give it time. If at midsemester (October 9) you still feel the same, then I will be the one who needs to do some self-reflection… but not September 8th.
8. Please remember. You are a surgeon. Your level of experience and education is above those who attend this course. That doesn’t make you smarter, nor does it make you better. But it does place you in a position where your experience could help everyone in the class. You could provide insight and help every one of the students in this class be better students and better professionals.
9. You thought the Contact Tracing certification was easy and you completed it in 30 minutes. You do realize that most students are not a surgeon and might not have the same level of knowledge or education, correct? Do you suggest making the course and certification so difficult that only a surgeon could pass it? If so, then there’s no need to have anyone complete it unless they are a surgeon. Yet, I am sure a surgeon has more things to think about than performing contact tracing. Did you ever think about stopping during the 30 minutes and wonder… what else could I learn?
Finally, I am reminded of a quote from Socrates. I remember it in two ways (my assumption is one is correct):
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” or
“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”
Dr Schwandt, it must have taken you a lot of time for this post. I will not dwell much but I think I pushed your buttons inadvertently. so I will reply to each and every point you brought up (something tells me this post is going to blow up😂).
1. I am definitely not making a lot of assumptions as usually when we take a course, we would form a certain idea before the drop course period as to what it consists of, the drop period was the end of August and by that time, your course seemed to be centered around swarm learning. In fact, since we purchased a book on this, it could be easily construed that most of the course is about this topic, I was gullible initially and thought it was a book about healthcare, the problem is I had to buy it to know what it was about. So my assumptions are in the correct place up till now.
2. I never said that you thought that the NFCC and personality test were scientifically backed, I merely alluded that those are pointless tests that are too subjective to be taken seriously. And by the way 50 students is not a big sample to draw any conclusions.
3. we might be off by one letter on the personality test but it is one letter too many, I am definitely judgemental and it is going to be very difficult to change my mind regarding this course.
4. I will have to take you word on this, I actually understand people really well and am very empathic so no problem here. I know that being an administrator entails thinking differently than a surgeon, why do you think I am doing an MBA in healthcare, it is to try to understand how the enemy thinks😂
5. I didn’t say feedback don’t work, I said you tend to overuse them and base the success of you course on them which is not appropriate in some cases. As a surgeon, I appreciate constructive feedback and I go into a lot of preop planning to the tiniest detail to ensure the success of any procedure I undergo. I also review all the steps I have taken after a surgery and see how I can improve and refine my technique.
6. No, I don’t like Facebook because it is an inappropriate platform to discuss a serious topic or issue, let alone an MBA course. I definitely had to join because you insisted I do and because you stated there were extra points and of course it is better to comply initially and join if you keep on telling me to post there.
7. yes I am not learning much about healthcare. I completed the FT4 assignment so I think I’m upto date with respect to the dates you posted. I have read 2 chapters in the HC book that you assigned so far. I have learned on my own some stuff but it was not thanks to you. I thought you will discuss some of the topics from those chapters in the videos you posted but instead you give us those rules to follow and go on about how wonderful plectica is or how wonderful those techniques are (toulmin, thesis generator etc…). I dont think i need any self reflection and I will give it time since i don’t have any choice, I’m trapped in this course till the end.
8. I am not pretending to be smarter or better than anyone else in this course, I am doing this MBA to learn new things but am finding out that some of the courses are not useful at all. this is actually the second course where I have to confront the instructor about the material. the first one was business information systems taught by Dr James Smith (you probably know him), I have scored an A+ there but this is not the point, I never understood what the point of the course was and I was frustrated about the quality and delivery of the material.
9. I honestly believe that the contact tracing certification is common knowledge, the problem I have with it that the information stated could change with time since a lot of new research is being generated about COVID19 on a weekly basis. I am not to cool for school because I am a surgeon and I realize that i have an advantage in terms of understanding principles that others might be new to, you should not have made it mandatory for everyone to do it in FT4. I mean that when you sent an email about it and the job opportunity, I thought this instructor is so nice, he is helping out the students and actually getting someone a decent job. the problem I have with this is you did not have to shove it down everyone’s throat. I’m sick and tired of dealing with COVID19, I have been on the frontline of this pandemic since it started and I didn’t need to waste my time on this. I could have been served by something that I don’t know like about healthcare administration😂
As for the final quote from Socrates, I would like to remind you that my profession is very humbling and that I honestly believe that what i currently know is nothing compared to the vast amount of knowledge that is in the world. My job is not a job, it is a mission and a privilege and I have helped numerous people getting their lives back, I am always fascinated by learning and that is why I am doing this MBA.
I hope we don’t have a twitter feud type of interaction. I know you want the best for every student who takes your course, it is self evident from the huge amount of testimonials in your book (which I think you should tone down a little bit)😂
I think that this comment section is a great example of personality types. True “Analysts” providing front row seats to their personalities! My husband has an “Architect” personality as well…So I feel for both of your wives 😉 hahahaha
Thanks for sharing your honest remarks, Marc. It was refreshing to read something with so much feeling. I do appreciate some drama every now and then, so it was enjoyable to read your post here and on Facebook. I hope you begin to enjoy the course in the near future. Even if you do not enjoy it, I hope you do learn something new.
Nice one, yes we are difficult people to deal with but we have so much to offer too. Anyway i don’t think those personality tests can really decipher how someone behaves or acts, they can at best give you an outline so i would take those tests with a grain of salt.
I agree Marc! I wouldn’t change my husband for anything.
Nice to know i have a flare for the dramatic, guess i am a little passionate about stuff that tend to annoy me. Thanks, i will definitely learn something new but is it something i want to learn is the real question. Learning should be selective. Have a good course too