Developing a Learning Contract and Learning Goals

DEVELOPING A LEARNING CONTRACT AND LEARNING GOALS

When you participate in a unit of CPE you are working on the Outcomes of either Level I or Level II CPE. The curriculum is designed to help facilitate your learning in those areas. In addition, setting your own learning goals enables you to take responsibility for your own particular learning needs and interests. Your learning contract will be shared with the group so that all may be aware of your goals and of the ways they can support your learning.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FORMULATING GOALS:

1.Spend some time in the orientation week, and in your early days of patient visiting, trying to get a feel for your own strengths and weaknesses. Monitor your anxiety level or your tendency to avoid certain visits, persons, or tasks. This anxiety or avoidance may give you a clue to an area that could use focused attention as a learning goal.

2.Once you have an idea, think about how it might be refined and focused. For example,"to become a better pastor" is too broad and too vague. You would want to reflect about what kind of specific behaviors or skills you want to develop that you believe will lead to your being a "better pastor." Those specific behaviors and skills would then be your learning goals.

3.Learning Goals can be both personal and professional. Sometimes a particular goal will encompass both. For example, the goal of being a more assertive person has both personal and professional aspects. In formulating your learning goals, bear in mind that CPE is youropportunity for educationinministry.

4.Be realistic about what you can reasonably accomplish. The point is the quality of your effort in working on your goals, not on the quantity of goals you set.

5.Use your supervisor and peers for consultation in developing your goals, and in ongoing evaluation of your progress. As the unit unfolds, your goals can be modified,in consultation with your supervisor, to provide for your learning.

6.The format for your learning contract is provided below using an example to illustrate:

LEARNING CONTRACT

GOAL #1:(State your goal succinctly here) To learn to offer the resources of prayer appropriately in patient visits.

INDICATORS:(List here the awareness you have of yourself, such as feelings, beliefs, and behaviors, which indicate to you that you could benefit by working on this goal.)

1. I never initiate prayer with patients.
2. The thought of asking a patient if they would like me to pray raises my anxiety a great deal.
3. Spontaneous prayer has always been something I’ve avoided.
4. I believe prayer might be desired by many patients, but I’m not sure what the content of a helpful prayer could be.
5. I’m afraid I’ll be seen as “pushing God” on others if I pray.

LEARNING PLAN: List the strategies and actions you will use to work on your goal, including how you will use your peer group and supervisor in your learning.

1. I will take the initiative to explore my anxieties about prayer in supervision.

2.I will make the effort to offer prayer with at least five patients by mid-unit.

3.I will write out all my prayers in verbatims and request feedback from my peers/supervisor about the appropriateness/content of my prayers.

1. I will read at least one book/article that refers to prayer in a hospital setting.

EVIDENCE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT:

(List here descriptions of how you will be different in relation to your goal at the

end of the unit. What is your "vision" of where you'd like to be?)

1. I will have actually offered to pray with several patients.

1. I will feel less anxious and more at ease when I do offer prayer.

1. I will have a greater understanding of what my fears and concerns are about in relation to offering prayer with patients.

4.I will have an understanding of the value of prayer, while not wanting or needing to “force” prayer on anyone.

WAYS I CAN SABOTAGE MY LEARNING OF THIS GOAL:

1.Continue my old patterns of avoidance.

2.Not take the risk to offer to pray.

3.Not reach out and ask others (group, supervisor) for help.

4.Not risk showing peers/supervisor my efforts at prayer.

USE THE SAME FORMAT FOR EACH GOAL.

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