LEARNER PROFILE ATT4: CYNTHIA DE JOUX

“I would encourage other health providers to invest in the education of their staff. Health is a limited resource, so any opportunity to improve someone is great, and the course is fully funded.”

After ten years in community education, Cynthia (mum, health educator and master rower) felt she needed to bring more structure into her planning, and more confidence to her delivery. LearningWorks’ Adult and Tertiary Teaching course seemed to be just right for her.

“I’ve always been quite confident teaching people and passing information on, but it’s always been in a very informal environment, never in a set order. Having a course like this come up it was like ‘hey, this could actually give me some structure’. I’ve learnt how to deliver without losing track of things.”

The online content gave her all the information she needed but it was the face-to-face sessions that helped put all that information into context. The bonus was how her facilitator, Kari, modelled the principles she was learning.

“Kari was awesome, she just related it to her own experience, and translated it for us in our work so we were able to reflect on some of the stuff we had done in the past and build on what we were already doing. I came away from that course with so much more direction around my work style and my delivery style – when to contribute as the educator, when to listen as the facilitator.”

Cynthia found working alongside her colleague a huge advantage.

LearningWorks’ Adult and Tertiary Teaching course has enabled Cynthia to do the same great stuff, with more structure and greater confidence, which directly benefits her community. For her, the satisfaction is knowing that she is helping to make small improvements in her learners’ health and lives, and in her community.

“Having my work mate on the course was a bonus. We met on the job and decided to do this together. It was great to have someone else to work with and to put those discussions on the table together to make sure we were on the right track.”