UC San Diego Lactation Educator Counselor Course Review

I chose the UC San Diego Lactation Educator Counselor course for several reasons. I needed an on line course, and since it was attached to a university, I figured there would be resources for making the materials accessible for use with my screen reader. If anyone who doesn't know me is reading this review, I am blind.

Although I needed an online course because of Ian, I really do not like online classes. I miss the face-to-face interactions with classmates and the instructor. That, however, would be a problem in any online class, and was a necessary evil.

This is a 10 week class that combines video recorded lectures with homework assignments. Beyond the start and end dates, the class is self-paced. There is a textbook that you use for references on the homework, but there is no official reading beyond what is needed for the assignments. For someone used to graduate level work, I felt there was something lacking without extra reading, and I had a tendency to over think the assignments. I had to remind myself that this class is geared to a range of backgrounds, and as the material is straight forward for the most part, straight forward assignments were appropriate.

Over-all, this is a very good class. The instructor is knowledgeable and has experience working in a range of settings. Both the instructor and teaching assistant were very responsive to email communication. I definitely feel like I learned a lot of information!

I have a few critiques of the class, however. The video recorded lectures are from an in-person teaching of the class. Since they have been teaching this class online about 4 times a year for years now, I feel like they could design a version specifically for the online students. I realize that this requires resources, both time and money, and that those resources might not be available. I did expect a class designed for online, however, and so I was a bit disappointed.

Additionally, the instructor focused a lot on post-partum in a hospital and WIC clinics. This is important information to know, but I felt like she could have spent a bit more time on how to teach a breastfeeding class. It was discussed, but not as much as I had hoped. I still have some work to do on my breastfeeding class curriculum before I am actually ready to teach.

I’m glad I took this class, and I feel prepared and knowledgeable to teach so it was definitely worth the money.