Empowering, supporting and motivating the learner by developing an interactive, academically...

Empowering, supporting and motivating the learner by developing an interactive,

academically structured, problem-based, blended learning approach to link the theory

and practice of adult nursing.

Alison Hasselder Senior lecturerJean Mullin LecturerRowena Harland LecturerAdult Branch Nursing

Background

New curriculum for adult nurse programme. Pioneering new teaching and learning strategy

with substantial amount of e-learning. Level 5 acute module aiming to develop critical

thinking skills, linking theory with practice. Small budget Aim to enhance student engagement with the

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Critical Skills Set

Openness Creativity Skills of enquiry Knowledge Reflexivity Confidence /Innovation in clinical practice

(Gopee 2002; Knowles & McGloin 2007).

Product

12 on-line sessions, using blackboard tools.

Clearly timetabled and linked to face-to-face sessions.

Academic scaffolding. All on-line sessions had the

same structure. Icons used to guide students

through the activities. Interactive story podcasts with

images

Motivating the learner

Engage the learner by linking theory to practice.

Interactive patient podcasts that told a story.

Podcasts on line linked to Problem-based learning (PBL) in class.

Regular Feedback that encouraged critical thinking.

Easy to access materials Task manager and calendar used

to facilitate time management.

Example of podcast

Empowerment

Student’s responsibility to complete task manager.

Developing the individual learner.– Resources for further reading/development.– Opportunity to revisit materials.

Rational for learning.

Example of resources

Home Page/menu

Support

Face-to-face session on first day to show them how to access and learn from the materials.

Student monitoring. Encouraging emails & or face-to-face contact

if students were not completing the material. Simple structure of the materials to

encourage engagement

Example

Example

Evaluation of ProjectHow

After each session students completed an on-line evaluation survey.

Evaluations reviewed and acted upon whilst students were working on later sessions.

Team met and brain stormed regularly. All sessions were edited before going on-

line.

Evaluation of projectStudent feedback

“ I enjoyed listening to the virtual case studies as it is easier to relate to real life situations.”

“Relation between theory and practice via podcasts and case study” “The set out of the session, it was organised and I knew what I was trying to

achieve at each point.” “well constructed in a manner that was easy to follow and understand. The

provision of the resources materials made it a lot easier to complete the VLE. A lot of efforts has definitely been put into this.”

“I enjoyed the virtual interaction of the patient, nurse and doctor.” “I liked the way the story built-up. It is a clever way of putting over a scenario

that engaged you with both patient and the healthcare professionals, from pre-admission to assessment, diagnosis, treatment and care”.

“It applied A & P to an actual patient.”

Evaluation: what we changed/learnt.

Materials to support how to learn on-line. Decreased the number of discussion boards. Changed some activities to encourage

critical thinking. Multiple attempts at quizzes. Not too much on one page. Monitor students. Persistent links to articles increased library

on-line activity.

Changes required to support new ways of working.

Staff training. Mentoring. Time to write materials. Session template. Clear web plan. Editors and writers. Sharing good practice.

References

Gopee, N. (2002) Demonstrating critical analysis in academic assignments. Nursing Standard. 16(35) p.45-52.

Knowles, J. and McGloin, S. (2007) Developing critical analysis skills in academic writing. Nursing Standard. 21 (52), p35-37.