A Nurse's Notes on Teaching & Learning

In Chapter 2 of his book The Skillful Teacher, Stephen Brookfield (2015)  identifies 4 core assumptions that he considers fundamental to skilled teaching.  These assumptions are that:

#1 – Skillful teaching is whatever helps students learn.   

Brookfield suggests that at times we need to step outside of what has worked in the past or what we feel is the “expected” way to teach, in order to face whatever challenges a particular class brings. He presents the example of a resistant class, where he brings in a panel of students from a previous class who were initially resistant but later found value in the course. He introduces the panel and then leaves, which allows the students to communicate openly.

#2 – Skillful teachers adopt a critically reflective stance toward their practice

Brookfield identifies four lenses to look through when critically reflecting on practice. These include: (1) the students’ eyes (using various classroom research techniques; (2) The perspective of colleagues (through team teaching/debriefing or through classroom observation; (3) educational literature (ranging from teaching narratives to theories); and (4) considering our personal experiences as learners.

#3 – Teachers need a constant awareness of how students are experiencing their learning and perceiving their teacher’s actions

Utilizing various means of obtaining anonymous feedback, in order to know where students are at. Brookfield has developed a tool called the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) for this purpose, which will be highlighted in a separate post.

#4 – College students of any age should be treated as adults

Regardless of whether students are at the beginning stages of adulthood, or well situated, it is important to treat students as adults. Teachers should be authoritative but not authoritarian.  Students want to be treated with respect, however they want to be able to respect and trust the knowledge and experience of the teacher.

Although these “assumptions” are broad, these can serve as a general guide for teaching practice.

From:

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust and responsiveness in the          classroom. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.

I began the Provincial Instructor Diploma Progam in September 2018, not really knowing what to expect. Over the past 9 months, beyond meeting alot of great people,  I have been able to participate in a wide variety of experiences from the perspective of a student, many of which will impact my future teaching. For some of these experiences, I have been more of a “fly on the wall”, imagining things from the instructor perspective such as when students did not take note of due dates or contact the instructor about late assignments. I have also appreciated being able to witness the delight of an instructor when a class activity went well or when the instructor indicated that they had learned something new as well.

I have also experienced things purely as a student…frustration at changes in assignment or inconsistencies between the course website and the material provided in class…or that feeling of disappointment at a mark or comment.  I recall students telling me that “this grade isn’t fair…I worked really hard on that assignment” and my reply being that the grade isn’t for effort, but for meeting the criteria. And yet, I found that I experienced that same sentiment of feeling that my grade didn’t match the investment of my time or effort.

However despite a disappointment or two, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to experience things from the student perspective again. PIDP 3260: Professional Practice is my final PIDP course before the capstone.  I look forward to completing this leg of the journey and then starting out on the next one, although I’m not sure what the next destination will be.    

 

High-fidelity simulation labs are becoming an integral part of nursing education. Improved technology now provides students with more realistic practice opportunities than in the past and also provides students the chance to practice with equipment and respond to changes in patient condition in a safe learning environment.  After watching the video, find out about the exciting things happening in the School of Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops in the links below.

New Nursing and Population Health Building coming in 2020

Premier breaks ground on new nursing building (at TRU)

The following is an excerpt from the Occupational Safety Group, Inc (OSG) blog post: Five Trends in Adult Learning to Help Your Training Efforts in 2018. While this post is focused on workplace training, it is equally applicable to any learning environment.

1. Mobile Training:

To make learning accessible to adults, it needs to be on-demand. Being constricted to a classroom schedule just doesn’t fit into most adult’s lifestyles. They require learning that they can access anytime, anywhere. Mobile training offers this flexibility. The technology that makes mobile training possible also affords opportunities for adults to use advanced learning technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, and videos. We discuss videos in more detail in point 3.

2. Instructor Quality:

Adult learners demand more from instructors. They learn best from, and value, instructors that can offer enriched learning experiences through discussions and stories that stem from the instructor’s own relevant experiences. Adult learning and instruction is also moving toward more collaboration between learners and instructors, creating a learning environment where both instructors and learners create value and learning opportunities by bringing their unique knowledge and experiences to the table.

3. Microlearning and Video Training:

To go along with the concept of making training accessible, the idea of microlearning has gained a lot of traction in the adult learning sphere. Microlearning takes an idea or concept and presents in a small, easy-to-digest format. This is typically and most commonly found in video form. Five-minute how-to videos are sometimes just as effective, or more so than longer, drawn-out lessons that lack video components.

4. Self-led Learning:

Adult learning trends have been moving away from a lot of hand-holding, and to

ward an atmosphere of accountability. Since adults require learning at their own discretion and that works within their busy schedules, self-led learning is more ideal than traditional classroom-style education. It allows adult learners to be proactive in their educations, and to contribute to the learning process.

5. Game-based Learning:

Games aren’t just child’s play! Gamification of learning can be a very effective tool for adult learning. It involves using game concepts to deliver educational messages. For example, using jeopardy-type activities in a training program and inciting a competitive spirit as opposed to just delivering multiple-choice review questions. Gamification increases engagement with, and retention of, learning materials.

From: OSG (2018, February 21). Five trends in adult learning to help your training efforts in 2018. [blog post]  Retrieved from: https://osg.ca/five-trends-in-adult-learning-to-help-your-training-efforts-in-2018/