ACTIVE LEARNING

Am I where I want to be
as a Teacher?

You are the Solution

 OBJECTIVES
Describe desired teacher characteristics and faculty roles.

Explain learning needs of todays nursing students.

Identify diverse perspectives of teaching and learning.

Discuss various aspects of active learning strategies.

Explain ways personal teaching styles can be modified to

achieve desired student learning outcomes.
 FACULTY CONVERSATIONS
Unplanned focus on anecdotes & experiences pedagogical opinions without
evidence

More productive Interactions

Bring more questions to the conversation

Conversations need to move beyond techniques Explore why (need

substance, stuff to think about, multiple perspectives)

Where is the evidence?

Discuss a journal article examine perspectives from different angles,

challenge each other & conventional thinking

Be civil, debate, argue, agree to disagree

 TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS
Assertive A strong personality - Independent, competitive, and forceful
Responsive Compassionate - Helpful, sincere, friendly, & sensitive to
student needs
Clear Presents content in ways that students can understand, answers
questions, has clear course objectives
Relevant Uses examples, explanations, & exercises that make the course
content relevant to students careers & personal goals
Competent Content expert, intelligent, & knows how to teach
Trustworthy Honest, genuine, & abides by ethical standards
Caring Cares about students, understands them, & has their best interests at
heart
Immediate Nonverbal behaviors are expressive; the teacher smiles, nods,
uses gestures, makes eye contact, & doesnt speak in a monotone
Humorous Uses humor frequently
Discloses Reveals an appropriate amount of personal information when its
relevant to the topic
Most teachers who are good at what they do have
worked hard to get that way and continue to
improve and refine their teaching.
 Nursing is not about ME -
Nursing is about Caring for Others
 RETHINKING FACULTY ROLES
Focus is on student learning

Explicitly state student learning outcomes

Students work in small groups to jointly solve problems/tasks

Self-evaluation is encouraged

Student expected to participate in class activities

Students are engaged in some extended projects (create a product,

write an essay, reflective writing, debate arguments)
What is your responsibility as a
teacher????

MOTIVATE

ENGAGE

INSPIRE
 THE NCLEX EXAM
Assesses whether graduate nurses can clinically reason

Test questions address relevant clinical data

Test questions establish nursing priorities

Test questions recognize nursing problems

Test questions identify priority nursing interventions

If students can clinically reason - Then they can

pass the NCLEX exam
TODAYS STUDENTS
Ethnic/Racial Diversity

Rural vs. Urban

Shorter attention span

Gender Prefer interactive, experiential, &

collaborative learning

Age Variations Very comfortable with technology

They try to multitask

Second Degrees
Driven by instant gratification

Individual Abilities Like informal & stimulating

environments

Prefer casual & friendly relationships

Often well-rounded
 VISUAL
SHORT
LEARNERS
ATTENTION
SPAN

-VALUE-
RATIONALE
VALUE
RELAXED
INTERACTION
RAPPORT

DO NOT LISTEN &

TAKE NOTES
Decrease Clinical Paperwork
Increase Clinical Reasoning

Decrease lecture time

Increase active learning
How we teach makes huge differences
in students learning experiences.
 FACULTY-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Not an us and them situation

Classroom Climate: How to make more we

Develop positive interactions

Class Reflects Practice (e.g., professional

interactions, conflict management, team efforts)
 CELL PHONE USE
Rule: Ban them all of the time.

Remove distraction Best way to handle?

How to best achieve positive behavior

modification?
TEACHING MILLENNIALS

Establish learning outcomes

Make things meaningful

Mix up methods - Use multimedia/vary teaching methods

Deliver knowledge in small doses - Make it relevant

Create collaborative experiences

Establish rapport (know students names) - Connect on personal levels

Be less formal (relationships are different than in the past)

Raised in non-authoritarian ways - Provide rationale for policies & assignments

 FALLACIES IN STUDENT THINKING

Learning is fast - Need to design activities that require students to interact

with course text materials

Knowledge is composed of isolated facts - Need to know full definitions,

use definitions to construct arguments, apply ideas to situations

Intelligence is not inborn but an act of hard work - Need a growth

mindset, spend the needed time

Multi-tasking is good - Performing multiple tasks at once is virtually never

as effective as performing one task at a time (in-attentional blindness)
 STUDENTS LEARNING
Does NOT occur by taking notes while listening to a lecture

Short attention spans

Immersion in visual content

Value interaction

Value approachability over content/knowledge

Student diversity
 CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING

Students Must Feel:

Safe
Engaged
Connected
Supported
 Learning cannot occur if it silences the
voices of those who need to learn.

Create an
Inclusive Classroom Environment

No one intentionally wants to exclude anyone - BUT,

we all have small unconscious behaviors that
SOME students experience repeatedly.
 PRACTICES & BELIEFS: TEACHING & LEARNING

DIRECT TRANSMISSION VIEW:

Teachers role is to transmit knowledge in clear & structured ways
Teachers explain correct solutions
Teachers give clear & resolvable problems,
Teachers ensure a calm environment for learning.

CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW:
Students are active participants the process of acquiring knowledge
Facilitate student inquiry
Students independently develop solutions to problems
Students play active role in instructional activities
Thinking & reasoning processes are stressed more than acquisition of
specific knowledge
 EXCELLENT TEACHING
Improve students readiness for practice - Integrate & emphasize
clinical reasoning

Change the way you teach: Use clinical reasoning in all

presentations

Show passion in your teaching - Demonstrate deep knowledge of

what you are teaching & transfer it to action in clinical settings

Help students learn to think like a nurse in clinical settings

Create a culture of respect, civility, and equity

Communicate a vision: Value in service and care

 FACULTY COOPERATION
Faculty work together: Improve educational processes &
outcomes
Offer social & emotional support
Exchange ideas & practical advice
Enhance self-efficacy, prevent stress & burnout

Areas for Cooperation:

Exchange & discuss teaching materials
Discuss development of individual students
Ensure common standards
Observe one another- Provide feedback
Coordinate studies across courses
Engage in professional learning
 Active learning is anything course-related that all
students in a class session are called upon to do
other than simply
watching, listening and taking notes.

Ask students to respond to a question,

summarize important concepts in writing,
or compare notes with a partner.

Active learning is anything that involves students in doing

things and thinking about the things they are doing.
 ACTIVE LEARNING
Avoid regurgitating textbook facts & figures (basic learning takes place outside
the classroom)

Clarify points of confusion

Explain higher - level concepts

Include synchronous & asynchronous learning

Use small group learning - Provide specific, real-time, formative feedback

Keep lectures that build on concepts (students may absorb only 5% & have 15 -
20 minute attention span) - Apply concepts to clinical scenarios

Use technology effectively - Use simulation to its full potential

Think of ANY MOMENT as a potential teaching moment

 ACTIVE LEARNING

Students better prepared for class & ready to apply what they know

Help students imagine caring for real patients

Help students learn where they can find the answer

 TEACHING IN AN
ACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Stage belongs to students

Move away from the podium

Encourage use of mobile devices

Make space for collaboration and teamwork

Address cultural bias

 STRUCTURING CLASS CLIMATE
Disciplinary Climate (e.g., interruptions, disagreements,
expectations)

Time on Tasks - Goal is to maximize learning opportunities (e.g.,

teaching/learning, administrative tasks, maintaining order, group
work)

Diversity Needs - Building inclusive relationships; assure all are

successful
 HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS
Students ask good questions - Questions are valued over answers

Ideas come from divergent sources

Variety of diverse learning models are used (e.g., inquiry-based

learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer
learning, eLearning mobile learning, flipped classroom)

Learning is personalized & makes sense in the real world

Assessment is ongoing, authentic, transparent - NEVER PUNITIVE

Criteria for success is balanced & transparent

Learning habits are continuously modeled

Practice opportunities are continually available

 DEVELOP PERSONAL MISSION

A mission statement is about purpose it is

a reason for acting or existing

It is a statement of core purpose and focus

that one aspires to accomplish.
 BUILDING DISCUSSION
FACILITATION SKILLS
Why discuss: Push students to deeper understandings

Stay on topic Avoid moving to different topics

How many students want to speak? How many are not listening?

Who has already spoken - Who wants to speak again?

Whats the thinking behind students responses/questions?

What evidence do you have that you are

an effective facilitator?
 STUDENT COMPLAINTS - GROUPS
1. Its hard to focus during small group exercises.

2. We are always rushed.

3. Group exercises mean we do the work and the teacher doesnt.

4. Were trying to work on material we didnt understand in the reading.

5. If we want to work in groups, we can form them on our own; in class we

would rather hear someone who understands the material explain it.

6. Were confused; getting in a group merely compounds the confusion.

7. I dont like the people in my group.

8. Group members dont show up or dont contribute.

9. Wed get through more material if you lectured.

10. I cant sleep during small group exercises.

 GROUP WORK

Establish ground rules

Group makes decisions of consequence

Avoid group - think - Develop collective intelligence

Build smart teams: Members contribute equally, read the

emotions/eyes of others (women better at mind reading than men)

Communicate often - Participate equally (good emotion-reading skills)

 BE PREPARED
Gain personal confidence

Change brings STUDENT COMPLAINTS

Explain how active learning methods can improve learning - Make

class more like a clinical experience

Making group assignments

 DEVELOP TEACHING TOOLS
Come to class prepared (no more spoon-feeding or teaching to the
test)

Pod-casts: Make them brief and concrete (5 -10 minutes each by

topics)

Make them available before class

Identify the main topics for class content in assigned readings

DEVELOP CLINICAL REASONING QUESTIONS

The processes nurses use to collect information,

understand and respond to problems, understand needs,
plan and implement interventions, evaluate outcomes, and
learn from the process.

Case Study Elements

Decision-maker grappling with a question or problem
Description of the problems context
Supporting data
 TEACHING CLINICAL REASONING
Contextualize all content to the bedside/personal experience

Integrate classroom and clinical teaching

Bring clinical realities to the classroom

Think in actions based in clinical situations

Engage students as partners in the learning process

 USING CASE STUDIES

Working in small groups - Discuss findings as a whole-class activity

(faculty roles - migrate, offer assistance, challenge critical thinking)

Apply learning to Patient for the Day

 EXAMPLE CASE STUDIES

Keith RN: http://www.keithrn.com/clinical-

reasoning-case-studies/
 RESOURCES

Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD):

http://www.cordem.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3403

Kahn Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/

MedEdPORTAL: https://www.mededportal.org

MERLOTT: https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/

 REFERENCES

Secretary General of the OECD. (2009). Creating effective teaching and learning
environments; Teaching and Learning International Survey.
https://www.oecd.org/edu/school/43023606.pdf