Nursing Education and Teaching Strategies
Nursing, unlike other disciplines, necessitates a close evaluation of processes since they play a critical role in the provision of patient care and service. The growing number of occurrences of medical errors and patient safety can be ascribed to the quality of education of healthcare providers. Learners should have the knowledge and abilities they need to make informed decisions while dealing with patients (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). Professionals should use teaching tactics that aim to reinforce abilities in students. Depending on the objectives that must be met, many teaching styles may be used. For instance, it is crucial to focus on enforcing critical thinking and statistical skills when trying to foster research skills (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). Thus, there is need to further examine teaching strategies such as active and team-based learning giving a detailed description, advantages, disadvantages, and experiences.
Strategy One
Active learning (AL) can be described as a teaching strategy that aims at engaging students in the learning method. In this case, the learners are involved in various meaningful activities while thinking of their actions (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016). The activities should be introduced into the classroom environment. AL is centered on engagement and student activity during learning. For example, AL comprises of studying through writing, reading, listening, talking, and reflecting on the materials (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016).
Most people confuse AL with the traditional learning approach. However, the students are not passive rather they actively engage their teachers in the process (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). AL does not leave the lecture format. However, a lecture is given with frequent pausing to give the students an opportunity to internalize the provided information.
The article, “Perceptions of Undergraduate Nursing Students Regarding Active Learning Strategies, and Benefits of Active Learning,” provides insightful information on the significance of AL in the nursing practice (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016). AL is essential in a situation whereby the students are engaged in the creation and understanding of ideas, facts, and skills as directed by the instructor. The article aimed to establish the nursing student’s perception of AL strategy (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016). Self-administered surveys were used to gather data from a sample of 173 students (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016). The students were updated on the process, benefits, and intended outcome of the study. The research employed multiple sources of learning regarding AL strategies such as on job training, self-study, faculty, formal course, and peers. From the results, a significant percentage of the students agreed that AL improved their content capacity. AL improves the retention of content learned in class because of the reflection process. For instance, when an individual learns about a concept they can instantly apply it during class by reflection. Therefore, the article concludes by promoting the utilization of AL in all aspects of learning.
Some of the advantages of AL is equipping learners with problem-solving skills, improving self-confidence, ability to apply classroom concepts in real life circumstances (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016). The frequent breaks between lectures provide an opportunity for better retention of ideas and attention (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). Additionally, the students can own their learning process through interaction. Alternatively, AL has its disadvantages. For instance, it increases the preparation duration, it is hard to use AL in a large classroom setting, and there is inadequate accountability among individual student (Huda, Ali, Nanji & Cassum, 2016).
I have experienced AL teaching strategy. The approach was effective in my studies. As a student, it was crucial to do more than listening. I had to be fully involved in the learning process through reading, writing, and discussing issues. AL improved my problem-solving capabilities and self-confidence because it was mandatory to participate in various discussions. I had to do things while thinking about them.
Strategy Two
Team-Based Learning (TBL) is whereby the classroom environment is changed from one that is centered on course content and concepts. In this strategy, the student should be able to apply the course content rather than gaining it (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015). In most cases, the team comprises of between five and seven students. Moreover, the team has students with diverse background and skill. A teaching strategy occurs when students are first given the assigned materials such as tutorials, demonstrations, and readings (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). Following, they are given adequate time to go through the content before the class. TBL ensures that students achieve their course objectives while acquiring knowledge on appropriate ways to work as a team.
The article “Learner Perception, Expected Competence, and Satisfaction of Team-Based Learning in Korean Nursing Students,” offers essential information on the TBL teaching strategy (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015). The article was focused on understanding the perceptions, expected skills, and factors that may influence the satisfaction of a learner using TBL.
From the results, it is clear that TBL is an effective instructional approach that assists in the inducement of a team and self-directed learning (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015). However, the students need to be accustomed to TBL, especially if they are familiar with traditional lecture approach. Therefore, nurse educators should employ the techniques by focusing on teamwork
Some of the advantages of TBL are promoting teamwork. Nursing requires general skills, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, care, ethics, and accountability (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015). In this case, TBL reinforces the nursing skills of teamwork by ensuring that the learner understands to work in a dynamic environment. TBL enhances the quality of learning. Since students in the team are from different background and skills, they can bring multiple perspectives towards problem-solving (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015). TBL also restores teaching interest. The educator will face minimal difficulties because the students are familiar with the study materials before classes (Orlich, Harder, Trevisan, Brown & Miller, 2016). Alternatively, TBL has its disadvantages. It is hard to schedule outside class meetings because the students may have different objectives or tasks. Some of the team members may not care about the success of others (Roh, Lee & Choi, 2015).
I have experience with TBL teaching strategy. However, its effectiveness was measured on the performance of the team rather than individual efforts. In most cases, some members of the team may fail to participate in the process leading to bad performance. For example, in some cases, it is hard to convince a team member to consider a personal perspective on an issue. TBL provides a stage for understanding others in the team based on their strengths and weaknesses. I disagree with TBL as a teaching strategy because some members may utilize the weaknesses of others and ensure that they do not participate through blackmails. I believe that TBL should only be used when there is limited time to cover a course.
Conclusion
The reforms in the teaching practice should start with the faculty members. There is need to select teaching strategies that will improve the perception, competence, and satisfaction of the students. When students are comfortable with the approach of instruction, they will learn with ease and excel in their endeavors. In cases where the students fail to conform to a strategy, it is crucial to adopt another approach or integrate them. For example, AL ensures that students can solve problems, answer questions, discuss ideas, and reflect during the class. On the other hand, TBL ensures that the students familiarize with the course content before class. The integration of AL and TBL may improve the performance of the student in the long run. Additionally, the two strategies employ discussion in their framework. The students can consolidate their opinions before and during the class. AL and TBL reinforce the learning process because they promote retention of information and motivate the students to develop critical thinking skills. The teaching strategies should be discussed among the nursing and medical stakeholders. Therefore, a strategy should incorporate the needs of the students such as satisfaction and performance.
References
Huda, S. U., Ali, T. S., Nanji, K., & Cassum, S. (2016). Perceptions of Undergraduate Nursing Students Regarding Active Learning Strategies, and Benefits of Active Learning. International Journal of Nursing, 8(4).
Orlich, D. C., Harder, R. J., Trevisan, M. S., Brown, A. H., & Miller, D. E. (2016). Teaching strategies: A guide to effective instruction. Cengage Learning.
Roh, Y. S., Lee, S. J., & Choi, D. (2015). Learner Perception, Expected Competence, and Satisfaction of Team‐Based Learning in Korean Nursing Students. Nursing Education Perspectives, 36(2), 118-120.
