By Lisa M. Bennett, MSN, RN, Nurse Educator Consultant, Kaplan Nursing
The complex role of today’s nurses warrants higher levels of critical thinking and clinical judgment skills. Critical thinking is recognized as an essential component of nursing practice by the National League for Nursing (NLN). Critical thinking is crucial to providing safe, competent, and skillful nursing practice. Not only is it important what students learn, but equally important is how they learn. It is important for nurse educators to create learning environments that support critical thinking. Traditional teaching methods should be transformed to improve learning experiences and facilitate critical thinking and lifelong learning.
Instructional methods should promote active learning and teach students how to analyze and evaluate the pertinence of information and how to apply the information in various settings and situations (Simpson & Courtney, 2002). Strategies such as questioning, small-group activities, role playing, debate, case studies, simulation, puzzles, and problem solving can be utilized by nurse educators to enhance students’ critical thinking abilities (Simpson & Courtney). In 2005, the NLN admonished nursing educators to base curriculum decisions, teaching practices, and evaluation methods on current research findings and to move away from a focus on content coverage. Faculty must collaborate as change agents to develop a curriculum based upon best practices using active learning activities.
According to Billings (2003), nurse educators should incorporate learning strategies that facilitate active learning, fuel critical thinking, and assure professional role advancement. Although lecture provides an effective way of providing a large amount of factual information in a short period of time, it encourages passive learning and should not be the predominant method of presentation (Billings, 2003). Passive lectures only encourage learning at the lowest cognitive levels, whereas active learning promotes learning at higher cognitive levels. By utilizing various learning strategies, students will be challenged to find ways to problem solve and critically think (Royse & Newton, 2007). Formats and techniques that encourage active learning are more student-centered, thus promoting student involvement, facilitating self-direction, development of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and deep learning (Hayden, 2009). Examples may include discussion, group work, lecture, case studies, concept mapping, role play, and interactive scenarios. Participation of the learner in higher-order thinking tasks, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, will facilitate the development of skills and knowledge acquisition and application.
During the 1960s, Edgar Dale theorized that learners retain more information by what they do as opposed to what they hear, read or observe. Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. According to Dale, after two weeks students remember 10% of what was read, 20% of what was heard, 30% of what is seen and 50% of what is seen and heard. However, after two weeks with active involvement, students are able to remember 70% of what they say such as participating in a discussion and 90% of what we say and do such as doing a dramatic presentation, simulating the real experience. Therefore, the more actively involved the students are, the better they will remember what has been taught It is believed that the more senses that are used, the greater our ability to learn from and remember an event or experience. In summary, nurse educators must utilize teaching strategies that will prepare graduates to function effectively and efficiently in the ever-changing and complex healthcare environment.
What examples of active learning strategies do you use in the classroom? Please share your ideas and thoughts on how you keep your students actively engaged in the classroom.
References:
Billings, D. M. (2003). What does it take to be a nurse educator? Journal of Nursing Education, 42(3), 99-100.
Dale, Edgar (1969) Audiovisual methods in teaching, 3rd edition. New York: The Dryden Press; Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Hayden, J. (2009). Motivation and behavior change. Teaching strategies for nurse educators (2nd Ed., pp. 39-55). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. (2008). NLNAC accreditation manual. New York: Author.
Royse, M. A., & Newton, S. E. (2007). How gaming is used as an innovative strategy for nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 28(5), 263-267.
Simpson, E., & Courtney, M. (2002). Critical thinking in nursing education: Literature review. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 8, 89-98.
