Context and Curriculum

Week 3 Reflections

This week in MHST 624 I was challenged to flex my mental muscles a little. As the discussion and reading addressed context relevance in academic curriculums, and so many great posts from classmates discussing their academic instructional experience. My background as a teacher is completely clinical and when it comes topics and discussions like this I always have to remind myself to "loosen up" my thinking a bit and explore the concepts application in academia and not just the clinical setting.

There was really great class discussion about the importance of curriculum content in nursing education staying relevant with the time. I got to examine the concept of context from the learners perspective in this course and how teaching methodologies such as our learning portfolios help keep the course context relevant.

Inevitably the discussion of the pandemic came into play also. How could we possibly discuss context relevant curriculum if we did not discuss teaching during the time of COVID 19. It was great to learn from classmates who have seen the curriculum they work with flex and change to adapt online learning models and interactive web based activities to keep engaged with their students throughout the pandemic. In reflecting on this learning, I realize how important these changes are to my role as a clinical educator. If students learning in their academic courses is not context relevant it could potentially create greater challenges for these students as they enter into practice and need to bridge the gap between what they have learned in school and professional practice. As students are now back in the clinical setting to complete placement, they are learning incredibly important, context relevant concepts such as proper use of PPE, screening methods for COVID19 and learning to balance their clinical days with the added nursing considerations of working during a pandemic. These are all valuable, context relevant skills that will be of incredible value when they transition into practice. Showing that academic curriculum that stays context relevant is not only important for the development of high quality education, but benefits bridging the theory to practice gap for novice nurses.

I stumbled down the pandemic literature rabbit hole a bit this week as I wanted to know more about what peers are saying in academia about the effect this pandemic will have on nursing education. Limiting my findings, I included one of the most interesting articles I found here about how the future of nursing education could be changed by this experience.

Morin, K. H. (2020). Nursing education after COVID‐19: Same or different? The Journal of Clinical Nursing. 29(17). https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15322

Free Access From:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocn.15322

It's all great in theory ... but how?

Week 2 Reflections

The discussion this week focused on linking theories on teaching and learning with pedagogy. How do we take what we know about the theoretical frameworks of teaching and use them in the practice of teaching? I again reflected on my own experience as a teacher, what foundational principles to I adhere to? What has worked for me in my practice? Respect, valuing a nurses previous experience, and learning together all came to mind. Constructivist approaches value the prior knowledge of adult learners and assist learning through meaningful activities. My practical experience as a teacher in the clinical environment has consistently demonstrated to me the importance of fostering this respect with learners. Using a constructivist approach where I begin with identifying and communicating to learners the value of their previous experience helps to build trust and respect with learners. Tools traditional used in constructivist theory include mindmaps and role modeling. I identified role modeling as something I want to dive a little deeper to throughout this course. Throughout my studies the practice of role modeling has come up frequently, what can I learn about this practice and how it can be used with entry to practice nurses as identified in my learning goals? I've tabled that idea to explore more in my learning artifacts this course.

I challenged myself this week to participate in the photovoice learning exercise also. I usually shy away from these more emotive learning activities, preferring to stick to more concrete traditional writing. I ended up really benefitting not only from the research into my post, but in discussion with the class. Class discussion about the feelings we have as adult learners when we compare classroom to workplace learning was interesting. Several of us identifying the negative feelings associated with "school work" versus how energized we are gaining new skills at work. It sparked insightful discussion amongst the group about our own learning. This photovoice exercise also lead me to some interesting philosophical reading on reflection in clinical practice. The challenges of promoting reflection in practicing nurses and how to set them up for learning success, and avoid creating frustration. As teachers, we need to be aware of difference sometimes between the academic discussion of theory and the difficulties in implementing in practice. Beware the theory to practice gap exists for teachers too!

Teaching and Learning Portfolio

Week One MHST 624

Beginning a new semester in the pursuit of my MHST degree! I have been challenged this semester to identify my own learning goals for the course, how I will meet these goals, and how I will demonstrate to myself and my instructor I have met these objectives. We'll be using personal a personal learning portfolio to identify all of the artifacts create.

The importance of reflection has always been a part of my evolving teaching philosophy, so I began this challenge by reflecting on my experience as both a teacher and a learner in order to help identify what it really is I want to achieve in this course. Having recently transitioned in my professional life to a role where I work primarily with a multidisciplinary entry to practice level team I recognized that this shift from clinical teaching advanced skills to experienced and expert nursing staff, presents an excellent opportunity to structure my learning around. What don't I know about entry to practice level professionals? What sort of teaching and learning theory can provide a framework for my teaching? What are the considerations for a change to a interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work environment? Do I know, what I don't know about these topics, or is some more research into the issues and challenges required?

This reflection allowed me to structure my learning goals, so here they are:

· Identify any unique learning needs or considerations for teaching with novice professionals.

· Expand on my knowledge related to preparing learners for interprofessional and multidisciplinary practice.

· Develop an understanding of multiple teaching theories and how they can be appropriately selected and applied to practical teaching with novice professionals.

· Demonstrate active involvement in course discussion as I learn from my peers and progress in my learning throughout the semester.

I hope that through the artifacts (assignments) that I will work through this semester I can meet these learning objectives and ultimately be more prepared in my professional practice. I have found throughout this journey to complete my masters degree that the closer I can relate my learning to my practice, the more I enjoy the course work. Adult learning theory in action right?

I also took some time this week to reflect what it means to be a good teacher and what kind of teacher I want to be. I found this TedX talk inspiring, and I hope you do to!

Nick Fuhrman. (2018). The One Thing All Great Teachers Do. TedX. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwTpfVQgkU0