Methods and Innovative Technology In Nursing Education
Use technology in Nursing Education
Innovative educators use technology to broaden and add variety to the opportunities for teaching and learning. They continue to increase the level of their own skills by taking advantage of the advances in technology to introduce and coach others in new ways of learning. They recognize that the sophisticated use of technology is a primary skill that will be needed for educational programs of the future.
The use of different types of technology assists the educator in helping learners meet their individual needs and styles of learning. Technology has the potential for making the teaching learning process more convenient, accessible, and stimulating. Effective educators must be future oriented. A mastery of technological skills ensures that they will possess the ability to teach in innovative and eclectic ways to prepare students for learning in the 21st century.
General Principles for Teaching Across Methodologies
No matter which teaching method is chosen to reach the intended learner(s) and to accomplish the behavioral objectives set forth, it is important to consider some basic rules that will enhance the teaching learning experience.
The following, in no order of priority, are some of the key principles that educators should adhere to when teaching patients and their significant others (Bradshaw & Lowenstein, 2013; Crandell et al., 2012; Falvo, 2010; Miller & Stoeckel, 2016 ; Phillips, 1999; Snowman & Mc Cown, 2015).
Give Positive Reinforcement In Nursing Education
Educational research clearly indicates the effects of positive reinforcement on learning. Acknowledging ideas, actions, and opinions of others by using words of praise or approval, such as “That's a good answer,” “I agree with you,” and “You have a very good point,” or using nonverbal expressions of acceptance, such as smiling, nodding, or a reassuring pat on the back, encourages learners to participate more readily or try harder to improve their performance.
Rewarding even a small success can instill satisfaction in the learner. Positive reinforcement, in the form of recognition, tangible rewards, or opportunities, should closely follow the desired behavior. The clearer the correlation between the desired behavior and the reward, the more meaningful the reinforcement. Criticism, on the other hand, dampens motivation and causes learners to withdraw.
A powerful incentive is to ask learners to share their experiences with others. In a group, it is important to recognize the contributions of each member rather than to focus primarily on the more aggressive learner or high achiever. What constitutes positive reinforcement for one individual may not be sufficient for another, because rewards are closely tied to value systems.
Also, the quantity of reinforcement varies in its effectiveness from one individual to another. A small amount of praise can have a strong effect on the learner who is not used to succeeding, whereas significant praise may be relatively ineffective for a consistently high. achiever. In addition, an incentive that works for a learner at one time may not work well at another time depending on the circumstances.
Project an Attitude of Acceptance and Sensitivity
The ease with which educators conduct themselves, the willingness to receive and answer questions, the simple courtesies extended, and the responsiveness demonstrated toward an audience are all actions that set the tone for a friendly, warm, and receptive atmosphere for learning. If the educator exhibits self-confidence and self respect, the learner will feel comfortable, confident, and secure in the learning environment.
If the educator comes across as believable, trustworthy, considerate and competent, he or she helps to put the audience at ease, which serves as an invitation for them to learn. When the educator exercises patience and sensitivity with respect to age, race, culture, and gender, this attitude projects an acceptance of others, which serves to establish a rapport and opens avenues of communication for the sharing of ideas and concerns.
People learn better in a comfortable and supportive environment. Not only is it important that the physical environment be conducive to learning, but the psychological climate also should be respectful of learners and focused on their need for an atmosphere of support and acceptance. Educators must have a clear view of their role as facilitators and expert coaches and avoid acting as controlling givers of information.
Be Organized and Give Direction In Nursing Education
Excellent discussions, meaningful experiences in role play, and successful attempts at self study are examples of teaching that do not happen by accident. Instead, they result from hours of skilled preparation, careful planning, and organization, all of which allows the learner to stay focused on the objectives. Teaching should be logically organized, objectives clearly defined and presented up front, and directions given in a straightforward, specific, and easily understood manner.
Audiovisual materials selected to supplement various methods of teaching should clarify or enhance a message.Teaching sessions should be relatively brief, so as not to overload the learner with too much detail and extraneous content. Regardless of the teaching method used, the attention span of the learner waxes and wanes over time, and what is learned first and last is retained the most (Ley, 1972).
Need to know information should take precedence over nice-to-know information, thereby ensuring that enough time is allotted to cover the essentials. As Kessels (2003) has clearly documented, “40-80% of medical information provided by healthcare practitioners is forgotten immediately. The greater the amount of information presented, the lower the proportion correctly recalled; furthermore, almost half of the information that is remembered is incorrect” (p. 219),
Advance organizers that is, topic headings that clue the learner into what will be presented and help focus the learner's attention on the message should be used to structure information. These headers assist the learner in identifying the subject to be addressed and anticipating in which order the information will be presented.
Elicit and Give Feedback In Nursing Education
Feedback should be a two-way process. It is a strategy to give information to the learner as well as to receive information from the learner. Both the educator and the learner need to seek information about the quality of their performance, feedback should be encouraged during and at the end of each teaching-learning encounter as well as at the completion of an educational program. It can take the form of either verbal or non-verbal responses to a situation.
Feedback that learners receive can be subjective or objective. Subjective data, whether physiological or psychological, come from within the learners themselves. People sense how they are reacting to a situation. Internally, they usually know how well they performed or how they feel by their own reactions, such as fatigue, anxiety, disinterest, or satisfaction, Feedback allows learners to compare their own performance to what they expect of themselves or what they think others expect of them.
Objective data comes to learners from the educator, who measures their behavior based on a set of standards or criteria and who gives them an opinion on the progress they have made. To get feedback, the learner might ask, “How well did I do?” “Am I on track?” “Did I do all right?” or “What do you think?”
Feedback to the educator is equally important, because the effectiveness of teaching depends to a large extent on the learners' reactions. Whether positive or negative, verbal or nonverbal, feedback enables the educator to determine whether he or she should maintain or modify his or her approach to teaching. Feedback indicates whether to proceed, take time to review or explain, or cease instruction altogether for the moment.
The educator should be direct in requesting feedback from the learners by asking questions such as “What questions do you have?” “How clear is this to you?” “What needs to be explained further?” or “What more can I help you with?” In addition, the educator should be sensitive to nonverbal expressions such as a nod, a smile, a look of bewilderment, or a frown indicating an understanding or lack thereof.
Feedback is neutral unless it is compared with established norms, preset criteria, or past behavior. How much someone learned, for example, is meaningless unless compared to what the person knew previously or how the person stacks up against other learners under similar conditions.
Feedback, either positive or negative, is needed by both the learner and the teacher. Praise rein-forces behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will continue. Constructive criticism tends to redirect behavior to conform to expected norms. Labeling someone's personality as cooperative, smart, stubborn, unmotivated. or uncaring is harmful, but it is helpful to label someone's performance as excellent or in need of further practice to give that person specific information for improving, correcting, or continuing the behavior.
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