Instructional Methods

What: Throughout this semester, I learned the barriers that many instructors face at large institutions that differ from my more personal interactions educating bedside nurses. I learned the importance of using multiple resources to gather information and present the information to students, as well as using multiple methods to teach. I was able to observe a classroom education experience as well as gain knowledge critiquing and giving feedback to students and learning different learning methods.

So what: I identified possible problems that are associated with different teaching methods and will use multiple teaching methods in the future to ensure the students are engaged throughout the educational experience to increase retention. I have realized how important active learning is to developing critical thinking skills, which is vital to the success of a nurse. Implementing small group activities, debates, and using multiple resources helps engage students to ask questions and stimulates personal exploration of ideas.

Now what: As a teacher, I will utilize multiple teaching methods to address an expected diverse population. In the future as a nurse educator, I will utilize this information when creating objectives by creating learner-based objectives that require multiple teaching methods and learning opportunities for a diverse population that will engage students in active learning. I will create objectives, present them to students, and continually monitor the progress throughout the set time-frame. I will hold personal responsibility to myself to create an environment that fosters learning, as well as provide ample opportunities and resources to the students to apply the critical thinking in the learning process in order to reach the objectives. Finally, I will use Blooms’ cognitive levels to ensure that students are able to recall information presented, understand the meaning, apply it in the clinical setting, and finally break the material down and combine different ideas to create new learning experiences.