dr. t. kim rodehorst associate professor university of nebraska medical center college of nursing
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. T. Kim Rodehorst
Associate Professor
University of Nebraska Medical Center
College of Nursing
What a Concept! Considering a Move to
Concept Based Teaching
Definition of termsPresent current research on the benefits of
concept-based teachingShare experiences related to changes in
students' clinical judgment after moving to a concept-based model
Provide tips, best practices and common objections to those considering a concept-based teaching approach
Objectives
I. Overview of Concept-based Learning in Nursing A. Defining concept-based learning B. Impetus behind growth in concept-based curricula C. What it means to teach conceptually II. Planning a Move to a Concept-based curriculum Considering the Concerns of Traditionally-minded Colleagues Best Practices for Planning for a Concepts Curriculum Sharing Concept-based Curriculum Change Experience at UNMC
III. Results from Moving to a Concept-based Curriculum Changes in Classroom Teaching Changes in Student Learning Experiences
Overview
Erickson (2008) identifies five criteria that concepts need to meet. Concepts should be:
broad one or two words universal in application timeless represented by different examples that share
common attributes
Concept Criteria
A concept is an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances (Erickson, 2008).
A paradigm for learning that classifies essential content into categories
Concepts are taught through use of exemplars.
A way of learning that prepares students to function in our ever changing health care system
Creates higher order thinking, which assists learners to discern patterns and inter-relationships (Thomas, 2000).
What is concept based learning
Many forces affecting the educational process
Knowledge explosion
Technology
Changes in health care with emphasis on prevention
Persistence of faculty to teach increased amount of information in the same manner
Characteristics of our learners have changed
Impetus for change
"call for equally profound changes in the education of nurses and the preparation of nurse educators," …..the redesign of nursing education as "an urgent societal agenda.“—Carnegie Foundation,2010
"interactive, and innovative programs and curricula should be designed to promote leadership in students, develop students' thinking skills, reflect new models of learning and practice, effectively integrate technology, promote a lifelong career commitment in students, include intra- and interdisciplinary learning experiences, and prepare students for the roles they will assume”---NLN, 2006
“The ways in which nurses were educated during the 20th century are no longer adequate for dealing with the realities of health care in the 21st century. As patient needs and care environments have become more complex, nurses need to attain requisite competencies to deliver high-quality care”—RWJF, 2008
“Current type of teaching/learning is ineffective in the current complex health care settings “—IOM, 2010
A Call for Change
Helps students gain a deeper understanding Helps students be able to generalize from one
situation to another Enables students to create bridges between what
they currently know and what they can learnAllows students to start to see patterns and to
use those patterns to think about the facts they know
Helps students make connections between other related subject areas
What does it mean to teach conceptually and why is it important
A goal in this type of learning is to build a conceptual understanding of nursing that will be transferable to future knowledge and developments in a variety of related client-care situations
What does it mean to teach conceptually and why is it important
Recognize that there will be resistance Faculty need to see themselves as a personal
trainer
Know that there is not one list of concepts, nor is there only one way to teach them
Be open to change and know there will be challenges
So How Do We Move To This Model?
Faculty are very comfortable with teaching in the traditional style
Faculty are used to teaching in a very linear fashion
Faculty may not be comfortable teaching with a more general scope
Faculty may not feel comfortable helping students transfer knowledge
There will be a tendency to go back to what is familiar
Challenges To Concept Based Nursing
Students are very comfortable with learning in the traditional style
Students are used to learning in a very linear fashion
Students may not be comfortable learning in a more general scope
Challenges For Students
1. Identify and define the concepts2. Categorize the concepts3. Identify conceptual lenses (or subcategories)4. Identify generalizations5. Specify performance outcomes6. Specify critical or essential content7. Identify topics or exemplars that best depict the
concept8. Identify learning strategies9. Connecting the process for the “big picture”Erickson, H.L. (2008). Concept based curriculum and instruction for the thinking classroom.
Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press
Suggested Process for Implementing Concept-Based Learning
Pediatrics: ProtectionMyelomeningoceleGastroschisisOmphalocele
Adults: OxygenationARDSRDS
Pregnancy: MetabolismDiabetes during pregnancyDiabetes in childrenDiabetes in adults
Example of teaching conceptually
Moved to a concept based program 2 years ago.Identified concepts and defined conceptsCategorized concepts under our “old”
organizing frameworkHealth promotion first semesterAcute careChronic careComplex care
Course groups then developed the coursesEach campus determined their own way to
implement the concepts.
Our Experience With Concept Based Curriculum Change
Required to develop more active teaching strategies
Faculty “buy in” not completeFaculty dealt with content overload by not
including sufficient content on the specialty areas
Some faculty “got it” and were able to integrate the concepts in very unique ways, and utilized active learning strategies appropriately
Others remain the talking head and had difficulty making the change
Other Confounding Issues
Informal formative evaluation via blogs and threaded discussions.
Most were able to see how the conceptual learning was a far better method that would serve them well.
This was somewhat dependent on how the course was taught.
Some students complained about not knowing anything and feeling like an” experiment”
That too seemed to be somewhat dependent on the attitude of the course faculty
Students Perspectives
Informal formative evaluation provided to faculty via blogs and threaded discussion.
Mixed evaluation—some have bought in and others are still loathing the change.
General consensus that there has been a loss of specialty content—peds, ob, psyche—which has had an impact on our faculty
Changes have been made based on above feedback
We have graduated our first cohort this past May
Faculty perspectives
Perhaps this quote is applicable to contemplating the change of moving to a concept based curriculum…..
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.~Charles Darwin~
Benner, P. (2010). Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Erickson, H.L. (2008). Concept based curriculum and instruction for the thinking classroom. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press
Giddens, J., Brady, D., Brown, P., Wright, M., Smith, D., & Harris, J. (2008). A new curriculum for a new era of nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 29(4), 200-204.
Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health.Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Ironside, P., & McNelis, A.M. (2011). Optimizing pre-licensure students’ learning in clinical settings. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32 (1), 64-65
Pearson Education. (2011). Nursing: A concept-based approach to learning (Vol. 1 & 2). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Schmidt, D.L., Saigo, B.W., & Stepans, J. (2011). Conceptual change model. St. Cloud, Minnesota: Saiwood Publishers.
References