Theory of Learning to the Role of the Preceptor in Facilitating Student Nurse Learning in Practice - Coursework Example

Order Id: 329114 Topic: Critically apply one theory of learning to the role of the perceptor in facilitating nurse learning in practice. Introduction Debate has been rife about which is the best learning and teaching methodology available for selection by instructors. It has been suggested that different learning theories are applicable depending on the nature of learners and the situation at hand. It is therefore crucial for instructional designers to first understand the strengths and weaknesses of each learning theory to optimise their use in appropriate instructional design strategy (Gerjets and Catrambone, 2004). It is therefore very important for instructional designers to have some knowledge of learning theories (Gerjets and Catrambone, 2004) so as to be able to make the best design decisions. In line with this, knowledge of behaviorist, cognitivist and constructivist theories of learning would be very necessary. For the purpose of this essay therefore, the author wishes to present a short discussion of the three theories of learning and how they can be applied to practice. In addition, advantages and disadvantages of current theories of learning are also presented. Current theories of learning Research findings indicate that there are three main categories of learning theories namely behaviourist, cognitivist and constructivist. Researchers have argued differently in support of each of the theories without really coming into consensus. Those who support the behaviourist theory claim that it is simply the best since it is only based on observable changes in behavior and hence focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic (Feist and Feist, 2006). This theory is best illustrated by the conditioning of Pavlov dogs to salivate to the sound of the bell and the instilling of fear in baby Albert by Watson (Feist and Feist, 2006). The two cases underscore the importance of repeating a new behavioural pattern through reinforcement until it becomes automatic. Supporters of cognitive theory attempt to explain the thought process behind the changes in behaviour. All the changes observed in behaviour are used as indicators of what might be happening inside the learners mind (Clark; Nguyen and Sweller, 2006). Constructivist theory is a product of behaviourist and cognitivist and is therefore founded on the argument that individuals construct their own perception of the world, through individual experiences and planning (Duffy and Jonassen, 2004). Constructivists thus argue learners learn best from their own experiences particularly when left to solve problems on their own (Duffy and Jonassen, 2004). This is the underlying reason why the author has chosen to critically apply this theory in facilitating student nurse learning in practice. Most researchers hold that both behaviourism and cognitivism employ the practice of breaking tasks into small manageable portions for easier analysis. From these portions, learning objectives are established which are later used as the basis for measuring performance of the learners (Mayer, 2004). Constructivism, on the other hand, has a more open-ended learning experience where the methods and results of learning are not easily measured and may not be the same for each learner (Jonassen and McAleese, 2005). While the former has been teacher centered in nature, constructivism concentrates on the learner who is considered as a unique entity. This is the reason why instructional designers are required to first understand the strengths and weaknesses of each learning theory before coming up with an instructional programme (Mayer, 2004). From this argument, it is noted that instructional designing for a behaviourist/cognitivist approach calls for the development of learning objectives after breaking the individual tasks into manageable bits (Clark and Elen, 2006). After learning objectives have been developed, then evaluation of the teaching and learning process is determined by how much the set objectives have been met (Clark and Elen, 2006). Since this approach is teacher-centered, the designer decides what is important for the learner to know. The constructivist approach is, on the contrary learner-centered in nature and therefore requires the designer to come up with a product that is much more facilitative in nature than prescriptive (Kirschner et.al, 2006). Here, the learner has the autonomy to determine the content and direction of instruction where evaluation of the learning process is left to the learner (Kirschner et.al, 2006). In considering the liberty found in this approach, it is perhaps in order to conclude that “constructivism is more of a learning theory than a teaching approach” stated by Kirschner et.al (2006). There are strongly held assumptions of the constructivist theory that try to explain the process of learning. It is commonly accepted in this theory that knowledge is accumulated from experience (Smith, 2004) and that learning is a personal interpretation of the world. Smith (2004) continues to explain that learning is an active process which is continuously enriched by new experiences as they unfold. The learning process is further strengthened through collaboration and sharing of multiple perspectives amongst contemporaries in realistic settings such as school and the workplace (Good and Brophy, 2005). Good and Brophy (2005) further suggest that learning should be situational where testing is integrated with the task and not a separate activity. In connection with these assumptions, it is found to be fitting for the author to build an argument about constructivism theory in relation to student nurse in practice. Constructivism and how it can be related to practice Learning is a step-wise process which progresses from simple to complex. In this regard, Hilbert and Renkl (2007) have proposed three types of learning based on their complexity. Introductory learning is the basic type where learners have very little directly transferable prior knowledge about a skill or content area (Hilbert and Renkl, 2007). At this level of learning, classical instructional design is most suitable because the content and direction is controlled by the instructor. From this level, the learner progresses to the advanced knowledge acquisition stage (Hilbert and Renkl, 2007) where complexity of tasks begins to materialise. The constructivist approaches are found to be most appropriate to tackle this level. Expert learning is the final stage of knowledge acquisition where the learner has become proficient enough to make intelligent decisions within the learning environment (Hilbert and Renkl, 2007). This level is characteristic of the nursing profession which requires high proficiency. To best learn this profession, the author suggests that a constructivist approach would work better than any other approach. It is widely accepted that learning is best accomplished by using a hands-on approach (Duckworth, 2006) where the learner is given the opportunity to self discover from the immediate environment. Constructivism theory further suggests that the learner should be subjected to experimentation and given the autonomy to make inferences, discoveries and conclusions based on his or her own intuition and ingenuity (Gladwell, 2006). It is also very crucial for facilitators to first establish the pre-existing knowledge of their learners for better internalization of any new information that is presented to them. This fact underscores the importance of facilitators to constantly assess the knowledge their learners have gained so as to achieve the intended learning outcomes (Duckworth, 2006). The theory permits the learners to share their experiences amongst themselves through social negotiation as stated by Segaran (2007). This position is best illustrated by the fact that young children are reported to develop their thinking abilities by interacting with other children, adults and the physical world (Segaran, 2007). In view of this argument, it can be asserted that constructivist theory greatly influence learning that occurs in the informal settings (Duckworth, 2006). The student nurse in practice is found to be operating in a similar setup requiring the application of hands-on approaches, thereby demanding the adoption of constructivist theory of learning. From various studies done on learning theories, Jonassen and McAleese (2005) concluded that constructivism “is simply a theory describing how learning happens specifically enabling the learners to construct knowledge out of their experiences”. In this way, constructivism has been considered as a pedagogic approach that promotes learning by doing (Jonassen and McAleese, 2005). Since the student nurse in practice is operating in a profession where matters of life and death are paramount, it is imperative to consider the background and culture of the learner in directing the learning process (Vonderwell, 2005). In fact, the learner is portrayed by the constructivism theory to be central to the learning process (Vonderwell, 2005) as opposed to other educational viewpoints where the learner plays a passive, receptive role. For this reason therefore, constructivism perceives each learner as a unique individual with unique needs and backgrounds rather than as a group of learners (Jonassen and McAleese, 2005). Constructivism also underscores the importance of the level and source of motivation to the learner for meaningful learning to take place. According to (), the successful completion of challenging tasks has been found to be a big source of motivation for the learner to tackle even more challenging tasks (Jeffery, 2005). Similarly, facilitators need to constantly boost the confidence of the learner by helping him or her understand the content of the subject matter independently (Jeffery, 2005). This can only be achieved if the learner plays an active role in the learning process particularly through doing, emphasizing the idea of learner-centered approach. To fully capture the attention of the learners, Solvang (2004) suggests that the facilitator should make the learning experience more liberal for the learners to arrive at their own validly accepted conclusions. The learners should also be subjected to challenges that are beyond their current level of mastery so as to sustain their motivation and enhance their confidence (Solvang, 2004). Other than motivation, constructivism demonstrates the importance of designing a learning environment that is capable of supporting and challenging the learners thinking (Moyer et. al, 2005). The learning environment should therefore be very open and free to encourage full participation of each learner and consequently make them own the entire learning process. Facilitators and instructors are accordingly expected to give motivating tasks to the learner for possible ownership of the solutions attained at the end of the learning experience (Gerjets and Catrambone, 2004). In the student nurse in practice scenario, the critical goal of the learning process is for the facilitators to support the student nurse in becoming an effective thinker. This can be achieved by the student nurse assuming multiple roles of mentoring, consultancy, peer-teaching and coaching; a process referred to as collaborative learning as cited by Alpaydin (2004) in (Duckworth, 2006). Since according to scholars of social constructivist learning is an active process, the student nurse in practice should therefore strive to learn to discover principles, concepts and facts independently through critical thinking. This, according to Solvang (2004) is important in encouraging the learner to use intuition and discovery through trial and error method. Any discovery arrived at through this somewhat crude method is bound to have a long lasting effect on the student nurse in practice. Advantages and disadvantages of current theories of learning From the foregoing, the author has attempted to exhaustively demonstrate the use of various theories of learning to facilitate the learning process. It has emerged that the three theories of learning are all applicable to practice but constructivism seems to be more suitable to the student nurse in practice because of the nature of the profession. Moreover, these theories have also been found to present certain advantages and disadvantages as described below. Advantages Generally, the current theories of learning have been found to make people more responsible in having positive environments for childrearing as illustrated by Clark and Elen (2006). Since social constructivism claim that children learn through observing and emulating behaviuors of other children and adults, the theory thus requires people to avail enabling environments for this purpose. Another advantage is that the learning theories make people feel that they have more control of their destiny and are thus capable of moulding their society accordingly Clark and Elen (2006. It is also illustrated that through the application of various theories of learning, it becomes very easy to carry out the teaching and learning process. In applying constructivism for instance, it is found that the learner is better able to deal with real life situations through the interpretation of multiple realities (Duckworth, 2006). Disadvantages On the contrary, current theories of learning have been demonstrated to result in the over-simplification of issues in contrast to real life situations (Duckworth, 2006). Research findings show that the theories fall short of explaining the biological differences in learners like brain chemistry (Feist and Feist, 2006) which results in learning differences. Secondly, in a situation where consistency is fundamental, divergent thinking and action found in constructivism may cause problems as argued by Duffy and Jonassen (2004). A situation where each individual acts in disharmony with others in the same system may bring chaos and confusion. References Alpaydin, Ethem. (2004). Introduction to Machine Learning. MIT Press. Clark, R. E. and Elen, J. (2006). Handling Complexity in Learning Environments: Research and Theory. London: Elsevier. Clark, R., Nguyen, F., and Sweller, J. (2006). Efficiency in Learning: Evidence-Based Guidelines to Manage Cognitive Load. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Duckworth, E. R. (2006). "The having of wonderful ideas" and other essays on teaching and learning. New York: Teachers College Press. Duffy, T. M and Jonassen, D. H. (2004). 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(2005). A Manifesto for a constructivist approach to technology in higher education. Trentham Books. Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., and Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist 41 (2) 75-86. Mayer, R. (2004). "Should there be a three-strike rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction". American Psychologist 59 (1): 14–19. Moyer, B., McAllister, J., Finley, M. L and Soifer, S. (2005). Doing democracy: the map model for organizing social movements. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. Segaran, Toby. (2007). Collective Intelligence. OReilly Media. Smith, S. (2004). Designing collaborative learning experiences for library computer classrooms. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 11(2), 65-83. Solvang, E.K. (2004). Thinking developmentally: The Bible, the first-year college student and diversity. Teaching Theology and Religion, 7(4), 223-229. Vonderwell, S.T. (2005). Active learning and pre-service teachers experiences in an online course: A case study. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 13(1), 65-84. Read More