Challenges Faced by the Nursing Educators - Assignment Example

Challenges Faced by the Nursing Educators Introduction In the recent past, the teaching profession is facing a challenge of providing evidence of the effectiveness of the learning and the teaching methods incorporated in the learning process. There are several factors that are thought to be of major concern in the teaching profession today. These factors revolve around the teaching strategies used and the difference in student’s learning styles. Boström (2013) provided evidence on how the student’s learning styles have affected the performance of students in universities and colleges something he says has resulted in a struggle to cope up with the learning and the specific demands of the specific courses. Over the past years, the utility derived from matching the learning styles to the appropriate teaching methods has widely been discussed (Boström, 2013). It is believed that in a case where the students are presented with difficult information and new courses, a great change is observed when the individual’s learning style is correctly matched to the teaching strategy (Aina-Popoola, 2014; Luo et.al, 2014). This literature review seeks to establish the different student’s learning styles, the specific challenges facing the facilitators in nursing education as well as the creative teaching strategies that can be integrated in nursing teaching to improve on the learning efficiency. It is hypothesized that the different learning styles and teaching strategies have an effect on nursing student learning. The following literature review from the last five years therefore seeks to demonstrate and support this hypothesis. The preferred learning styles In a study by Amina and Houaida (2012) that sought to identify the learning styles preferred by the nursing students in Nursing and Technical Institute of Alexandria, 288 nursing students were involved in the study. 169 of the students were from the faculty of nursing while 119 were from the technical nursing institution. Both the comparative and the descriptive research study designs were used in the study. From this study, it was evident that the most prominent learning style preferred by the nursing students in Egypt was kinesthetic style. Further, statistical analysis of the data collected in the study revealed a significant difference between age and the score of the particular nursing courses. It is from these findings that the researcher concluded that there exist a number of learning styles preferred by the nursing students of which can be adequately exploited by the nursing educators in coming up with appropriate techniques and strategies for effective learning in the nursing institutions. Amina and Houaida (2012) further indicated that the student’s learning styles and the teaching approaches preferred by the nursing educators have an adequate effect on the students’ overall learning. A learning style in this case was defined as the attributes of an individual person that adequately reflects on the pattern used by the person in processing information for knowledge acquisition or skills development in preparation for a future test of memory while learning approaches on the other hand were supposed to mean “ways in which students go about their academic tasks, thereby affecting the nature of the learning outcome” (Amina and Houaida (2012). Over last the ten years, theoretical models have been developed by researchers to further explain how the different students learn. Learning models such as Kolb experimental models, VARK model and Canfield model have been developed further help the nursing educators understand the different student’s learning styles . Amina and Houaida, (2012) observed the key learning styles in nursing students as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic and read and write learning style. It is believed that the preferred styles of learning have specific attributes that significantly contribute to learning and that such attributes are preferred differently by individuals when learning. From the study by Amina and Houaida (2012), the visual learners were considered to be the kind of learners who learn best through sight. Such students tend to learn best when visual displays are use since they think in pictures. Auditory learners were viewed as the learners who are able to receive and interpret information by active listening. Such students were considered to gain knowledge when they read something out loud. They may therefore not fully understand something in writing not unless they read it out loud. These students fully benefit from the teacher-centered classroom where lecturing is the main method of teaching since learn best in oral teaching sessions, speech and lectures. Further, the people with the read and write learning style were defined as the learners capable of converting the visual displays into words. They adequately learn by converting diagrams into words. Kinesthetic learners were observed to love taking acts during learning rather than listening or watching the demonstrations. They were further seen to love the ‘hands-on’ approach. The ‘hands-on approach makes the learners integrate with the physical world around them. In most occasions it is believed that kinesthetic learners easily get unfocused since they do have a difficult time concentrating (Gilakjani (2011). In a similar study by Gilakjani (2011) where the researcher wanted to establish the different learning styles in an Iranian University, visual, kinesthetic and auditory learning styles were considered to be the most popular learning styles amongst the Iranian students. In this study, a hundred students; both male and female were involved. The Multiple Intelligence Theory (MIT) was further used in developing the theoretical frameworks in the study. The study established that 50 percent of the students in the university preferred visual learning, 35 percent thought auditory learning was the best for them while only 13 percent seemed to be okay with the kinesthetic learning. Apart from ascertaining the most common and preferred learning styles by the students, Gilakjani (2011) further concluded that the Iranian students who preferred the visual learning had the greatest educational achievements as compared to the other types of learning styles. He further indicated that it is the duty of every educator to be aware of the learning styles preferred by his or her students so as to adequately reach out to all of them through presenting information in multiple modes. The Gilakjani (2011) study nevertheless focused on the general students and not nursing students alone. Also, the only focused on three learning styles. In this regard, it is important to consider all the four major learning styles and their effect on the overall nursing learning process. Past researchers conducted in the field of nursing education provide similar information and further show that individual differences amongst the different learners does exist. Some are eye-oriented, some ear-oriented, some love learning through touching while others even learn when they read something and put it down in writing (Marek, 2013). In a general observation ascertained by Amina and Houaida (2012), only ten percent of the people often remember what they read; only twenty percent remember what they hear; only thirty percent often remember what they observe; seventy percent remember what they say and ninety percent of people remember what they say as they do something. With such an observation, teaching nursing becomes quite a complex thing to the different nursing educators since it integrates both the science and the art part of nursing. In different scenarios, nurses are required to use their knowledge and clinical practice in establishing proper solution to arising problems in a clinical set up (Luo et.al, 2014). Challenges facing nursing educators with the different teaching styles Over the past years, the nursing educators have continued to experience pressure emanating from the health care sector to not only provide quality education to health practitioners but also ensure that they release a skilled workforce able to provide evidence-based care to both the patients and the clients (Sinnerton et.al, 2014). Recently, more creative teaching methods have continued to evolve in the field of nursing. However, very few nursing educators have integrated these teaching strategies in their day to day teaching activities; a fact that has been attributed to key challenges faced by the different nursing educators in different nursing institutions. These challenges include: Different teaching method require time and commitment to prepare Mennenga and Smyer (2010) focused on how the team-based learning has been used in nursing education. The study reflected on the urgency facing the different nursing educators today in determining the best teaching strategies adequate in creating an environment where students are perfectly engaged. The study proved team-based learning adequate since it shifts the burden of learning from the facilitator to the students. The students become the heart of the learning process. The study further observed that team-based learning as applicable not only in small and medium sized classes but also large-sized classes. Mennenga and Smyer (2010) also articulated how the team-based method is appropriate in creating an effective nursing learning environment where the students adequately gathers knowledge and develops skills by proving an increase in faculty-student interactions after the application of the team-based learning method. Mennenga and Smyer (2010) further observed that the different faculty members who had used the team-based learning ascertained that time is a requirement for setting up the learning method in the different nursing classes especially for the first time. The different faculty members further pointed out that adequate time is needed by the nursing educators to prepare the courses to be used in the team-based learning methods. Nevertheless, this was seen as impossible since most of the faculty members always have heavy workloads and getting such time to integrate the different courses to team-based learning is a big challenge. Full implementation of team-based learning in this case is possible by converting the whole course or parts of the course into a module adaptable by the team-learning method (Mennenga and Smyer (2010). Therefore, team-based learning being an example of the methods the nursing educators need to integrate in teaching nursing requires time and commitment not only to prepare but also to implement. Where to get such time is a big question mark. Nursing Curriculum requirements James and Thomas (2011) conducted a study on the different learning styles of the nursing students at Jordan University. The study was a qualitative research design that further derived information on the different student learning styles and how they influence the nursing curriculums. The study involved 197 nursing students from fist year, second year, third year and even fourth year of study. The study established that 55 percent of the overall students in Jordan University had a multi-modal preference. However, 60 percent of the multimodal preference learners had a preference on three learning styles; kinesthetic, visual and read and write. The rest had a preference only on one learning style. James and Thomas (2011) concluded that the different nursing educators should not therefore just use any teaching methods in their line of duty but should be somehow creative and try to come up with some activities that can be incorporated in the teaching process so as to satisfy the students’ needs in the different nursing programs. This means that the nursing educators have to plan for different activities such as tours and field trips to help the nursing students bond with the real world. However, the study never revealed how the different nursing educators would manage to integrate these activities in the nursing curriculums that are fully packed with class-based activities. The study further established that as the academic levels in nursing advance, the student’s learning styles differ significantly. The nursing curriculums are in this case designed in a way that the nursing educators must follow the curriculum; at the beginning of the program lecture teaching method is a must for the nursing students since the nursing programs are very tough but after the clinical rotations, the nursing educators may adequately integrate other teaching methods as per the curriculum since the programs becomes less-tough. It is therefore hard for the different nursing educators to effectively integrate the appropriate teaching strategies and at the same time stick to the nursing curriculums. Lack of the right supplies and adequate resources Eta et.al (2012) conducted a study on 24 nursing educators to evaluate their clinical teaching experiences. The sample of 24 nursing educators was derived from four health institutions in different districts in Cameroon. Data used in the study was mainly collected through use of the interview. The questions in the interview generally revolved around the participant’s clinical teaching environment. From the findings of the study, it was clear that lack of adequate teaching supplies and proper resources was a major challenge to the nursing educators. Following the shortage in adequate supplies and resources, the nursing educators fail to equip the nursing students with the needed knowledge and clinical experience. They further fail to integrate the different teaching strategies adequate in serving the diverse needs of the different learners in the learning process. Further, Eta et.al (2012) suggested that it is important that the different nursing educators are supplied with the right attires; fundamental teaching material vital in delivering knowledge to the nursing students. This would not only ensure that the students are adequately qualified before they are posted in their respective places of work but also ensures that they are equipped with additional skills such as critical thinking. The clinical nurse educators should also be kept up-to-date in nursing practice and teaching competencies in order to fully assist the nursing students on clinical placements. This study therefore ascertained that inadequacy in supplies and resources is a big challenge facing the nursing educators. Fear of losing control and lack of proper training Mokgele (2010) conducted a qualitative study on nursing students and facilitators in four South African universities that had adequately adopted the problem-based learning method as learning and teaching method. During the study, twelve focus group interviews were done and six themes were derived. From the study, facilitator’s fear of losing control of the classroom was a challenge. The four groups of facilitators involved in the study admitted that it was a big problem for the to integrate to the other teaching methods since they were used to the teaching methods that gave them full control of the classroom and that they were not properly trained on the other strategies. The groups of students involved in the study pointed out that the nursing educators lacked the proper skills and were power-dominant what denied them a chance to gather the needed nursing skill and knowledge. Further Mokgele (2010) established that the different nursing facilitators still used the conventional teaching methods that only treated the nursing students as plainly passive receptors of the information that only emanated from the lecturer as they lacked knowledge on the creative teaching techniques. Creative Learning Strategies Student Council In a study by Heise and Himes (2010), a course council was introduced in the beginning of a nursing course-undergraduate course to adequately promote the student-centered learning strategies. In this case, the students’ representatives in the council were appointed by the other members of the class and were to attend the course council meetings with the respective faculty on a monthly basis. The students’ representatives were asked to bring to the meeting major concerns of the other students, questions and opinions. In the monthly dialogues held in small groups the students spoke freely and openly of their experience in class, laboratory and in a clinical setting. This followed establishment of avenues to address the aired grievances by the nursing students, design solutions and adequately involves both the students and the faculty in decision making. From this study, the student’s input resulted to significant contributions to learning process; the course was significantly amended. Further, a better platform where students adequately learned from one another was established and also professional responsibility and critical thinking was further encouraged. This approach was proved successful and has been expanded to adequately include all other nursing courses. Small group discussions and extra time Billings and Halstead, (2012) in the book Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing (Fourth Edition) largely reflect on the factors affecting nursing education in both class and a clinical context. Billings and Halstead, (2012) points out that the different nursing educators and facilitators must have a philosophical approach to both class and clinical teaching since it adequately helps the nursing educators understand their roles, approaches to integrate, learning activities to be implemented, evaluation of processes as well as the relationship with the other facilitators and the learners in both class and a clinical settings. Billings and Halstead, (2012) further established that in case of a large class where it is only possible to work with only few large groups, the nursing educators are supposed to further split the groups to smaller ones and engage all the groups in intergroup discussions. Also, the learning educators should give more attention to the few students who still require the help of the facilitator after class. This would result in formation of a small group discussion after class. Conclusion The reviewed journals and book are enough evidence to existence of varied student’s learning styles, challenges of nursing educators with the different teaching methods as well as existence of creative teaching techniques that can be integrated so as to make nursing learning more enjoyable and improve on the learning efficiency. In this context, more research on the applicability of the new creative strategies and their effectiveness in nursing education in the different institutions will be important in shedding more light on effective teaching strategies. Also, a longitudinal study needs to be undertaken to ascertain the barriers and obstacles to the implementation and use of creative learning techniques in the different nursing learning institutions. References Amina, Ahmed, Mohamed and Houaida, Anas, Elwogoud , Helal. (2012). 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Journal Of Nursing Education, 49(6), 343-345.doi:10.3928/01484834-20100115-04 James, S., D’Armore, A., & Thomas, T. (2011). Learning preferences of first year nursing and midwifery students: Utilizing VARK. Nurse Education Today, 31(4), 417-423. Lekalakala-Mokgele, E. (2010). Facilitation in problem-based learning: experiencing the locus of control. Nurse Education Today, 30(7), 638-642. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2009.12.017 Luo, Y., Zhou, D., Luo, Y., Song, Y., Liu, D. (2014). Investigation of nursing students’ knowledge of and attitudes about problem- based learning. International journal of nursing sciences, 1(1), 126 -129. Mennenga, H., &Smyer, T. (2010). A model for easily incorporating team-based learning into nursing education. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, Vol.7 (1), doi:10.2202/1548-923X.1924. Marek, G. I. (2013). Impact of learning style assessment on self-reported skills of students in an associate degree nursing program. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 8, 43-39. Sinnerton, T, Leonard, L, Rogers, K. (2014).Using Learning Style Preferences to Enhance the Education and Training of Allied Health Professionals. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. Volume 12, Number 1. Read More