Week 1 and week 2 NR536

Week 1: Education Theory and Learners (Graded 30 points)

Select the type of learner you will work with in the future (i.e., academic students, staff nurses, or patients/families); then debate the following question. Be sure to include pros and cons.

Many individuals state that "practice is the best teacher." For these individuals, the application of the same knowledge and the same skill must occur repeatedly and often. In contrast, there are educators who state that a learner does not need to complete 10 bed baths or write 15 care plans. In their opinions, quality is more important than quantity.

Question: Applying your knowledge of educational theory from previous courses, which approach would be best for your learners—repeated practice or quality? How can learner confidence be developed with the method that you selected?

Week 1: Collaboration Café (Graded 25 points)

The clinical environment as part of experiential learning is of major importance to the educator. Select your type of learner (i.e., undergraduate nursing student, new graduate in a mentoring program, a family learning how to provide gastric feedings for a child) and discuss the clinical site.

Topic: This discussion focuses on what makes a good clinical site for the selected learner you will be working with as a nurse educator in the future.

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Week 2: Collaboration Café (Graded 25 points)

When you were a new graduate, how comfortable were you with clinical decision making? Were there techniques used by instructors to help you learn decision making? Did you learn it "on the job"? Focus on the techniques so that the discussion will focus on "how" to help learners think critically and make appropriate clinical decisions.

Week 2: Skills to Help Learners Develop (Graded 30 points)

The following skills have been identified as areas that a nurse educator should help learners develop so they can develop clinical decision-making skills.

• Motivation to learn
• Attention to details
• Seeking aptitude to clarify information with questions
• Awareness of knowledge gaps
• Appraisal of the decision and its outcome

Select ONE of the above areas and identify specific actions that a nurse educator can implement in order to assist a learner to acquire the selected skill.