“Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it”—Soren Kierkegaard
I wanted to reflect a little bit on my experiences so far in this teaching practicum which I have found to be quite valuable. Let me start out by saying that this has definitely been an interesting and very informative semester for me. The best part of this teaching practicum is gaining hands-on experience in working with students. There really is no better way to learn about something than to actually “get in there and do it”! I have gained experience and knowledge that I have already begun to put into practice, and am sure that I will continue to do so as an educator in the future.
I have enjoyed observing and learning various different teaching strategies while working closely with an instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) as part of my Teaching Practicum. The instructor that is precepting me to the experiences of an educator is the lead course instructor for the Critical Care Course at UTA. This course has been an excellent learning experience thus far, and it has truly been an eye-opening experience to participate in the learning process from the view point of an instructor. Throughout this semester I have worked with my preceptor and observed different teaching and communication strategies used with undergraduate nursing students in several settings including the classroom, private one-on-one sessions, and also in the clinical hospital setting. This practicum has also allowed me the opportunity to observe and participate in the several various roles that a university instructor holds.
Throughout this practicum I have been able to see first-hand the amount of preparation involved in every aspect of teaching. Adequate planning and preparation are not only necessary in creating lectures, but also in writing quiz and test questions, and in administering quizzes and exams. This was something that I learned on the very first day I attended class at UTA, as I assisted in proctoring the student’s first course exam.
This practicum has also taught me that it is one thing to learn as a student, and entirely another to learn as an educator. As an educator, you must not only be able to teach students and share your knowledge with them, you should also learn from your students and continuously strive toward improvement. I have noted that educators must not only be prepared to teach specific content, they should be flexible in their methods of explaining information. It is imperative for instructors to adapt to the needs and concerns of the students they are teaching, in order to effectively get the information across to them. Furthermore, educators should also be knowledgeable enough in the content they are teaching to answer any questions that may arise. Misinformation may not only be harmful to a nursing student in applying their knowledge on exams, it can be harmful to the student and possibly others if it causes a mistake during clinical practice.
Among the other roles that I have observed and participated in during my teaching practicum, I have also attended several different faculty meetings with my preceptor. It has been very interesting to see how the nursing department functions at the university, and how they work through the issues and changes they continually face as educators and nurses. Thus far my experiences in the Teaching Practicum have been progressing smoothly. I have enjoyed learning about teaching in the classroom, preparing lectures and quizzes, proctoring exams, preparing for clinicals, and attending faculty meetings. I have learned some valuable information throughout this experience that I will definitely be able to apply in my future role as an educator.
I hope that everyone is having as great an experience as I am. Take care.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
March 16th: Spring is in the Air
I know I’m a bit behind in posting my blogs, but I wanted to share the information with you anyway… forgive the delay in information sharing.
I’ve decided that if you live in North Texas, you really do have to appreciate the bluebonnets that line the city during this time of the year. I grew up in the southwest part of Texas, where we mostly see cactus roses and tumbleweeds, which believe it or not can be quite beautiful too. I remember singing songs about Texas bluebonnets in elementary school, but I don’t think I ever saw one until I came to this side of Texas : ) I must say they make the highways look so much nicer when you’re stuck in traffic! : )
I don’t know about you all, but long gone are the days when Spring Break is actually a break—at least a whole WEEK of a break anyway. During spring break I went on a mini 3 day vacation with my husband’s family where we all stayed in a cabin in a small town in New Mexico. It was a great trip, and I was able to enjoy the family and clear my head!
As usual, the week was really a blur, and I kept busy trying to visit with everyone “back home” and with trying to accomplish all of the school things that lingered on my “To Do” list. My week was definitely a balancing act of trying to spend time with family and friends, and trying to get some work done. Needless to say, something had to give and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the little bit of time I get to share with family, so I probably slept about as much as those undergrad college spring breakers who partied on some beach somewhere. I was quite proud of myself that despite everything that was going on, I still managed to make progress on my assignments. I worked on my written professional project which I had to defend soon after the break; I prepared for my upcoming teaching project (which by the way, I got butterflies just thinking about it); and I wrote up a quiz with questions related to my lecture on strokes and other neurological disorders. Believe it or not, I also found some time to party like those spring breakers (well a modified spring breaker I guess) and celebrate my birthday. Although I don’t enjoy the getting old part of birthdays, the getting presents part never seems to get old : )
That about sums up spring break for me… and now it’s back to reality. Hope everyone had a good week.
I’ve decided that if you live in North Texas, you really do have to appreciate the bluebonnets that line the city during this time of the year. I grew up in the southwest part of Texas, where we mostly see cactus roses and tumbleweeds, which believe it or not can be quite beautiful too. I remember singing songs about Texas bluebonnets in elementary school, but I don’t think I ever saw one until I came to this side of Texas : ) I must say they make the highways look so much nicer when you’re stuck in traffic! : )
I don’t know about you all, but long gone are the days when Spring Break is actually a break—at least a whole WEEK of a break anyway. During spring break I went on a mini 3 day vacation with my husband’s family where we all stayed in a cabin in a small town in New Mexico. It was a great trip, and I was able to enjoy the family and clear my head!
As usual, the week was really a blur, and I kept busy trying to visit with everyone “back home” and with trying to accomplish all of the school things that lingered on my “To Do” list. My week was definitely a balancing act of trying to spend time with family and friends, and trying to get some work done. Needless to say, something had to give and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the little bit of time I get to share with family, so I probably slept about as much as those undergrad college spring breakers who partied on some beach somewhere. I was quite proud of myself that despite everything that was going on, I still managed to make progress on my assignments. I worked on my written professional project which I had to defend soon after the break; I prepared for my upcoming teaching project (which by the way, I got butterflies just thinking about it); and I wrote up a quiz with questions related to my lecture on strokes and other neurological disorders. Believe it or not, I also found some time to party like those spring breakers (well a modified spring breaker I guess) and celebrate my birthday. Although I don’t enjoy the getting old part of birthdays, the getting presents part never seems to get old : )
That about sums up spring break for me… and now it’s back to reality. Hope everyone had a good week.
March 9th: The "ORGAN" Trail
Ok so I know my title is a bit corny, but you have to admit that it deserves at least a chuckle when you consider the topics of the day in the classroom: Content on the Liver and Organ Transplantation. :) it’s at list a little clever, right?! Ok maybe this online degree is getting to me and I’m spending too much time on the computer and talking to myself. Can’t wait for spring break! Anyhow…
In case I hadn’t mentioned it before, this class only meets once a week, so the class time is split up into two halves where the lectures cover two major topics. It’s nice in the sense that the students have a whole week to prepare for this class (and worry about their others), but it’s also tough in the sense that students have to sit through some extensive lectures on very complicated topics in just three hours. So as an educator you make the best of the situation and try to make lectures interesting and keep the students engaged.
On day three of my teaching practicum two main topics were covered during this three hour class period, and the first was the Liver. Not my favorite organ to talk about, but I must say it was good to sit through a review of all of this info. I forget that as students, people are trying to grasp a variety of concepts and tie lab results to specific organ functions, and things can get a bit confusing. For some reason, students want to associate BUN and creatinine with the liver and not the kidneys. If there was one thing that the instructor kept trying to instill, it was how ammonia levels and liver function are tied together and that BUN and creatinine belong to kidney function. I’m sure the students will appreciate her frequent references when their next test comes around!
The topic of organ transplantation always seems to spark some attention, and as always the ethical situations that we as nurses have encountered during these situations come to mind. Students were very interested in organ transplantation, and had very rigid views about why patients and family members would not consider organ donation. I suppose that it takes being involved in these situations and forming a connection with patients and their loved ones in “Real Live” situations, to get a complete understanding of what makes this such a difficult decision and process. Many students did however express an interest in working as nurses in this field in the future, which came as a surprise to me. It has been my experience that many people find this a very difficult and draining job because of the toll it takes on the donor’s family. It takes a special kind of person to be able to work with these situations day in and day out, but I imagine that the reward involved is indescribable. The idea that the loss of one person’s life can sustain life in another person is truly surreal, and the wonders of technology that make this happen are even more unbelievable to me.
Part of the reason that I got into nursing in the first place was because I love to help people. The fact that I am there to help people during the most critical times of their lives is a very rewarding thing to me and I feel that it defines me as a person. Sometimes there is nothing more that we can do for a person than to be there for them and support their decisions, but this may make more of an impact than we can even consider. And part of the reason that I chose to pursue a master’s degree in nursing education, is so that I can be a positive impact the lives of those people who will impact others during their greatest time of need.
This experience has taught me the importance of being a student and educator at the same time. Even though I will graduate as an educator, I feel that it is important to keep learning through the viewpoint of a student.
That's all for now... enjoy spring break everyone!
In case I hadn’t mentioned it before, this class only meets once a week, so the class time is split up into two halves where the lectures cover two major topics. It’s nice in the sense that the students have a whole week to prepare for this class (and worry about their others), but it’s also tough in the sense that students have to sit through some extensive lectures on very complicated topics in just three hours. So as an educator you make the best of the situation and try to make lectures interesting and keep the students engaged.
On day three of my teaching practicum two main topics were covered during this three hour class period, and the first was the Liver. Not my favorite organ to talk about, but I must say it was good to sit through a review of all of this info. I forget that as students, people are trying to grasp a variety of concepts and tie lab results to specific organ functions, and things can get a bit confusing. For some reason, students want to associate BUN and creatinine with the liver and not the kidneys. If there was one thing that the instructor kept trying to instill, it was how ammonia levels and liver function are tied together and that BUN and creatinine belong to kidney function. I’m sure the students will appreciate her frequent references when their next test comes around!
The topic of organ transplantation always seems to spark some attention, and as always the ethical situations that we as nurses have encountered during these situations come to mind. Students were very interested in organ transplantation, and had very rigid views about why patients and family members would not consider organ donation. I suppose that it takes being involved in these situations and forming a connection with patients and their loved ones in “Real Live” situations, to get a complete understanding of what makes this such a difficult decision and process. Many students did however express an interest in working as nurses in this field in the future, which came as a surprise to me. It has been my experience that many people find this a very difficult and draining job because of the toll it takes on the donor’s family. It takes a special kind of person to be able to work with these situations day in and day out, but I imagine that the reward involved is indescribable. The idea that the loss of one person’s life can sustain life in another person is truly surreal, and the wonders of technology that make this happen are even more unbelievable to me.
Part of the reason that I got into nursing in the first place was because I love to help people. The fact that I am there to help people during the most critical times of their lives is a very rewarding thing to me and I feel that it defines me as a person. Sometimes there is nothing more that we can do for a person than to be there for them and support their decisions, but this may make more of an impact than we can even consider. And part of the reason that I chose to pursue a master’s degree in nursing education, is so that I can be a positive impact the lives of those people who will impact others during their greatest time of need.
This experience has taught me the importance of being a student and educator at the same time. Even though I will graduate as an educator, I feel that it is important to keep learning through the viewpoint of a student.
That's all for now... enjoy spring break everyone!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
March 2nd: Day Two in the Trenches…
So I survived day one of my teaching practicum experience, and then it was on to day two in the classroom. On day two we got an early start because students were offered the opportunity of an exam review. As an undergraduate nurse I went through many exam reviews myself, and I have learned that every instructor is different and likes to review exams in a different way. That day was no exception for a new learning experience. My preceptor had an informal review for this exam, which was understandable given the size of the class (117 students can be an overwhelming number, especially when they are stressed out about their exam). Because the exam review was not a requirement for students but rather an elected opportunity to review their mistakes and ask questions, my preceptor relayed that it is always uncertain how many students will attend exam reviews.
As always, there is planning involved. My preceptor had pre-printed the 75 question exam keys and posted them up on the walls of the classroom. Students were allowed to view their scantrons and walk around the classroom to check the test questions they had missed or that they had concerns about. Students were also allowed to review the drug calculation portion of the exam. My preceptor stated that she was pleasantly surprised because about 75% of the students attended this exam review, when in the past, only about 20% of students had attended, and they were generally the students who had done well. I have noticed that many of the students who did well on the exam still like to review their exams and seek positive reinforcement, which tends to be a good learning technique. Unfortunately, several students who had not done so well did not attend the exam review which I feel may harm them in the future. I suppose as an educator all you can do is guide them in the right direction and offer suggestions, the rest is up to the student.
As part of the academic plan for these students, at-risk students are required to attend student counseling meetings with the course instructor. Students should schedule an appointment to see the instructor if they scored less than 70% on the exam. My preceptor created a questionnaire/document for these student counseling sessions, which I found to be a great assessment and documentation tool. It incorporated all of the factors—including things from a student’s attendance and study habits to issues in their lives like work and family matters—all of which play a role in a student’s performance. It was interesting for me to be a part of this review process, because I was able to observe and understand the reasons that students are struggling in the course while allowing me the option to try to help them through their difficulties. These personal meetings provided the instructor and myself the opportunity to talk with students one-on-one, and offer available resources including tutors, learning centers, study groups, and additional references including helpful textbooks and even websites. I really thought it was nice to talk with the students on such a personal level, and found that it was far less intimidating for them than talking about issues while other students are around. It also gave me a chance to get to know some of the students a little bit better. This was a great experience to be a part of, and I’m sure these meetings help contribute in a positive way to the reason that UTA has such a high graduation rate. I was told recently that UTA’s nursing school graduate rate is one of the top five in the state, which is definitely something to be proud of!
My preceptor and I ended the day in a brief discussion about the events of the day, our thoughts on the day, and we talked about a plan for the following week. All in all it was an interesting day—long but interesting—and I was really appreciative of the learning experience I gained that day! Hope that everyone’s experiences have been as educational and as positive as mine has!
Well that's it in a nutshell for day two. Take care everyone and bye for now…
As always, there is planning involved. My preceptor had pre-printed the 75 question exam keys and posted them up on the walls of the classroom. Students were allowed to view their scantrons and walk around the classroom to check the test questions they had missed or that they had concerns about. Students were also allowed to review the drug calculation portion of the exam. My preceptor stated that she was pleasantly surprised because about 75% of the students attended this exam review, when in the past, only about 20% of students had attended, and they were generally the students who had done well. I have noticed that many of the students who did well on the exam still like to review their exams and seek positive reinforcement, which tends to be a good learning technique. Unfortunately, several students who had not done so well did not attend the exam review which I feel may harm them in the future. I suppose as an educator all you can do is guide them in the right direction and offer suggestions, the rest is up to the student.
As part of the academic plan for these students, at-risk students are required to attend student counseling meetings with the course instructor. Students should schedule an appointment to see the instructor if they scored less than 70% on the exam. My preceptor created a questionnaire/document for these student counseling sessions, which I found to be a great assessment and documentation tool. It incorporated all of the factors—including things from a student’s attendance and study habits to issues in their lives like work and family matters—all of which play a role in a student’s performance. It was interesting for me to be a part of this review process, because I was able to observe and understand the reasons that students are struggling in the course while allowing me the option to try to help them through their difficulties. These personal meetings provided the instructor and myself the opportunity to talk with students one-on-one, and offer available resources including tutors, learning centers, study groups, and additional references including helpful textbooks and even websites. I really thought it was nice to talk with the students on such a personal level, and found that it was far less intimidating for them than talking about issues while other students are around. It also gave me a chance to get to know some of the students a little bit better. This was a great experience to be a part of, and I’m sure these meetings help contribute in a positive way to the reason that UTA has such a high graduation rate. I was told recently that UTA’s nursing school graduate rate is one of the top five in the state, which is definitely something to be proud of!
My preceptor and I ended the day in a brief discussion about the events of the day, our thoughts on the day, and we talked about a plan for the following week. All in all it was an interesting day—long but interesting—and I was really appreciative of the learning experience I gained that day! Hope that everyone’s experiences have been as educational and as positive as mine has!
Well that's it in a nutshell for day two. Take care everyone and bye for now…
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
And so it begins…
I finally had my first day of class on February 23rd! It was a long but interesting day. I’m not sure if it was the idea of being back in a nursing school classroom, or the thought of having to be so sure of my knowledge that I could share it with the 117 students in this class, but for some reason I got nervous! The funny part was that my role was only to be an observer; I didn’t have to teach anything. Maybe it was through osmosis that I felt the sense of impending doom many students felt that day because it was their first course exam. I helped the instructor prepare for the exam before the students arrived, and I also assisted in proctoring the exam. I can honestly say that I don’t miss being an undergraduate nursing student on exam days! The exams given in this course are in the HESI format, which my preceptor has indicated that students have a hard time getting used to, but in the end have a positive result in success rate on the NCLEX exam upon graduation.
The experience of proctoring an exam gave me some insight into the amount of preparation that is needed on the instructor’s end for an exam, which is far more than I had really ever considered. Because the size of the class is so large, the students were split up into two groups and the exam was administered in two different classrooms. Small details like a sign-in sheet to calculators (for those fun little drug calculations), and numbered exams had to be ready before the exam could even begin. Once students started, my job as a proctor was to keep a close eye on the students, and answer any questions, without of course giving away any answers. Once students had completed their exams, the proctors verified that all pages were intact for each exam, and that students had their names on their drug calculation sheets because they were submitted separately. I organized the exams back into their original order, and helped my preceptor lock away the exams to protect their integrity.
It was interesting and difficult to decide how to grade some of the exams because there were many instances where students had written the correct answer, but did not receive credit for their efforts because they didn’t follow the directions appropriately. For example, students did not receive credit for their answers if they did not show their work. Also, some students rounded off their answers to the nearest hundredth as opposed to the nearest tenth. My preceptor struggled with the idea of not awarding credit for answers in both instances, but after speaking with other course instructors and considering what would be fair to the students that did follow the directions, she decided that credit would not be awarded in either case. This would be a hard lesson for some to learn, but would probably serve as a good learning strategy as I doubt many would make the same mistake again, especially knowing that it would cost them points! Unfortunately I have had to learn a few things the hard way, and although I have rarely made the same mistake twice, I don’t know how I will grade exams when faced with the same situation in my future career as a nurse educator. I definitely have something to think about…
One of the challenging things for both the course instructor and the students in this course is that the class only meets once per week. This means that lots of planning has to be put into making each meeting time productive and efficient. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make for a very forgiving day when exams are administered. Typically, exams in this course are administered during the first half of class time with a short break (10-15 minutes) and then followed by a class lecture in the second half of the class. My preceptor was forgiving in the sense that she chose to lecture on content that will not be heavily tested on the next exam.
After the exam and lectures were all said and done, it was time for a quick break and then off to a faculty meeting. This meeting was interesting because all of the nursing faculty were gathered along with the University Provost to discuss relevant issues and upcoming events. UTA’s faculty work in a shared governance manner, so it was interesting to see how issues come about and get resolved in smaller committees and are then reported back to the faculty for a majority vote. The University Provost presented information about the current use of and future increase in distance education at UTA—which as a graduate student enrolled in a distance learning program, was a topic of particular interest to me :)
After the faculty meeting, I met with my preceptor briefly to talk about both of our thoughts for the day, and discuss the plan for the upcoming week. All in all it was a full day, and I got some good insight as to what it’s like to be an instructor on exam day. This is definitely a role that requires lots of planning, but can surely be very rewarding, especially when students are successful! I am enjoying this practicum so far and am looking forward to whatever comes next! :)
The experience of proctoring an exam gave me some insight into the amount of preparation that is needed on the instructor’s end for an exam, which is far more than I had really ever considered. Because the size of the class is so large, the students were split up into two groups and the exam was administered in two different classrooms. Small details like a sign-in sheet to calculators (for those fun little drug calculations), and numbered exams had to be ready before the exam could even begin. Once students started, my job as a proctor was to keep a close eye on the students, and answer any questions, without of course giving away any answers. Once students had completed their exams, the proctors verified that all pages were intact for each exam, and that students had their names on their drug calculation sheets because they were submitted separately. I organized the exams back into their original order, and helped my preceptor lock away the exams to protect their integrity.
It was interesting and difficult to decide how to grade some of the exams because there were many instances where students had written the correct answer, but did not receive credit for their efforts because they didn’t follow the directions appropriately. For example, students did not receive credit for their answers if they did not show their work. Also, some students rounded off their answers to the nearest hundredth as opposed to the nearest tenth. My preceptor struggled with the idea of not awarding credit for answers in both instances, but after speaking with other course instructors and considering what would be fair to the students that did follow the directions, she decided that credit would not be awarded in either case. This would be a hard lesson for some to learn, but would probably serve as a good learning strategy as I doubt many would make the same mistake again, especially knowing that it would cost them points! Unfortunately I have had to learn a few things the hard way, and although I have rarely made the same mistake twice, I don’t know how I will grade exams when faced with the same situation in my future career as a nurse educator. I definitely have something to think about…
One of the challenging things for both the course instructor and the students in this course is that the class only meets once per week. This means that lots of planning has to be put into making each meeting time productive and efficient. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make for a very forgiving day when exams are administered. Typically, exams in this course are administered during the first half of class time with a short break (10-15 minutes) and then followed by a class lecture in the second half of the class. My preceptor was forgiving in the sense that she chose to lecture on content that will not be heavily tested on the next exam.
After the exam and lectures were all said and done, it was time for a quick break and then off to a faculty meeting. This meeting was interesting because all of the nursing faculty were gathered along with the University Provost to discuss relevant issues and upcoming events. UTA’s faculty work in a shared governance manner, so it was interesting to see how issues come about and get resolved in smaller committees and are then reported back to the faculty for a majority vote. The University Provost presented information about the current use of and future increase in distance education at UTA—which as a graduate student enrolled in a distance learning program, was a topic of particular interest to me :)
After the faculty meeting, I met with my preceptor briefly to talk about both of our thoughts for the day, and discuss the plan for the upcoming week. All in all it was a full day, and I got some good insight as to what it’s like to be an instructor on exam day. This is definitely a role that requires lots of planning, but can surely be very rewarding, especially when students are successful! I am enjoying this practicum so far and am looking forward to whatever comes next! :)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Update on my Teaching Plans
Hello everyone,
Let me start out by saying that the past couple of days have definitely not been my best as I've been battling strep throat, a double ear infection (or is it bilateral? I'm not sure about that...) and an upper respiratory infection. Needless to say I've been pretty useless for the past couple of days. It's a good thing I can't spread germs online!
Tonight is the first night I've actually been able to hold my head up long enough to type something so I wanted to post an update to my teaching project plans. I hope I'm making sense...
The first thing that I am primarily responsible for teaching is the lecture on Nursing Care of the Stroke Patient. It will be an interesting and new experience for me since I will be lecturing in front of over 100 live students. (In all honesty I'm getting nervous just thinking about lecturing to such a big class, but I'm excited at the same time to be reaching so many eager minds :) )
The other part that will be new for me is that my lecture will be recorded and made available to the distance students in the nursing program. When I talked with my preceptor, she said that she already has the necessary information from last year's lecture, but it needs to be re-vamped with new information that was previously omitted. I told her that I would create a power point presentation that re-vamps the "old" info and create new slides that cover Guillan Barre and Myesthenia Crisis. It is essential that the information on these two disease processes be covered briefly but thoroughly as my preceptor mentioned that a large portion of her class last semester missed exam questions pertaining to each topic because the information was not covered in class.
My plan is to create a power point presentation that can be easily viewed by students in the class and those viewing the recorded version online. After creating this ppt, I will have Diane (my preceptor) review the ppt for appropriateness and content validity. If she approves it, I will teach the lecture on Monday March 23rd. It is my intent to involve students during the lecture by possibly incorporating a group activity or case study, and asking questions throughout the lecture. Once I have reviewed the content I will teach, I can decide on what kind of activity would be best to incorporate.
Other teaching opportunities that I intend to seek out include the lab days, where the instructors come together to set up a two day event in which students learn and review the skills and information they will need for their clinical experience in the hospital. The first day is a lecture day covering EKG interpretation, hemodynamics, and info regarding blood transfusions. The second day is more of a skills day, with a set-up similar to an ACLS training. There will be different stations where students learn and are then tested on their skills. I will be responsible for going around with a small group of students to the different stations and possibly responsible for teaching/testing at one of the stations. The responsibilities for the skills lab days will be determined as the date gets closer.
That's about all of the info I have for now, but I will update you as I know more and have a more concrete plan. I hope that gives you some better insight as to what my plans for my teaching project are. Take care everyone.
~cindy
Let me start out by saying that the past couple of days have definitely not been my best as I've been battling strep throat, a double ear infection (or is it bilateral? I'm not sure about that...) and an upper respiratory infection. Needless to say I've been pretty useless for the past couple of days. It's a good thing I can't spread germs online!
Tonight is the first night I've actually been able to hold my head up long enough to type something so I wanted to post an update to my teaching project plans. I hope I'm making sense...
The first thing that I am primarily responsible for teaching is the lecture on Nursing Care of the Stroke Patient. It will be an interesting and new experience for me since I will be lecturing in front of over 100 live students. (In all honesty I'm getting nervous just thinking about lecturing to such a big class, but I'm excited at the same time to be reaching so many eager minds :) )
The other part that will be new for me is that my lecture will be recorded and made available to the distance students in the nursing program. When I talked with my preceptor, she said that she already has the necessary information from last year's lecture, but it needs to be re-vamped with new information that was previously omitted. I told her that I would create a power point presentation that re-vamps the "old" info and create new slides that cover Guillan Barre and Myesthenia Crisis. It is essential that the information on these two disease processes be covered briefly but thoroughly as my preceptor mentioned that a large portion of her class last semester missed exam questions pertaining to each topic because the information was not covered in class.
My plan is to create a power point presentation that can be easily viewed by students in the class and those viewing the recorded version online. After creating this ppt, I will have Diane (my preceptor) review the ppt for appropriateness and content validity. If she approves it, I will teach the lecture on Monday March 23rd. It is my intent to involve students during the lecture by possibly incorporating a group activity or case study, and asking questions throughout the lecture. Once I have reviewed the content I will teach, I can decide on what kind of activity would be best to incorporate.
Other teaching opportunities that I intend to seek out include the lab days, where the instructors come together to set up a two day event in which students learn and review the skills and information they will need for their clinical experience in the hospital. The first day is a lecture day covering EKG interpretation, hemodynamics, and info regarding blood transfusions. The second day is more of a skills day, with a set-up similar to an ACLS training. There will be different stations where students learn and are then tested on their skills. I will be responsible for going around with a small group of students to the different stations and possibly responsible for teaching/testing at one of the stations. The responsibilities for the skills lab days will be determined as the date gets closer.
That's about all of the info I have for now, but I will update you as I know more and have a more concrete plan. I hope that gives you some better insight as to what my plans for my teaching project are. Take care everyone.
~cindy
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Teaching Project Plans
This semester I am doing my teaching practicum with a Critical Care Course Instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). The course is called Nursing of Adults with Complex needs, and is a course for the Senior I students in the BSN nursing program at UTA.
I have several different teaching opportunities this semester. My main teaching project involves giving a class lecture on Nursing Care of the Stroke Patient. I chose to give this lecture because my nursing background is in Critical Care, but I am currently working as a Nurse Liaison for a Rehabilitation Hospital that focuses on patients who have had strokes and other brain injuries. I feel that my experience in working with these patients both in the ICU and in the rehab setting will help me in teaching the BSN nursing students about this topic.
An interesting aspect of this teaching project is that it will involve the use of technology for the benefit of the UTA nursing students that are part of the “Learn Group”. The Learn Group is a group of UTA nursing students who will pursue their BSN via a distance learning program. Each of the lectures given to the nursing students that are part of the traditional BSN program are video-taped and uploaded for the distance learning students to view online.
UTA offers a unique clinical experience for their students because they are one of three institutions in the country that has a Smart Hospital™. “The Smart Hospital™ is a simulated hospital environment complete with state-of-the-science equipment and furnishings. In this facility, nursing students interact with and provide care to a full array of simulated patients who occupy the Emergency Room, ICU, Labor & Delivery (LDRP) suites, pediatric unit, Neo-Natal ICU, adult medical /surgical beds and the large team training resuscitation room. The students learn utilizing simulation technology including: full body interactive patient simulators (like SimMan® and SimBaby™), computerized scenario-based programs and individual trainers for specific skills like starting IV's.” (UTA School of Nursing, 2009)
“The "patients" who populate the Smart Hospital™ are life-sized computerized manikins that actually interact with the learners. Patients include infants, children, adults and even a mother in labor who goes through the labor process and delivers a newborn. Some manikins are static (not interactive) but others are interactive and responsive - they can speak and breathe, have heart sounds and lung sounds, and can progress through the various stages of numerous clinical states from birth through death. In addition, (UTA has) specially trained actors who can serve as patients or family members in clinical teaching scenes. In each clinical scenario, the students are exposed to situations and changes in patient conditions, both subtle and obvious, that they will experience in actual practice. With repeated exposure to these situations, students develop a deeper understanding of clinical conditions and become more adept at critical and clinical thinking. With this foundation, (UTA’s) students move more quickly from novice to expert and in so doing enhance the quality of patient care they provide”. (UTA School of Nursing, 2009)
Among the other teaching opportunities that I will participate in include assisting the course instructor in teaching and reviewing skills for the BSN nursing students in their Pre-Clinical Lab days. The Lab days consist of two eight-hour days at the school and in the Smart Hospital. I am looking forward to all of the teaching experience that I will gain this semester!
~cindy
References:
UTA School of Nursing, (2009). Simulation in nursing education: UT Arlington. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from UT Arlington School of Nursing Web site: http://www.uta.edu/nursing/simulation/smart_hospital.php
I have several different teaching opportunities this semester. My main teaching project involves giving a class lecture on Nursing Care of the Stroke Patient. I chose to give this lecture because my nursing background is in Critical Care, but I am currently working as a Nurse Liaison for a Rehabilitation Hospital that focuses on patients who have had strokes and other brain injuries. I feel that my experience in working with these patients both in the ICU and in the rehab setting will help me in teaching the BSN nursing students about this topic.
An interesting aspect of this teaching project is that it will involve the use of technology for the benefit of the UTA nursing students that are part of the “Learn Group”. The Learn Group is a group of UTA nursing students who will pursue their BSN via a distance learning program. Each of the lectures given to the nursing students that are part of the traditional BSN program are video-taped and uploaded for the distance learning students to view online.
UTA offers a unique clinical experience for their students because they are one of three institutions in the country that has a Smart Hospital™. “The Smart Hospital™ is a simulated hospital environment complete with state-of-the-science equipment and furnishings. In this facility, nursing students interact with and provide care to a full array of simulated patients who occupy the Emergency Room, ICU, Labor & Delivery (LDRP) suites, pediatric unit, Neo-Natal ICU, adult medical /surgical beds and the large team training resuscitation room. The students learn utilizing simulation technology including: full body interactive patient simulators (like SimMan® and SimBaby™), computerized scenario-based programs and individual trainers for specific skills like starting IV's.” (UTA School of Nursing, 2009)
“The "patients" who populate the Smart Hospital™ are life-sized computerized manikins that actually interact with the learners. Patients include infants, children, adults and even a mother in labor who goes through the labor process and delivers a newborn. Some manikins are static (not interactive) but others are interactive and responsive - they can speak and breathe, have heart sounds and lung sounds, and can progress through the various stages of numerous clinical states from birth through death. In addition, (UTA has) specially trained actors who can serve as patients or family members in clinical teaching scenes. In each clinical scenario, the students are exposed to situations and changes in patient conditions, both subtle and obvious, that they will experience in actual practice. With repeated exposure to these situations, students develop a deeper understanding of clinical conditions and become more adept at critical and clinical thinking. With this foundation, (UTA’s) students move more quickly from novice to expert and in so doing enhance the quality of patient care they provide”. (UTA School of Nursing, 2009)
Among the other teaching opportunities that I will participate in include assisting the course instructor in teaching and reviewing skills for the BSN nursing students in their Pre-Clinical Lab days. The Lab days consist of two eight-hour days at the school and in the Smart Hospital. I am looking forward to all of the teaching experience that I will gain this semester!
~cindy
References:
UTA School of Nursing, (2009). Simulation in nursing education: UT Arlington. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from UT Arlington School of Nursing Web site: http://www.uta.edu/nursing/simulation/smart_hospital.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
