EXAMINING TEACHING STRATEGIES1
Examining Teaching Strategies
Kathi Johnson
Grand CanyonUniversity
EXAMINING TEACHING STRATEGIES1
Examining Teaching Strategies
Peanut butter and jelly, cartoons, and slumber parties are not typically what come to mind when one thinks of an adult lunch, television program, or social function. Tastes change with age; the way we think and do things is altered as part of the natural maturation process. Basic reasoning would then suggest that these differences between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood extend to the learning process. Adult learners have different goals and motivators and the effective instructor must utilize teaching strategies that address these guidelines. This paper will discuss two such strategies and present the most and least advantageous situations for their use.
Considerations
Several considerations must be taken into account when choosing a teaching strategy. First is the content and objectives of the lesson. For instance, cognitive information should be presented in a completely different manner than psychomotor skills. The next item to consider is the cognitive level of the students. Beginning learners will have yet to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to benefit from some application exercises. Other factors to take into account are the underlying philosophy of the school program to ensure alignment with the course and available resources for the chosen strategy to ensure feasibility(Billings & Halstead, 2009).
Once these considerations have been addressed, the instructor should find multiple available strategies to meet the needs of the course and of a diverse learning group. Additionally, the same strategy utilized repeatedly may become boring and lose its effectiveness over time. By varying appropriate strategies, the instructor reduces the risk of having the content no longer appeal to the learner(Billings & Halstead, 2009).
Lecture Strategies
Lectures are the oldest and most common educational technique utilized with adult learners (Ota, DiCarlo, Burts, Laird, & Gioe, 2006). This technique is often used to present new material, clarify and focus concepts, present relevancy of new information, and offer insight that may not be available otherwise (Billings & Halstead, 2009; Ota et al., 2006). According to Knowles, adult learners are goal-oriented, relevancy-oriented, and practical (Lieb, 1991). The lecture format can meet these needs by organizing material in a manner so that large amounts of information can be presented in a limited time-frame and high-light key elements of pertinence.
Advantages
Lectures are a time-efficient, thought provoking method of stimulating self-learning of specified areas of content. The creative instructor can incorporate various elements in to the lecture process to meet the needs of various learning styles and facilitate an interactive process, such as outlines and lists for logical learners, graphs and illustrations for visual learners, and guided discussion for auditory, linguistic, and social learners(Learning Styles Online, n.d.). The lecture method offers maximum educator control and limited threat to students (OhioStateUniversity [OSU], n.d.).
Undergraduate nursing education requires the application of many new concepts. According to Bloom’s taxonomy, the learner must first achieve knowledge and comprehension of this material before being able to apply this knowledge in a functional situation (Imel, 1994). Lectures help meet the needs of these beginning levels of learning and lay the foundation for advancing to the latter stages of learning.
Disadvantages
Lectures are a passive learning technique that generally limit student involvement and fail to hold learner attention for extended periods of time (Billings & Halstead, 2009). Knowles also suggest that adult learners seek autonomy which is not supported by the lecture format (OSU, n.d.). If extensive effort is not taken to incorporate multiple medium into the lecture, this method can fail to meet the needs of students whose learning style is not auditory. Finally, lectures are an inadequate strategy for meeting the affective and psychomotor domains of Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Partusch, 2007).
Undergraduate nursing programs strive to produce competent nurses that can think critically and apply that knowledge to practice. This includes satisfactory demonstration of both hands-on and critical thinking skills, such as in a clinical setting. While a great source of baseline information, lectures are unable to assist students in meeting the educational requirements of analysis, application, and synthesis (OSU, n.d.).
Collaborative Learning
The collaborative approach to instruction (also known as cooperative learning) places students in groups or teams to complete assignments and meet learning goals. Research has shown “that the beneficial outcomes of cooperative efforts include positive interdependence, promotive interaction, positive relationship, psychological adjustment and social competence, and effort to achieve” (OSU, n.d., Sect. 4). Knowles’ principles suggest that adult learners are autonomous and self-directed beings (Lieb, 1991). The collaborative approach fosters this need and shifts responsibility for learning to the student. Specific examples of strategies that fall under the collaborative category can include roll-playing, peer learning, simulation, case-studies, debates, and learning cells.
Advantages
Collaborative learning offers a vast array of options for instruction that reach beyond the passive lecture process. “Research shows that active learning improves students' understanding and retention of information and can be very effective in developing higher order cognitive skills such as problem solving and critical thinking” (Merlot Pedagogy, n.d., para. 1). Nursing is a dynamic process that requires effective communication and teamwork – often a competency of undergraduate programs. Collaborative learning offers students the chance to practice and perfect these skills prior to entering the workforce.
Unlike lectures, collaborative learning has its place in both the didactic and clinical portions of nursing education. Role playing can be used to either help prepare students to address difficult patient scenarios or to review and better the response in a particular situation. Peer learning is a similar technique that can be used pre or post clinical experiences or to review lecture content. Simulations are ideal for allowing students to experience things that they are not guaranteed to see in a real-life setting during the program, but that they will be expected to be able to handle on graduation. Simulation is often used in conjunction with case-studies. Debates and learning cellsare most appropriate for the classroom environment and offer the students a chance to verbalize what they have learned and hear other students’ perspectives.
Disadvantages
Group learning requires teamwork. An old proverb states: “You are only as strong as your weakest link”. If one or more members of the team fail to participate equally, other members may become discouraged and the team learning as a whole will suffer. Additionally, those learners who prefer a solitary environment may find collaborative learning uncomfortable, which may hinder their learning curve. The combination of various learning styles and levels of experience within the group can prove to be a barrier to this teaching method.
While effective teamwork is essential to the nursing profession, individual comprehension is equally important. Collaborative projects should not be the sole teaching strategy used for evaluation as this may not accurately depict what individual students have learned. It is also probable that if utilized too frequently, students may feel that their individual learning is being compromised.
Conclusion
Adults are a distinct group of learners with needs that vary from traditional classroom instructional. Adult learners who are exposed to methods that support those needs suggested in Knowles’ andragogy are more apt to comprehend and apply the material that is being taught (Ota et al., 2006). Using a combination of multiple strategies in the classroom, such as the passive lecture and active collaborative learning, the instructor enhances the learning experience by addressing the various learning styles of the students and helping them advance to the highest level of learning.
References
Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2009). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders.
Imel, S. (1994). Guidelines for working with adult learners. ERIC Digest. Retrieved from
Learning Styles Online. (n.d.).
Lieb, S. (1991, Fall). Principles of adult learning. VISION. Retrieved from
Merlot Pedagogy. (n.d.).
OhioStateUniversity. (n.d.). Classroom strategies. Retrieved from
Ota, C., DiCarlo, C. F., Burts, D. C., Laird, R., & Gioe, C. (2006, December). Training and the needs of adult learners. Journal of Extension, 44. Retrieved from
Partusch, M. E. (2007). Assessment and evaluation strategies. In Nursing education: Foundations for practice excellence (pp. 213-229). Retrieved from