Transforming Nursing Education Through Problem Based Learning

With the growing interest in problem-based learning among nurse educators worldwide comes the need for a book that will be a comprehensive guide and resource for anyone considering its implementation in nursing education. This book is that resource. Its strength is its integration of relevant theory, research, and practical information. It is an invaluable resource for nursing faculty contemplating the use of the problem-based learning model.

This book provides first-hand guidance for those involved in nurse education who are interested in the introduction of this exciting new strategy for teaching and learning. The suitability of problem-based learning (PBL) as a philosophy for nurse education in the new millennium is discussed through a series of reflective accounts by educationalists who have successfully implemented PBL. Topics covered include the nature of PBL, developing a problem-based curriculum, facilitor preparation, distance learning and assessment for PBL.

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Like most good educational interventions, problem-based learning (PBL) did not grow out of theory, but out of a practical problem. Medical students were bored, dropping out, and unable to apply what they had learned in lectures to their practical experiences a couple of years later. Neurologist Howard S. Barrows reversed the sequence, presenting students with patient problems to solve in small groups and requiring them to seek relevant knowledge in an effort to solve those problems. Out of his work, PBL was born. The application of PBL approaches has now spread far beyond medical education. Today, PBL is used at levels from elementary school to adult education, in disciplines ranging across the humanities and sciences, and in both academic and corporate settings. This book aims to take stock of developments in the field and to bridge the gap between practice and the theoretical tradition, originated by Barrows, that underlies PBL techniques.

It is by now an obvious observation that much of the world depends on information technology. Our infrastructure relies on IT: our buildings, finance systems, roads, airplanes, cars, televisions, washing machines and bread makers; as does much of what we do: our banking, learning and communicating. Almost everyone today uses information technology, but few know how it works, and very few indeed understand the mysteries of how to build new systems. This imbalance between ‘users’ and ‘knowers’ grows worse every year. With the ‘dot com collapse’, the number of students studying computers, and information technology more generally, has been shrinking steadily. In the long run, this trend is not likely to be a good thing, either in Australia or elsewhere. What can we do about this? IT courses worldwide report falling enrolments and high attrition. The glamour of computing – seemingly effortless graphics and animations, and the management of massive computations and data sets – is at odds with the reality of how difficult it can be to coax computers into exhibiting these advanced capabilities; and many students find the transition from the dream to reality too difficult to master. One possibility is to reconceptualize both what and how we teach, making IT more attractive to students without sacrificing the rigour and depth needed to produce graduates capable of life-long learning against the backdrop of rapidly evolving technologies. The Faculty of Information Technology at QUT has long sought to develop curricula and pedagogies that make this possible. The results of this search show in innovative curricula, real-world engagement, and a dominant position in our local market for IT education. QUT’s strategic plan, the ‘QUT Blueprint’*, exhorts the University to be bold, experiment, and engage with the real world in order to ensure we remain relevant and attuned to the needs of both our graduates and the industries that will employ them. The contents of this book report on a significant part of our response to this challenge. I’m honoured to be able to write this preface only a year after I joined QUT; the work herein is a credit to my two predecessors as Deans of the Faculty, Professors Dennis Longley and John Gough, and to all the staff of the Faculty, both academic and professional, and current and past. Hopefully it will also help to inspire a new generation of staff and students. To you, the reader, this book is best thought of as a snapshot of a long quest to discover the secrets of how best to approach the moving feast that is IT education. It will be of interest to those looking to develop new curricula of their own, or benchmark their own journeys of discovery. We should never imagine that we have all the answers; indeed, it’s our hope that readers will learn from, and improve on, what we have achieved, and share their insights with us in return, so that the co-evolution of ICT teaching around the world can be facilitated.

The practicalities of implementing IBL can be a daunting prospect. Using a wealth of examples, relevant theories, models and research, this book takes the reader through the logistics of every stage of implementation.

"Tabbner's Nursing Care: Theory and Practice is the only Australian and New Zealand textbook written specifically for the enrolled nurse student. The new 5th edition of this best-selling text has been fully revised and updated throughout to reflect the content of the new National Curriculum. Unit 1 The evolution of nursing Unit 2 The health care environment Unit 3 Cultural diversity and nursing practice Unit 4 Promoting psychosocial health in nursing practice Unit 5 Nursing individuals throughout the lifespan Unit 6 The nursing process Unit 7 Assessing health Unit 8 Important component of nursing care Unit 9 Health promotion and nursing care of the individual Appendices."--Provided by publisher.

Despite astronomical growth in the number of online nursing programs currently available, little support is provided for faculty on how to teach in that environment. While most assume that the knowledge and skills required for classroom teaching are readily translatable to teaching online, significant differences exist. Affordances provided by the online environment promote reflection and engaging with the content in a deep and meaningful way that factors in adult students’ strengths as self-directed, motivated, and goal-driven learners. This resource provides step-by-step instructions for RN-BSN, masters, DNP, and PhD faculty on how to teach online effectively, engage their students, and foster success for both student and teacher. Teaching Online Courses in Nursing offers practical information on every aspect of teaching an online course. Foundational educational theories and concepts including new insights from cognitive psychology are explained and linked in such a way that operationalizing them during course design makes good sense. The core sections of the text focus on online course design that includes drafting course objectives and a syllabus and crafting discussion questions or cases. Key to teaching an online course is understanding and being comfortable with facilitation strategies in order to maintain a balance between being present in the course and not getting in the way of learning. Worksheets with guiding questions, discussion tracking tools, and other instructor resources will assist readers in developing the best approach for designing and teaching a specific online course. Key Features: Worksheets to guide each step of the process of designing and teaching a course online Includes best practices in online education and the latest research Features the outcomes-based approach of Wiggins and McTighe (2005), re-conceptualized for online course development Take-Away summaries at the end of each chapter sum up the key points