Teaching Plan
This teaching plan serves as a roadmap of the steps that will be taken in the teaching session to ensure that the aims and objectives of learning are achieved. The plan identifies the information and proficiencies nursing students need to learn from the topic and how the learning process will be commenced.
Topic and Session Time
The topic that will be covered in the teaching session is “Emergency Nursing Disaster Preparedness”, and the time allocated to cover the topic is 30 minutes.
Learners
The audience for this learning activity will comprise qualified nurses and nursing students from the University. The learners come from diverse cultural backgrounds and hence may demonstrate different learning styles. It is expected that country-specific variations in language use may limit understanding for some learners.
Purpose and Aims
The main purpose of the teaching session is to provide learners with evidence-based knowledge on emergency nursing disaster preparedness. The specific aims include
- creating awareness on nursing disaster preparedness,
- sharing evidence-based knowledge on disaster preparedness,
- explicating the role of nursing in disaster preparedness.
Instructional Objectives
Creative, learner-focussed methods such as discussions and active participation techniques will be used with the view to providing learning experiences that foster the achievement of the stated learning objectives (McDonald, 2013). A PowerPoint presentation will be used throughout the learning session to reinforce understanding, facilitate the teaching and learning experience, and stimulate the learning process (Jones, 2003). The Bloom’s taxonomy of instructional objectives will be used to enable a clear focus on the cognitive (analyzing, synthesizing, and conclusion-drawing capabilities), affective (change of attitude) and psychomotor (body) domains of the learners in order to trigger optimal understanding and reinforcement of knowledge (McDonald, 2013).
Knowledge Assessment
General questions will be asked at the beginning of the teaching session with the view to assessing the learners’ level of understanding on emergency nursing disaster preparedness. The assessment will assist the educator to not only establish existing knowledge gaps, but also to create mental hooks that will serve to anchor the intended instructional concepts (Campbell & Campbell, 2009). Additionally, the assessment will assist the educator to link learners’ prior knowledge to the objectives, proficiencies, and competencies that will be addressed in the teaching session (McDonald, 2013).
Learning Needs
In this context, learning needs are described as the identified gaps between the required capability of learners to demonstrate competence in disaster preparedness and their actual capability prior to the session (McDonald, 2013). The identification of these gaps helps learners to become more focussed on internalising the knowledge and competencies that will assist them to develop the required capability. The learning needs are discussed as follows:
Short-Term Priorities
Short-term priorities include
- identifying existing knowledge gaps with the view to addressing them with evidence-based practices,
- determining the available knowledge base on the role of nursing in disaster preparedness to guide expected learning outcomes,
- identifying the problems associated with disaster preparedness in order to engender a proactive orientation in nursing practice.
Long-Term Priorities
These priorities include
- developing and further embedding the learners’ professional skills and competencies in disaster preparedness,
- increasing the learners’ self-confidence in dealing with disasters,
- ensuring that nurses have the necessary knowledge and competencies to deal with contemporary issues in disaster management.
Barriers to Learning
Owing to the fact that the audience comes from diverse cultural backgrounds and have different learning styles, it may be difficult to ensure that the concepts discussed in the learning session are understood as intended. This barrier will be addressed by giving individualised attention to learners who exhibit comprehension difficulties (Rana & Upton, 2013). Additionally, some learners may find the topic unattractive based on country-specific factors such as absence of disasters in their home countries. This issue will be addressed by ensuring the aims and objectives of the learning session are clearly elaborated to increase motivation and self-esteem.
Environmental Concerns
Since environmental factors shape the learning process, learners will be encouraged to sit in a Modified U or Horseshoe arrangement with the educator occupying the central position. This sitting arrangement encourages cooperative learning activities and ensures that learners are fully engaged in the learning process (Lippman, 2010). All teaching materials (e.g., computers, projectors, whiteboard, and markers) will be prepared prior to the commencement of the session to ensure optimal utilisation of time. Additionally, concerted efforts will be made to ensure the classroom is conducive to the learning process by ensuring appropriate lighting, putting window curtains to minimise distraction, and placing banners/signs at strategic places to direct learners and minimise noise.
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives will be articulated in a clear, concise, and student-centred manner to ensure that the learning session is able to transfer the requisite knowledge and skills to learners. The educator will ensure that the objectives not only follow the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable realistic, and time bound), but are also in alignment with the strategies used to foster learning and the assessment methodologies employed to check the level of understanding (McDonald, 2013). It is expected that learners who complete this session will develop the capacity to:
- Define disaster and disaster preparedness;
- Define disaster nursing;
- Describe the importance of emergency nursing disaster preparedness;
- Classify disaster and delineate the various levels of disaster;
- State the goals of disaster nursing;
- Explain the disaster management cycle;
- Identify the role of nursing in disaster preparedness.
Standard Teaching Plan
Portfolio
The term teaching portfolio signifies “an activity plan and a well-organised collection of course materials, the ultimate aim of which is to enhance the quality of courses through self-reflection” (Chu, Cho, & Hwang, 2015, p. 80). Teaching portfolios are often used in nursing education settings to not only encourage educators to think more intensely about their teaching and the materials that will be included in the course or teaching session, but also to enhance their consciousness and self-reflection concerning teaching and the postulations that direct their teaching practice (Kim & Yazdian, 2014; Oermann, 2003; Sidhu, 2015).
Drawing from these elucidations, the aim of this portfolio is to assist the educator to develop a critical approach to her teaching practicum on emergency nursing disaster preparedness and also to reflect upon the used teaching styles as well as the challenges noted. Lastly, this portfolio allows the educator to illustrate the justifications that were used to not only develop the session content and plan, but also to select the learning and teaching processes (Williams & Jordan, 2007).
Session Content & Plan (Justification)
Teaching Plan & Practicum
The teaching plan provided the educator with a roadmap of the steps or actions that were to be taken to ensure the aims and objectives of the teaching practicum were achieved (McDonald, 2013). The practicum, on the other hand, provided the student teacher with the opportunity to not only practice the art of teaching in the real classroom context (Reising & Devich, 2004), but also to align independent learning tasks with assessment tools with the view to developing professional knowledge and competencies (Heppner, 2004).
Knowledge Assessment
Knowledge assessment was done at the commencement of the teaching session using a pre-test Q&A forum in order to identify what was known to learners concerning the topic of emergency nursing disaster preparedness. The assessment assisted the student teacher to not only identify deficiencies and knowledge gaps on the topic, but also to develop a clear mental picture on how to proceed with the learning process and the categories of knowledge that were important to the learners (Campbell & Campbell, 2009).
Topic Justification
The topic of emergency nursing disaster preparedness was suitable and meaningful due to a multiplicity of reasons, with the most important being the fact that disasters are increasingly becoming routine events due to factors such as global terrorism, adverse weather events (flash floods, mudslides, typhoons), disease outbreaks, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions (Veenema et al., 2015).
Owing to the fact that nurses are at the forefront in helping the victims of these disasters (Labrague, Yboa, McEnroe-Petitte, Lobrino, & Brennan, 2015), it was felt that the topic provided an opportunity for the student teacher to equip learners with the necessary knowledge and evidence-based practices on how to categorise the events and deal with arising care issues. Another justification was nested on the importance of ensuring that nurses understand their role in disaster preparedness to enhance their competencies, skills, and knowledge.
Available literature underscores the need for nurses to understand their role in emergency disaster preparedness with the view to acquiring the requisite knowledge and practicing the necessary skills and competencies beforehand (Jakeway, LaRosa, Cary, & Schoenfisch, 2008). Additionally, the topic was meant to not only orient the learners and provide the necessary background information on disaster nursing and associated goals, but also to assist them in understanding the disaster management cycle with the view to developing a comprehensive understanding of the issue for future application in practice settings (Veenema et al., 2015).
Lastly, the topic resonated well with the currents needs of nursing practice, particularly in terms of developing an evidence-based knowledge base that could be used in practice settings to enhance nursing disaster preparedness and share experiences in dealing with contemporary disasters.
Teaching Styles
Innovative, learner-focussed teaching styles were employed with the view to providing learning experiences that fostered cognitive, affective, as well as psychomotor learner outcomes (Reising & Devich, 2004). For example, educational probing techniques such as puzzlement and redirection were employed to provide the student teacher with the opportunity to guide students in refining or expanding their responses with the view to developing their cognitive abilities on the topic (Blumberg, 2008).
Additionally, the student teacher employed the discussion style to not only promote learning through proactive interaction, but also to encourage critical thinking and optimal learner engagement (Zeng, 2016). These teaching styles were focussed on eliciting core learning outcomes in the cognitive domain, such as knowledge construction, adequate comprehension of the issues under discussion, demonstrated ability to apply the knowledge learned in the teaching session, as well as effective analysis and synthesis of presented content (Ngware, Mutisya, & Oketch, 2012).
A demonstration of disaster categories and levels was done in the teaching session to encourage knowledge reception, response, and characterisation according to the affective domain (Chatoupis, 2015). The blend of different teaching styles not only encouraged active participation but also ensured that the needs of diverse learners were adequately met. The main justification of using the learner-centred teaching strategy was to motivate and engage the students in their own construction of knowledge on disaster preparedness, hence developing their critical thinking capabilities and ensuring maximum retention of knowledge (Blumberg, 2008).
Learning Styles
Learning styles have been defined in the literature as “the ways in which individuals characteristically approach different learning tasks and as a particular set of behaviours and attitudes related to learning context” (Williams, Brown, & Etherington, 2013, p. 973).
Owing to the importance of aligning teaching styles with learning styles (McDonald, 2013), a PowerPoint presentation was conducted to assist visual learners to understand ideas and information through the creation of actual mental messages. Probes and discussions were used to assist auditory learners to understand the contents of the teaching session through hearing and instruction, while demonstrations of the disaster management cycle were undertaken to assist learners with a visual learning orientation to understand the concepts by using their eyes (Campbell & Campbell, 2009).
A combination of these learning styles provided an enabling environment for the learners to accumulate relevant skills and knowledge through active participation, which in turn reinforced the entrenchment of long-term recall, synthesis, and problem-solving skills among the learners (Blumberg, 2008). Available scholarship demonstrates that actively engaged students “tend to learn best and more of what is taught, retain it longer than conventional teaching, appear more satisfied with their classes and improve project quality and performance” (Kyprianidou, Demetriadis, Tsiatsos, & Pombortsis, 2012, p. 84).
Most of the learners demonstrated participative and collaborative learning tendencies, meaning that they were able to relate well with others in the learning process. Participation and collaboration are important in enhancing deeper and insightful learning, reinforcing high order thinking capabilities, and ensuring that learners are able to synthesize and store relevant information in learning contexts (McDonald, 2013).
Learning Objectives
Research is consistent that “clearly delineated, measurable learning objectives guide most educational enterprises today” (Moga & Cabaniss, 2014, p. 537). Learning objectives for the teaching session were written in a clear, concise, and student-centred way to ensure effective transfer of the requisite knowledge (acquisition of information about disaster preparedness and the role of nurses in disaster preparedness), skills (learning how to categorise disasters and delineate disaster levels), and attitudes (changing the way learners think about disaster preparedness by reinforcing evidence-based practices).
The student teacher ensured that the learning objectives were specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound to not only clarify what the learners needed to know and master, but also to guide the teaching process and safeguard their utility in guiding the assessment (McDonald, 2013). Most of the learning objectives in the learning session were short-term in scope and were included to help the learners meet their short-term learning needs such as improving their clinical learning in disaster preparedness and developing the necessary skills and competencies that could be applied in practice environments (Moga & Cabaniss, 2014).
However, some of the learning objectives were intended to fulfil the learners’ long-term needs, particularly in terms developing and embedding their professional skills and competences in disaster preparedness, enhancing their self-confidence and self-efficacy, and ensuring that they developed the necessary knowledge to deal with contemporary issues in disaster management.
Six learning objectives, along with corresponding activities and assessment methods, were identified to act as a guide to the teaching session. The learning objectives were in alignment with the educator’s teaching styles and hence did not present meaningful challenges during their presentation and discussion (Moga & Cabaniss, 2014). Overall, the learning objectives of the teaching session and their coinciding justifications are illuminated in the following subsections.
Define disaster, disaster preparedness, and disaster nursing
This objective ensured that learners developed an adequate understanding of disasters and disaster preparedness to form the basis for further discussion. Using the allocated time of three minutes, the educator used the lecture technique to define disasters as sudden, unplanned natural or artificial (manmade) devastations that cause great damage or loss of life (Nash, 2013), and disaster preparedness as proactive measures taken by professionals to prepare for and minimise the adverse effects of disasters (Jaleway et al., 2008).
Disaster nursing was defined as “the adaptation of professional nursing knowledge, skills and attitude in recognising and meeting the nursing, health and emotional needs of disaster victims” (Disaster nursing, 2011, para. 18). The Q&A technique was used to allow learners to actively participate by recalling and explaining specific scenarios that satisfied the definitions provided. This collaboration and engagement reinforced their critical thinking skills on disasters and disaster preparedness (McDonald, 2013).
Describe the importance of emergency nursing disaster preparedness
The educator employed lecture and discussion techniques to achieve this objective. The three minutes allocated for this objective allowed the student teacher to stimulate student learning through the use of brief discussions on how emergency nursing disaster preparedness allows nurses to have a deliberate and focused plan for responding to a multiplicity of disasters and how preparedness encourages active collaboration in managing the actual disaster (Kuntz, Frable, Qureshi, & Strong, 2008). The questioning strategy used in this section reinforced recall and comprehension of key information, and enabled learners to explain relationships among the units of information with the view to developing general concepts on disaster preparedness (McDonald, 2013).
Classify disasters and delineate the various levels of disaster
The lecture technique was employed to classify disasters based on origin/cause (natural disasters and man-made disasters) and speed of onset (sudden onset disasters and slow onset disasters). This technique allowed the student teacher to not only compliment and clarify text material, but also to arouse interest in the categorisations and expose learners to evidence-based practices (Pajak, 2003).
Recent disasters were used to demonstrate the three levels of disaster (level 1 is when the organisation, agency, or community has the capacity to contain the disaster and respond efficiently using own resources; level II is when the disaster needs assistance from nearby external sources; and level III is when the disaster is of a big magnitude that requires intervention from state-level or even federal agencies) (Labrague et al., 2015).
Here, the demonstration technique assisted the educator to achieve psychomotor and cognitive objectives by using previous events to demonstrate disaster levels (McDonald, 2013). The four minutes allocated to this objective allowed for a Q&A session to check for the level of understanding and reinforce the knowledge learnt through recall (Pajak, 2003).
State the goals of disaster nursing
Discussions and the lecture technique were used to outline the goals of disaster nursing, which were stated as meeting the basic survival needs of populations affected by the disaster, identifying the potential for a secondary disaster, appraising both risks and resources in the environment, correcting inequalities in access to healthcare or appropriate resources, empowering survivors to participate in and advocate for their own health and wellbeing, respecting diversity in individuals and families and to apply this principle in all health promotion activities, and enhancing the highest achievable quality of life for survivors (Chen, Chou, Liao, Ho, & Chung, 2015; Kaplan, Connor, Ferranti, Holmes, & Spencer, 2011; Rokkas & Steenkamp, 2014; Veenema, 2015).
The four minutes allocated for this objective allowed the student teacher to build knowledge through peer discussion and also to expose learners to new evidence-based practices through the lecture technique (Pajak, 2003).
Explain the disaster management cycle
This objective was achieved through a PowerPoint demonstration activity that showed how the components of mitigation (measures that prevent or minimise the consequences of disasters), preparedness (planning, training, and educational activities for issues that cannot be mitigated) and response (the immediate aftermath of a disaster) are interrelated to form the disaster management cycle (Hutchinson et al., 2011; Kaplan et al., 2011; Schmidt et al., 2011).
This was followed by a brief lecture that aimed to reinforce the knowledge learnt through the demonstration activity and expand the learners’ competencies and skills on disaster management. The discussion technique was used to evaluate the knowledge learned and to encourage the reinforcement of knowledge and skills through active collaboration, feedback, participation, and learner engagement (McDonald, 2013).
Identify the role of nursing in disaster preparedness and management
The educator used one minute to lecture the learners on the role of nursing in disaster preparedness, before allowing for collaborative discussions to reinforce understanding. The discussions lasted for two minutes and provided learners with an enabling environment to understand the nursing role in terms of eliminating potential threats that precede a disaster, promoting and protecting the health of populations during a disaster, assisting communities affected by a disaster to recover effectively, leadership collaboration, and leadership efforts in policy and planning (Jakeway et al., 2008; Kaplan et al., 2011; Veenema et al., 2015). The Q&A strategy used to access how the objective was achieved facilitated information recall and reinforcement (Chatoupis, 2015).
Lastly, a four-minute sitting was undertaken to summarise the teaching session and discuss arising issues and challenges. Post-test questions were asked to gauge how the session had impacted the learners’ knowledge on disaster preparedness, after which several clarifications were made to tie the loose ends.
Assessment of Learning & Teaching (Justification)
Lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and questioning forums were the main tools employed by the student teacher to transfer the knowledge, skills, and competencies to learners who attended the teaching session. While most scholars have argued that the lecturing strategy is teacher-centred by virtue of the fact that “the teacher tells and the student listens” (Louis & Harada, 2012, p. 13), its use allowed the educator to not only cover a large amount of content in limited time but also to develop the learners’ listening skills and capabilities (Hennessy, Hernandez, Kieran, & MacLoughlin, 2010).
Additionally, the educator ensured that lectures were always followed by brief student-centred discussions aimed at emphasising the learning component of the practicum and facilitating active participation and collaboration among learners (Bastable, 2013; Hustad & Arntzen, 2013; McDonald, 2013). According to Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning, this learning strategy enabled the audience to acquire and master new knowledge on disaster preparedness by linking the lectures to the discussions in a prearranged and hierarchical manner (Harrison & Gibbons, 2013). The discussions also ensured that learners developed their capacity in reflective thinking, critical thinking, tolerance, as well as self-expression (Crick, 2007).
The demonstration technique was employed during the teaching session to generate interest and enthusiasm in the learning process and also to ensure that students developed an in-depth glimpse of some of the issues related to disaster preparedness (Hennessy et al., 2012; Reid, 2005).
The learning styles demonstrated in the teaching session were visual and auditory, though most learners exhibited participative and collaborative learning tendencies that aligned well with the teaching methods used. These learning styles were instructive in encouraging deeper and insightful understanding of various concepts, reinforcing high order thinking capabilities and successful interpretation of facts, as well as ensuring that learners were able to synthesize and internalise the information, skills, and competencies through internal coding and structuring by the learners (Kim & Yazdian, 2014; McDonald, 2013).
According to the cognitive learning theory, the discussed learning typologies allowed learners to become “active participants in the process of knowledge acquisition and integration” (Yilmaz, 2011, p. 205). Additionally, the learning styles allowed learners to acquire important knowledge on disaster preparedness and also to use their cognitive orientations to process and store the knowledge in line with the cognitive theory of learning. The Horseshoe sitting arrangement enabled learners to collaborate in discussing and responding to the issues, which in turn reinforced their critical thinking capabilities and ensured that sociocultural challenges were significantly blurred (Crick, 2007).
Lastly, Q&A forums and brief discussions were used to not only enhance the learners’ participation and collaboration in the learning process, but also to assess the effectiveness of the teaching session based on outlined learning objectives (McDonald, 2013). These forums employed a face-to-face interrogative dialogue to clarify and crystallise important aspects of the teaching session, provide immediate feedback on various issues of concern to learners, and measure the level of knowledge transfer based on how well learners were able to respond to the questions (Louis & Harada, 2012).
Fieldwork Report (Reflection)
Reflection is an important concept in nursing education and practice as it helps student teachers to integrate theory with practice, gain self-awareness on important precepts of their practicum, and share their practice with others (Cotton, 2001; Suwanbamrung, 2015). Available literature demonstrates that, “through the use of self-reflection, students can take a holistic, individualised approach to learning that challenges the way they think” (Ganzer & Zauderer, 2013, p. 245).
The Gibbs reflective model is used in this section to guide my reflective practice “because it is well known, simple to use and future oriented in that it requires planning for action when such situations arise again” (O’Brien, 2014, p. 316). Each stage of the structured reflection in the Gibbs model (description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusions, and action plan) will feature as a subheading in this section to facilitate adequate understanding of my reflective practice.
Description
This stage of the Gibbs reflective model allows me to describe what happened in my teaching practicum with the view to learning from reflecting on the experience (O’Brien, 2014). The aim of the teaching practicum was to assist students to develop practical teaching practice on a topic of their own choice and understanding. I selected the topic of emergency nursing disaster preparedness due to its practicality in real life contexts and importance in contemporary settings as the world becomes increasingly exposed to potential disasters through the exponential rise of terrorism and other natural calamities (Hutchinson et al., 2011).
The teaching session lasted for 30 minutes and targeted professional nurses and nursing students in a classroom context. Upon reflection, I now acknowledge that the teaching practicum helped me to develop self-confidence in teaching and also to employ active collaborative strategies to achieve consensus among the learners. I am now more confident to handle such topics and to use a multiplicity of pedagogical orientations to transfer and reinforce knowledge among the students. Lastly, the exposure that I received as I led and facilitated learners in discussions about disaster preparedness has enabled me to develop strategies that could be effectively used to establish good working relationships and trigger active cooperation and collaboration in learning contexts.
Feelings
This stage of the Gibbs reflective model enables me to share my thoughts and feelings at the time of the teaching practicum and how I controlled them to ensure success (O’Brien, 2014). I initially felt confused and uncertain about the possibility of using my teaching skills and competencies to transfer and reinforce knowledge among the learners. I felt insecure and unprepared, resulting in elevated levels of anxiety and stress (Ganzer & Zauderer, 2013).
However, I felt more confident after I interacted with the learners during the introduction session and my fears transitioned to feelings of ability and comfort in teaching the class. Upon reflection, I can say that prior preparation and confidence building skills are of immense importance in dealing with negative thoughts and feelings that may precede a teaching session. This is consistent with Felicilda-Reynaldo and Utley (2015), who argue that teaching success for first-time teachers comes from their propensity and capacity to shift their feelings of inadequacy and confusion into proactive beliefs of competence and masterly of the subject matter.
Evaluation
This stage of the Gibbs reflective model allows me to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching experience using an empathetic lens and a critical examination of own personhood (O’Brien, 2014; Sumner, 2010). Through the teaching experience, I was able to enhance my self-confidence and self-efficacy in teaching learners from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. I also developed an in-depth appreciation of how teaching styles such as discussions, probing, questioning, lecturing, and demonstration could be used to not only transfer knowledge, skills and competencies to learners, but also to establish and reinforce collaborative and active learning environments.
Additionally, I learnt to employ feedback and Q&A sessions to assess how the styles used to impart knowledge impacted the learners’ level of understanding and recall. However, some of the questions asked by the learners at the end of the session reinforced fears of confusion with regards to the set learning objectives. Furthermore, a few learners demonstrated some discomfort in engaging in collaborative discussions due to their preferred learning styles. Overall, the teaching experience was a huge success based on positive remarks received from the facilitator as well as the appreciation demonstrated by students at the end of the session.
Analysis
This stage of the Gibbs reflective model demands the educator to make sense of the teaching experience (O’Brien, 2014), particularly in terms of using available literature to create meaning of the discussed topic and the strategies used to transfer knowledge (Mantzoukas, 2008). Lectures and discussions were used to help learners to develop an adequate understanding of disaster preparedness. Adequate preparation and masterly of the issues included in the teaching practicum enabled me to use these strategies to develop learners’ listening skills and facilitate active participation and collaboration within the classroom context.
Available literature demonstrates that these teaching strategies are effective in encouraging student participation and collaboration (Hustad & Arntzen, 2013; McDonald, 2013), and also to develop the learners capacity in reflective and critical thinking, tolerance, and self-expression (Crick, 2007; Sumner, 2010). PowerPoint demonstrations were used to encourage visual learners to acquire knowledge on disaster preparedness, which is consistent with the assertion that such visual aids help individuals to learn by sight (Jones, 2003). Upon reflection, I can say that the teaching practicum was successful in developing the competencies and skills of learners according to available evidence-based practices, and also in developing their confidence and self-efficacy on disaster preparedness.
Conclusions
This component explores the issues that could have been included to enhance the success of the teaching practicum (O’Brien, 2014). Although the teaching experience was hugely successful, it is my conviction that additional time could have enabled me to discuss the issues further and also to provide more leeway for learners to engage in critical discussion and analysis. Additionally, an expanded time limit could have enabled me to employ other relevant teaching styles (e.g., case studies, coaching, and delegation) to reinforce adequate understanding.
Although the learning objectives were adequately met, I developed a perception that the application component was not successfully met. Available literature demonstrates that the acquisition and reinforcement of evidence-based practice call for contexts where nursing students and professionals are able to apply the knowledge learnt in the classroom to real-life situations or simulations of real events (Mantzoukas, 2008).
Action Plan
The final component of Gibbs reflective model helps me to explain how the learning session can be better managed if such an opportunity arise again in the future (Bulman, Lathlean, & Gobbi, 2014; O’Brien, 2014). Here, it is important to expound on the need for more time (e.g., 45 minutes) to allow for an in-depth exploration and discussion of relevant materials. Although the teaching styles employed were hugely successful, it is advantageous to include other strategies in the future to ensure that learners are able to engage more in discussions and actual case studies with the view to expanding the scope of knowledge.
Additionally, it would be appropriate to include a practical element in future teaching sessions to ensure that students are able to relate the evidence-based practices to actual practice situations. Overall, it was my conviction that the teaching experience provided me with an excellent opportunity to sharpen my teaching skills and capabilities for deployment in real classroom contexts.
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