In order to create desirable learning outcomes for nursing students, it is important that nurse educators are aware of instructional best practices and ways in which the can utilize them in educational settings. Although the primary purpose of education is to improve students’ literacy levels, instructors should also aim to improve their student’s analysis, evaluation, and critical thinking ability ( Sharma, 2017). As a profession, nursing requires that learners attain important clinical knowledge and practical skills that can help save the lives of patients. The need to prepare for real-life situations presents a case for constant self-education on instructional best practices for educators. Problem-based learning (PBL), high-fidelity simulation, and concept mapping are there evidence-based teaching strategies which help create effective learning opportunities, are able to align with individual learning styles, and help create generationally and culturally diverse lessons for learners.
Problem-based Learning (PBL)
Problem-based learning, one of the most common instructional strategies used by nursing educators, involves the use of patient scenarios to inspire students to obtain and apply information thus enabling them to solve various problems ( Xu, 2016) . In PBL, nursing instructors present students with believable and practical patient scenarios and afterward asking questions that the students are expected to answer. Owing to the practicability of the PBL strategy, nursing students are expected to provide all-inclusive solutions to the case scenarios. The PBL process helps create effective learning opportunities by allowing learners to grow skills that are essential for future practice. It also improves the learners’ critical thinking processes by allowing them to research and review past literature related to specific topics.
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Problem-based learning is beneficial to learners with varied learning styles. There are three major types of learners based on their learning styles: visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners ( Kharb, et al., 2013 ). PBL appeals to the three types of learners. Firstly, visual learners are able to access and understand images, literature, or graphics in their quest to find solutions to the problem scenarios created by their instructors. Secondly, PBL allows auditory learners to benefit through immersions in group discussions and verbal instructions. Thirdly, because PBL is ideally a hands-on teaching strategy, kinesthetic learners are able to comprehend subject material by engaging in the tactile representation of classroom information, that is, they are able to partake in practical scenarios that are reflective of real-life workplaces. As a teaching strategy, PBL enables students to tackle authentic clinical problems and as a result, they become additionally motivated, reasonable, knowledgeable, and self-driven.
In today’s workplaces, the implementation of cultural and generational diversity is essential for improved performance levels. It is recommended that healthcare practitioners are provided with equal opportunity regardless of age and cultural background. In learning environments, nursing instructors can, therefore, prepare learners by presenting practical learning scenarios where they learn to handle clients from multiple cultures and generations.
High-Fidelity Simulation
Simulation has and continues to act as an important aspect of nursing curricula for tens of years in the past, and has been found to possess the highest potential for student outcomes compared to other teaching methods ( La Cerra, et al., 2019) . Simulation as a nursing teaching strategy is, "the art and science of recreating a clinical scenario in an artificial setting” ( Xu, 2016, p. 54). As a tool, high-fidelity simulation in teaching is important because it helps instructors create realistic situations where students can either impersonate the caregivers or the patients themselves. Xu (2016) further adds that the teaching strategy through the mimicking of patient care environments permits knowledge to be applied and presented more directly as opposed to other traditional training methods.
As a training strategy, high-fidelity simulation has been found to facilitate education topics to be determined by the needs of the students themselves as opposed to their patients, and that it allows the instructors to present objective feedback to their students ( Decker, et al., 2013) . In addition, other studies conclude that the strategy helps students to become more confident in their abilities and insecurities, meaning that they are able to handle adverse situations appropriately in their practice ( Berragan, 2011) . The use of reflective learning in high-fidelity simulation also ensures that students are able to sharpen their recollective abilities. The strategy, therefore, helps create effective learning opportunities for students by allowing them to gain confidence in their abilities, meaning that they become more open to correction and additional learning.
Although high-fidelity is beneficial to students regardless of learning styles, research has shown that it is largely preferred by kinesthetic learners. According to Tutticci (2016) , students who enjoy the active experimentation involved by simulating practical scenarios tend to prefer the technique more than other teaching strategies. However, the study also showed that that high-fidelity simulation is highly valued by third-year students regardless of their personal learning styles. In particular, millennials have been found to rely on education transmission through the simulation of healthcare environments. The research, therefore, presents a complex situation for nursing instructors who prefer to implement generationally diverse lessons. They may find it hard to teach older students because such practitioners already possess vast experiences with healthcare environments. Nevertheless, as the aforementioned study was based on a culturally-diverse sample population, there seem to be no cultural limitations that exist with the use of high-fidelity simulation. In the future, instructors can, hence, aim to develop high-fidelity lessons that are both relevant and practical to older students in order to achieve generational diversity in their practice.
Concept Mapping
Xu (2016, p. 55) defines concept mapping as, “a technique that allows students to understand the relationships between ideas by creating a visual map of the connections.” By basing their learning on ideas that they already possess, students are able to connect these existing ideas to new ones through the logical organization of the information. The strategy has been found to improve learner motivation by encouraging them to create visual ideas. In the process, students are able to analyze and assess information through the processes of critical thinking.
Concept mapping’s primary objective is to enable the students to learn new concepts by connecting them with older ones. This way, the students do not end up relying on their instructor’s knowledge but rather on their own abilities to recall and apply past knowledge to new ideas. Today, concept mapping as an instructor strategy has been eased by the presence of mobile phone applications that have ensured that students fail to primarily rely on their textbooks and instead discover detailed care plans for individual patients.
As a strategy, concept mapping appeals to visual learners. Through the use of images and maps, students are able to understand various concepts as opposed to the overreliance on theoretical knowledge characterized by traditional teaching methods. Nevertheless, the strategy can be used to create diverse lessons by allowing learners to tackle concepts through group work activities. Through such interactions, students from multiple cultures and generations can be able to engage in ways that portray the true nature of diverse workplaces.
In conclusion, it is important that nurse educators are aware of instructional best practices and ways in which they can utilize them in educational settings . As a profession, nursing requires that learners attain important clinical knowledge and practical skills that can help save the lives of patients. Problem-based learning (PBL), high-fidelity simulation, and concept mapping are three of the best methods through which nurse instructors can create effective learning opportunities, align with individual learning styles, and create generationally and culturally diverse educational content.
References
Berragan, L. (2011). Simulation: an effective pedagogical approach for nursing?. Nurse Education Today , 31 (7), 660-663.
Decker, S., Fey, M., Sideras, S., Caballero, S., Boese, T., Franklin, A. E., ... & Borum, J. C. (2013). Standards of best practice: Simulation standard VI: The debriefing process. Clinical Simulation in Nursing , 9 (6), S26-S29.
Kharb, P., Samanta, P. P., Jindal, M., & Singh, V. (2013). The learning styles and the preferred teaching—learning strategies of first year medical students. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR , 7 (6), 1089.
La Cerra, C., Dante, A., Caponnetto, V., Franconi, I., Gaxhja, E., Petrucci, C., ... & Lancia, L. (2019). Effects of high-fidelity simulation based on life-threatening clinical condition scenarios on learning outcomes of undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ open , 9 (2), e025306.
Sharma, R. (2017). Emerging innovative teaching strategies in nursing. JOJ Nurs Health Care , 1 (2).
Tutticci, N., Coyer, F., Lewis, P. A., & Ryan, M. (2016). High-fidelity simulation: Descriptive analysis of student learning styles. Clinical Simulation in Nursing , 12 (11), 511-521.
Xu, J. H. (2016). Toolbox of teaching strategies in nurse education. Chinese Nursing Research , 3 (2), 54-57.
