What kind of learners are in our classrooms?
To successfully motivate and keep students accountable, we need to focus on the type of student that we are teaching. When you look at the developmental level of our students, they are adults. Therefore, we should be following the adult learning theories when talking about our class and implementing strategies around that. Do our students know how to be adult learners and to control their learning? That is something we must learn how to teach them to have the outcomes we desire and successfully meet our goals. Adult learning theories To better understand adult learners, several theories and principles provide insights. These statements are supported by Knowles Learning Theory.
§ § Need to know why they need to learn something § Need to build on their experience § Want their training to be problem focused
Are ready to learn if training solves an immediate problem § Learn best when motivation comes intrinsically § Need to feel responsible for their learning
Encouraging and accommodating adult learners Faculty will often say that these statements do not reflect the majority of the students in their classroom. I remember one nurse educator who said, “ if all my students possessed these qualities, teaching would be easy! ” Nursing students commonly focus on passing, and not on learning. As faculty in higher education, we assume that as adults our students will value these principles, but we must consider if they have ever been taught to be adult learners. Teaching students the process of metacognition and self-regulation allows an individual to be reflective in their learning so that they can develop solutions without requiring interventions from others. Showing students how to recognize their knowledge gaps, set goals to fill the gaps, and use self-reinforcement of the actions needed to accomplish those goals builds the autonomy and control that are a pathway to success. Studies have shown that students who use self-regulation are more likely to practice it independently, developing a habit that supports lifelong learning. As an educator, teaching self-regulation involves supporting students with conscious reflection to identify knowledge gaps. This is accomplished by regularly using low-stakes quizzing, think-pair-share, and free recall, to name a few techniques. After the gaps are identified, goals and remediation actions can be put into place. Consider, as you are teaching about acute kidney injury, you ask the class what they recall about kidney function. Students are asked to pull out a blank sheet of paper and write down everything they remember. After comparing their paper to their classmates’, they develop a study plan to review the areas they are unclear on. Eventually, it will become a routine.
Here are some additional teaching strategies that support the development of self-regulation.
Delay of gratification Post exam grades in a timely manner, but provide test review several days after the exam. During this time, students will teach themselves about the things they were unsure of.
Model behaviors Think out loud when reviewing case studies, complex practice exam items, and learning activities. Verbalize for your students how a nurse thinks.
Learning strategies Query the students about when, why, and how a thinking strategy should be used. Consider, for example, how the rules of prioritization apply (ABC, Maslow’s hierarchy, acute versus chronic, etc.).
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