Learning Theories and Diversity

 

Assessment

Instructions

Note: Assessments in this course build on each other and must be completed in sequential order.

It is important to consider the role of diversity and learning environments when selecting appropriate theories and approaches for a desired learning outcome. For this assessment, you will implement these considerations in an educational environment of your choosing.

Preparation

• Take time to review educational theories that you have studied in prior courses or used in your work. Do additional research on educational theories and approaches as necessary.
• Optional: Practice implementing these considerations in the Vila Health challenge provided in the Resources before beginning your work here.

Instructions

For this assessment, you will create a 5–7-page high-level teaching plan in which you do the following:

• Select a topic for a course that you would like to teach in an educational environment. (For example, maybe you would like to be a nursing instructor in an institution of higher learning, a staff development educator in a clinical facility, or a patient educator in a hospital.) Briefly describe your course and the environment that you will utilize for teaching. Also describe the intended audience for your course.
• Select an educational theory that you could use to guide the development of your course. Describe the key points of the theory you selected and explain why you think this theory fits the topic, audience, and context of your course.

  Be sure to cite textbooks or articles from peer-reviewed journals to support your choice.

• Identify and discuss potential diversity in the group that you anticipate teaching. (Diversity can include multiculturalism, age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, Limited English Proficiency (LEP), or other cultural barriers that you feel could impact your learning environment.)
• Use current research to describe how you will address these issues in your learning environment.
• Describe how you will manage conflict in the classroom that may arise from the anticipated diversity among learners.

Additional Requirements

• Format: 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced in Microsoft Word.
• Length: 5–7 pages, plus a title page and a references page.
• Use correct APA format, including running head, page numbers, and a title page.
• Writing should be free of grammar and spelling errors that distract from content.

 

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Appraise the influence of learner’s culture, gender, and experiences on teaching and learning.

  Describe the diversity of an intended group of learners.

• Competency 2: Apply educational theory and evidence-based teaching practices when implementing teaching strategies.

  Identify a learning theory that applies to a selected educational topic and audience.

• Competency 3: Apply a variety of teaching strategies appropriate to diverse learner needs, content, and desired learner outcomes.

  Justify the application of a learning theory in a particular context.

• Competency 4: Integrate best practices for classroom management

  Describe evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom.

• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with the expectations of a nursing education professional.

  Support a position with effective written communication; use correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, and APA style and formatting.

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Assessment

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Context
As you start this course, it seems very appropriate to consider where we have been as a profession, both in nursing and nursing education, as well as where you have been and are going as a professional. This seems especially important at this time in health care, where more is demanded of nurses and, as the Institute of Medicine has urged us in the subtitle of the report The Future of Nursing (

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010), we are to be “Leading Change, Advancing Health.”

A multitude of forces beyond our control, including economic and political forces, may shape the profession of nursing; as nurse educators, however, it is our work to provide the educational foundations needed for patient care, for improved health status for all, and for a well-prepared workforce of nurses.

The Nurse Educator Role

When we say we are nurse educators, the image that comes to mind for many is that of a nursing instructor in an undergraduate nursing program. The work that person is engaged in is teaching others how to be nurses. While that is certainly one aspect of the nurse educator role, the setting and the work may vary greatly and have expanded in recent years. Today, nurse educators are also staff development specialists, clinical nurse educators, nurse navigators, patient educators, researchers, and community health educators, to name a few of the many options available.

Some nurse educators, especially in university settings, will hold joint appointments as nursing faculty in a college of nursing and as clinicians in the university hospital. Other educators will work exclusively in a hospital or community setting, educating staff, patients, or community. Regardless of the setting, the role of educator encompasses more than teaching; there is also an expectation for scholarship and for service.

References

Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Zorn, C. R. (2010). Becoming a nurse educator: Dialogue for an emerging career. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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Learning Theories and Diversity Scoring Guide

CRITERIA	NON-PERFORMANCE	BASIC	PROFICIENT	DISTINGUISHED
Identify a learning theory that applies to a selected educational topic and audience.	Does not identify a learning theory that applies to a selected educational topic and audience.	Identifies a learning theory, but the theory does not align to a selected educational topic and its audience.	Identifies a learning theory that applies to a selected educational topic and audience.	Identifies a learning theory that applies to a selected educational topic and audience; supports decision with literature explicitly connecting the diverse group’s needs to peer-reviewed literature.
Justify the application of a learning theory in a particular context.	Does not justify the application of a learning theory in a particular context.	Explains incompletely how a learning theory applies to a particular context.	Justifies the application of a learning theory in a particular context.	Justifies why the application of a learning theory is the most appropriate for a particular context; considers alternate theories and why they are less applicable.
Describe the diversity of an intended group of learners.	Does not describe the diversity of an intended group of learners.	Identifies but does not adequately describe the diversity of an intended group of learners.	Describes the diversity of an intended group of learners.	Describes the diversity of an intended group of learners; explains why that diverse factor is significant and references peer-reviewed research that explores teaching and learning with this population.
Describe evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom.	Does not describe evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom.	Identifies but does not adequately describe evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom.	Describes evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom.	Describes multiple evidence-based strategies for managing conflicts that could arise in a diverse classroom; supports descriptions with peer-reviewed literature.
Support a position with effective written communication; use correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, and APA style and formatting.	Does not support a position with effective written communication; uses incorrect spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, and APA style and formatting.	Supports a position with ineffective written communication, with incorrect spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and/or APA style and formatting.	Supports a position with effective written communication; uses correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, and APA style and formatting.	Supports a position with effective, professional-quality written communication; uses correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics, and APA style and formatting, free of errors.