Towards effective group-work in nurse education

Small group learning: graduate health students' views of challenges and benefits

Abstract Background: For health care professionals, particularly nurses, the need to work productively and efficiently in small groups is a crucial skill required to meet the challenges of the contemporary health-care environment. Small group work is an educational technique that is used extensively in nurse education. The advantage of group work includes facilitation of deep, active and collaborative learning. However, small group work can be problematic and present challenges for students. Many of the challenges occur because group work necessitates the coming together of collections of individuals, each with their own personalities and sets of experiences. Aim: This study aimed to identify challenges and benefits associated with small group work and to explore options for retaining the positive aspects of group work while reducing or eliminating the aspects the students experienced as negative. Method: Online survey; thematic analysis. Results: Over all, students experienced a range of challenges that necessitated the development of problem-solving strategies. However, they were able to elucidate some enjoyable and positive aspects of group work. Implications for teaching and learning are drawn from this study. Conclusion: The ability to work effectively in small groups and teams is essential for all health care workers in the contemporary health environment. Findings of this study highlight the need for educators to explore novel and effective ways in which to engage nurses in group work.

The interrelationships between student approaches to learning and group work

BACKGROUND AND AIM

As part of the process of nursing students becoming 'work ready' within future health care teams, students need the skills to work collaboratively. In higher education, establishing group work assignments is a teaching method to develop group work skills. Not only is group work an important teaching method to develop effective group work skills but it is also used to activate deep learning. However, to date, there has been a lack of research on the impact of group work on student approaches to learning. This study aimed to examine the interrelationships between students, group work characteristics, and their approaches to learning.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

A survey design was used, before and after a targeted academic skills development intervention, which had a specific focus on the development of group work skills. The sample involved first year undergraduate nursing students undertaking a Bachelor of Nursing programme at a regional university in Australia. A total of 92 students completed the pre-survey, and 102 students completed the post-survey.

METHOD

Data were collected using quantitative surveys.

RESULTS

Metacognitive awareness was found to best predict a deep approach to learning. Young age and experiencing discomfort in group work were two predictors of a surface approach to learning.

CONCLUSION

Findings indicate that nurse educators should develop strategies that support students' metacognitive awareness in relation to group work, and also support those students who feel less comfortable in working with others.

Raising awareness of learning disability needs in acute sector care: a reflective account of a workshop from the guest facilitator perspective

Nurse education has an essential role to play in reducing health inequality for people with learning disability [Michael, J., 2008. Healthcare for All: Report of the Independent Inquiry into Access to Healthcare for People with Learning Disabilities. Aldridge Press, London]. Many nurse education providers will need to use guest facilitators in order to raise awareness of best practice in caring for this client group for non learning disability branch students and their experiences as nurse educators will be of growing interest. This article critically reflects on an educational session for pre-registration adult branch nursing students which used a variety of teaching methods to facilitate a reflective, student centred, experiential learning approach. Self assessment based on the change between two self rating scales was used to assess learning, the session itself was evaluated by students using a feedback form and through the formal assessment of teaching by a nurse tutor. This article critically evaluates the preparation, delivery and evaluation of the session, emphasising the perspective of the guest facilitator - a practicing community learning disability nurse. The conclusion reflects on key learning from the teaching experience.

Students' and teachers' perceived and actual verbal interactions in seminar groups

OBJECTIVES

This study set out to examine how much time students and teachers devote to different learning-oriented interactions during seminar sessions and students' and teachers' perceptions about the occurrence and desirability of these interactions.

METHODS

Students and teachers participating in eight seminar group sessions in Year 4 of an undergraduate veterinary curriculum completed an 11-item questionnaire which asked them to rate, on a 5-point Likert scale, the frequency of occurrence and level of desirability of three learning-oriented types of interaction: exploratory questioning; cumulative reasoning, and handling of conflict about knowledge. The questionnaire also invited positive and negative responses to aspects of group interactions and an overall mark (1-10) for the seminars and group interactions. Four group sessions were video-recorded and analysed using a coding scheme. The amount of time devoted to the different interactions was calculated.

RESULTS

Both students and teachers gave scores of 3.0-3.5 for frequency of occurrence of exploratory questioning and cumulative reasoning and < 3.0 for occurrence of handling of conflict about knowledge. The desired occurrences of all interaction types were significantly higher than the actual occurrences according to students and teachers. Teachers were responsible for the majority of the interactions (93%). The percentages of session time devoted to teacher-centred cumulative reasoning, exploratory questioning and handling of conflict about knowledge were 65.8%, 15.6% and 3.1%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Group interactions in seminar groups are dominated by the posing of questions by teachers to students. The moderate occurrence of group interactions as perceived by students and teachers may be explained by the inadequate preparation of teachers and students to stimulate group interactions.

Research awareness: making learning relevant for pre-registration nursing students

This paper outlines efforts to improve the teaching and learning methods for research on a second year pre-registration nursing programme in one university in Wales, UK. This focussed on experiential approaches supported by electronic learning resources. A subsequent evaluation aimed to elicit participating students' and lecturers' perceptions of the success of the experiential approaches and the supporting resources. A questionnaire was distributed to 53 student nurses who participated in the experiential learning and this was supplemented with an informal qualitative 'graffiti board' evaluation with the cohort; and a group interview with 4 of the lecturers who had acted as group facilitators during the experiential research sessions. The findings revealed that similar issues were pertinent for both lecturers and students and these were contained within three distinct themes relating to the structure, process and outcomes of the teaching and learning approaches. The student-led approach to evaluation offers a fresh outlook which ensures that the emic perspective is included through the study. The study sheds light on the strengths and limitations of experiential approaches to research teaching and suggest that this is a challenging approach both for students and lecturers, which should not be entered into lightly.