Redesigning Continuing Education for Nurses
CAUCE 2012 – University of Saskatchewan
May 28, 2012
Presenters:
Shirley Galenza, Lynn Feist, and Peter Malachy Ryan
MacEwan University
www.MacEwan.ca
Agenda
1.
Introductions
2.
Session Objectives
3.
The Nursing Refresher Program (NRP)
4.
Successes and Challenges
5.
Participatory Design (PD) Principles
6.
Review Handout: Best Practices for Distance Education
7.
Workshop: New NRP Course Standards
www.MacEwan.ca
Session Objectives
After attending this session, participants will be able to do the following:
1. Advocate for distance students and faculty within a university.
2. Discuss the use of participatory design in revitalizing the Nursing
Refresher program at MacEwan University.
3. Discuss best practices found in the literature related to online
education.
4. Describe the lessons learned by faculty and staff within the Nursing
Refresher program.
www.MacEwan.ca
The Nursing Refresher Program (NRP)
• Helps previously practicing degree and diploma educated
nurses to meet currency of practice requirements and regain
their provincial licensure as a Registered Nurse.
• In 1973, Dr. Gerri Nackonechny began the NRP at then Grant
MacEwan College as a face-to-face program.
• In the 1980s, a projected critical shortage of nurses led to the
NRP being developed to have an expedited flexible, accessible
delivery.
• The program was later implemented in Australia in 1987, and
translated and adapted in Russia and the Ukraine from 20002005, because of its forward thinking design.
www.MacEwan.ca
The Nursing Refresher Program (NRP)
• The distance education program was built using a
continuous monthly intake model; it is not term
based.
• From 2008-2011, the average success rate of
students for completing the NRP in Alberta was
73.96% (284 students out of 384).
• We wanted to look for ways to change or improve the
courses and delivery.
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Challenges and Successes
CHALLENGES
SUCCESSES
1. Needed to maintain flexibility
but also address issues of
isolated student.
1. Increased student success,
engagement, and satisfaction
through on-line delivery.
2. Faculty ownership.
2. Increased instructor presence.
3. Developing an on-line Case
Study tool to include PBL.
3. Created a community of
learning.
4. LMS and Exam software
updates.
4. Tracking student progress.
www.MacEwan.ca
Participatory Design (PD)
Principles
1. PD developed in Scandinavian countries in the 1970s.
2. Allows designers to harness different learning theories
during various stages of the design process (e.g.
Behaviorist, Cognitivist, Systems theory, etc.).
3. Involves interviews with key stakeholders to include
their tacit knowledge in the design process.
4. PD is consensus based and democratic.
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Four Key Lessons of the NRP Redesign Process
(1) Instructor Presence/Community of Learning: Building instructor
presence into the course helped faculty to take ownership, and
build a community of learning, thereby avoiding student isolation in
a continuous intake course.
(2) On-line Classes: Availability of technological tools provide ability
to re-design content delivery and sense of community.
(3) F2F/Distance Education: Any distance education components
that are developed can increase social interactions in face-to-face
classrooms as well as other online courses (e.g. modularity).
(4) Augmented Learning: Technology-enhanced education makes
learning experiences easier and far more engaging if they are
structured appropriately to avoid information overload.
www.MacEwan.ca
The Pilot Program Results:
A Student Problem Log
Student Feedback and Actions Taken
ID #
Date
Feedback
Actions Taken
#0001
Sept. 13, 2011 - LEARNING ACTIVITY ISSUE: A
student reported that they could not
find Theory A - Module 3’s Learning
Activities #1 and #2 online on
Blackboard.
- LEARNING ACTIVITY ISSUE: The
particular course section was not copied
over properly on Blackboard, and the
content was made available immediately
once the issue was identified.
#0002
Sept. 22, 2011 - COURSE CONTENT ISSUE: The
student was unable to access two of
the “Required Readings” for Theory
A - Module 1 online from the
university library.
- COURSE CONTENT ISSUE: The
readings were previously provided as
printed copies and had become dated.
The readings were moved to the
“Suggested Readings” section, because
not all students could access them easily
from different provincial regions, but
they will be deleted after the pilot
because students still found them
difficult to access.
www.MacEwan.ca
New Blackboard Course Standards
www.MacEwan.ca
The Checklist
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The Tool Shed
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Distance Education Advocacy
• Making and ensuring the place for
distance/continuing education within the
institution.
• Developing processes and bridging gaps.
• Advocating for students.
www.MacEwan.ca
Workshop Questions
1.
What strategies have you used to build consensus for similar
projects?
2.
What changes might you recommend to our course standards
and checklist?
3.
What types of activities could be added to the Tool Shed to
better showcase the benefits of Blackboard for student
engagement?
4.
Has reviewing our process been helpful for your own projects?
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Conclusion
•
The future of instructional design is in using
evidence-based augmented learning strategies to
engage students in their learning.
•
Students can be engaged on-line by leveraging a
Learning Management System’s features that
support increasing instructor presence, reinforcing
key concepts through targeted learning activities,
and creating interactions that support the
development of a learning community.
www.MacEwan.ca