Teaching Caring:
A Descriptive Qualitative
Study of Student Learning
Alice Jensen, RN, MSN
Mary Curtis, PhD, APRN-BC
Nursing Program –Liberal Arts
University
Philosophy Statement
Developed with faculty
and students who
selected caring as a key
concept to guide their
study of the discipline of
nursing
University Mission- model
for the integration of
liberal and professional
learning
Nursing Education
• Value liberal arts
• Challenged by a highly
technical rapid
changing system
• Society who
undervalues caring
• Nurse- adaptive and
proficient while
maintaining caring
environment
American Association of
Colleges of Nursing 1998
-Study in the liberal arts facilitates the
development of ….
* caring attitudes
*critical thinking
Disconnect
• Most BSN programs
have included the
liberal arts into their
nursing curriculum
• Many still report a
disconnect between
courses in the liberal
arts and
professional nursing
courses
Infusing liberal arts
• music,art, literature,
film
• Psychosocial
nursing
Teaching Strategy
• Usually an
introductory activity
• Three short stories
as outside reading,
otherwise in-class
activities only
• A case study based
on a film or book of
student’s choice
Problem
• How do we evaluate what is really going
on?
• How do I evaluate caring?
• How do I evaluate learning?
Methodology
• Qualitative study focused on describing
and interpreting what is going on during
class when music, art, literature, or film
are introduced as learning strategies in
a psychosocial nursing class
• Human Subjects Committee Review
Sample
• Convenience sample of students
currently enrolled in class
– N=25
– Only 2 males
– Traditional age and a few older
– 1 non-western student
Data Collection
• Data collected during and/or after a teaching
activity and at the end of the semester
• Triangulate & replicate
–
–
–
–
Observations by grad students at 3 points in time
5 minute reflection by students at 3 points in time
Instructor reflections after activity
Focus group evaluation at end of semester by
second researcher
Data
• Approximately 90 pieces of data to
analyze plus the final focus group.
• Data was narrative in written form
• Primary investigator analyzed emerging
data from field observations using
constant comparison method
• Focus group narrative
Data Analysis
• Transcripts, questionnaires, field
observations read independently
• Coded independently
• Themes generated
• Coding discrepancies resolved through
negotiation
• Final coding
Themes
•
•
•
•
•
An interesting hook
A deeper level of understanding
Developing self-understanding
Developing empathy
Increasing cultural awareness
Interesting hook
• I like how using the
tapes, pictures, art, and
movies changed the
environment of the
classroom
• It helps begin the class
and get the
conversation started.
• It got me hooked into
thinking about the topic
and quickly got me
involved.
Deeper level of understanding
• …this teaching strategy was unique and it
made me think more outside the box. The
painting made me think about non-verbal
communication differently.
• I thought it was a neat way to learn about how
to read someone’s body language. It pointed
someone, the same person, out to the whole
class to analyze together. I learned new ways
to look for people’s feelings without asking
them
Deeper level of understanding
• Sometimes when I was taking a test and I
couldn’t think of the answer, I could think
about a picture, or something you read in
class, or music and it would help me answer
the question
• It makes me feel a little more comfortable
about approaching people at clinical. Today
[in clinical] we were able to talk to people and
the lady by me was in a state like the picture
and I didn’t know how to approach her. Now I
have a better idea.
Developing self understanding
• It made me more aware
of my presence around
others. I can be quite
an outgoing person,
and should be aware of
the way I act around
those who may not be
quite as open
• ..it made me think
thoughts and feelings
about the painting I
hadn’t thought before
when I saw it..
Developing empathy
• …learned how to put myself into someone
else’s shoes…
• ..become a little more empathetic
• I have a better idea of what is going on in the
head of someone with a mental illness
• It gave me a better understanding of what
schizophrenics must go through just to react
‘normally’ to their environment
Increasing cultural
awareness
• I knew the song, but I never
really listened to the lyrics
before – I didn’t realize what
it was about
• I think this integration
brought a perspectives about
how values differ through
culture and over
time…Culturally it is
important to know what we
are dealing with in clinical
settings…the way we treat
people with mental illness
has changed but still needs
a lot of improvement
Pedagogical Issues
• Graduate student observations were
most helpful for pedagogical revisions
– Teacher needs to keep silence if students
are going to participate
– One-minute reflections were effective
– Write, pair, share
– Anonymity increased participation
Discussion
• Few students voiced negatives
• Art interpretation most difficult; music
easiest.
Conclusion
• Students are able to make connections
between humanities and nursing
content when they are integrated into
nursing classrooms
• Students become culturally aware, more
self-reflective, and more empathetic
through the integration of liberal and
professional learning
Conclusion
• Continue use of art, music, film,
literature as a teaching strategy
• Use methods that enhance participation
by all students such as one-minute
papers
• Use questioning strategies
• Careful balance between teacher
interpretation and student opinion
Literature resources
• MacBeth
• The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins
Gilman)
• Thirst (Anne Lamott)
• Patriotism (Yukio Mishima)
• Poems by Sylvia Plath or Emily
Dickenson
Music Resources
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“Margaretaville” by Jimmy
Buffett
“I am a Rock” by Simon and
Garfunkle
“You’re so vain” by Carli
Simon
“Everybody Hurts” by REM
“Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad
Paisley
“Concrete Angel” by Martina
McBride”
“White Rabbit” by Jefferson
Airplane
“Cocaine” by Eric Clapton
“Unwell” by Matchbox Twenty
Art Resources
• The Plum by Degas
• The Potato Eaters by
Van Gogh
• Self Portrait by Van
Gogh
• At the Moulin Rouge by
Lautrec
• The Scream by Munch
• The Persistence of
Memory by Salvadore
Dali
•
Art.com