University of Central Florida
Cohort Development
in
Nursing Education
Alton Austin, MS Ed.
PhD Candidate
Rosa Cintron, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
alton@ucf.edu
rosa.cintrondelgado@ucf.edu
Agenda
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Introduction
Cohorts and PSC
Change and Leadership
Case Study #1
Case Study #2
Individual Plan of Action
General Q&A
Final Comments
Session Outcomes
• Psychological Sense of Community
• How-to create a community of scholars
• Strategies
Rationale
• My Nursing Students
• Your students
What will we address?
• How can we influence change in
the teaching and learning occurring
in the hard sciences?
• What is our leadership role as
student services professionals in
academic affairs?
Learning Transformation
• There is a need for a radical transformation in the
manner student nurses are educated.
• Cooke, Irby, Sullivan and Ludmere (2006)
described the classroom of these students as one
characterized more by the emphasis on ‘capture
the market share,’ ‘units of service,’ and the
financial ‘bottom line’ than about the relief of
suffering, cooperation and the values and ethics
of the profession.
Framing the New Idea
The initiative has three goals:
•to develop a psychological sense of community
among nursing students
•to create a community by demonstrating the
impact of cohort groups
•to establish a solid partnership between academic
advisors (Student Affairs) and faculty (Academic
Affairs) in disciplines traditionally known as ‘hard
sciences.’
Psychological Sense of Community
• McMillan and Chavis’ Psychological Sense of
Community (PSC) (1986) helps students in
understanding that they matter to one another and
to the group and that their needs could be met by
developing a sense of shared emotional
connection.
• The cohort model fosters collegial learning based
on principles of adult learning and development.
Case Study #1
Bridging the Silos
• Regarding the third goal, it is known that the
‘hard sciences’ have approached teaching and
learning in a linear manner. This type of
classroom has become the antithesis of solutions
to the pedagogy of medical education.
• In other words, critics of nurse education have
underlined the importance of creating classrooms
where nurses learn values like cooperation and
respect, acquire knowledge on diverse
populations and understand professional ethics.
Collaboration in the Classroom
• Concurrent with and independent from the call
for medical transformation, scholars in Higher
Education have noted how Student and Academic
Affairs benefit from partnering (Bourassa &
Kruger, 2001; Kezar, 2003)
• We are convinced that our nursing cohorts
represent one of the best examples of the
collaboration and leadership between Student
Affairs and Academic Affairs
Case Study #2
How does it work?
• Freshman nursing students are able to choose a
living-learning community which incorporates
teambuilding and cohort development into a
student success course
• Junior nursing students complete a one-day
teambuilding orientation that is designed to reduce
first-day apprehension and allow students to begin
forming bonds before the program begins
Assessment
• The first FTIC cohort included 51 students. Of those, eighteen
changed majors or left the university. Fifteen were ineligible or
chose not to apply. Twenty-three applied to the program and
eleven were offered a seat in the class (21% of original group,
29% of remaining, and 47% of those that applied).
• The second FTIC cohort counted 57. Of those, thirteen changed
majors or left the university. Twenty-three were ineligible or
chose not to apply. Eighteen applied to the program and ten were
offered a seat in the class (18% of original group, 24% of
remaining, and 55% of those that applied).
• Typical freshman class for nursing is approximately 400 students
and 60 are offered a seat (15%).
Assessment
• After two years of teambuilding orientations,
attrition rates are lower for non-academic and
non-financial reasons
• Faculty and Clinical Preceptors report that
students are more communicative, cooperative,
and willing to assist each other with difficult
tasks
References
Allen, K. E. (1989). A non-linear model of student development. Paper presented at the American Association
for Higher Education Assessment Forum.
Bosher, S. D. (2008). Transforming nursing education. NY: Springer Publishing.
Bourassa, D. M., & Kruger, K. (2001). The national dialogue on academic and student affairs. New Directions
for Higher Education, 2001 (116), 9-38.
Cooke, M., Irby, D.M., Sullivan, W., & Ludmere, K. M. (2006). 100 years after the Flexner Report. New
England Journal of Medicine, 355, 1339-1344.
Del Favero, M. (2002). Linking administrative behavior and student learning. Peabody Journal of Education,
77(3), 60-84.--Demers, C. (2007). Organizational change theories. San Francisco: Sage Publishing.
Evans, N., & Reason, R. D. (2001). Guiding principles. Journal of College Student Development, 42, 359-377.
Goodin, H. J. (2003). The nursing shortage in the United States. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43 (4), 335343.
Makaram, S. (2009). Interprofessional cooperation. Medical Education, 29(1), 65-69.
McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986) Sense of Community. American Journal of Community
Psychology, 14(1), 6-23.
McNeese-Smith, D.K. (2001). A nursing shortage. Journal of Health Management, 46(3), 173-186.-Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. Retrieved from:
http://www2.myacpa.org/img/Professional_Competencies.pdf
Kezar, A. (2003). Achieving student success. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 41(1).
Retrieved from http://journals.naspa.org/jsarp/vol41/iss1/art1/
QUESTIONS?