Health Education Research Courses for Faculty And Students. Research Faculty Perspectives of What Does Not Work, Perspectives of What Teachers Do to Help Them Learn, Students’ Perspectives of What Teachers Do That Does Not Help Them Learn, Students’ Comments About Meaningful Advice Given to Them by Teachers.
Health Education Research Courses for Faculty And Students. Research courses were comprised of both undergraduate and graduate courses taught in a traditional classroom format, in which the content was research methods. Faculty a responsible to provide tips and techniques for research courses, and also to indicate what does not work in teaching research courses. Students were asked what teachers do to help them learn and what teachers do that does not help them learn
Tips and Strategies to Help Students Learn
- Ask questions rather than answering them
- Attend to what students are saying
- Be explicit in instructions at the beginning of the course about expectations and assignments
- Be gently honest about less than excellent work of the students
- Break the research process into smaller steps
- Build a supportive network among the students
- Creatively engage students in learning
- Discuss critiques of articles openly in class
- Distinguish between a clinical problem and a research problem
- Empower students to learn
- Encourage attendance at local research conferences
- Encourage attendance at all research conferences
- Encourage students to present at the school research day
- Have students bring an article for discussion that uses the concepts they are interested in exploring
- Have students develop a matrix to delineate the key concepts in a research study
- Help students not be overwhelmed with lots of assignments
- Include how to develop a poster
- Introduce students to doctoral level faculty and their programs of research
- Let students know research is a journey
- Pay attention to critical evaluation in writing
Further Seeking Ideal Situation
- Present the real with the ideal
- Provide advice on career planning for graduate schools
- Provide for student presentations
- Provide opportunities for students to learn without fear of making mistakes
- Provide opportunities for students to participate in small research projects with faculty guidance
- Share challenges and rewards of research
- Share personal stories about research
- Stress the importance of research for the profession
- Use a research utilization model for addressing course content
- Use discussion techniques that challenge each student
- Use evidence-based practice examples
- Use exercises that accompany course content in textbook
- Use humor
- Use jump ropes, Lego building blocks, or jacks to describe different kinds of research
- Use online, open book, open note exams
- Use peer evaluation and peer grading
- Use research critique assignment as the final examination
- Use seminar approach rather than lecture to facilitate interaction
Research Faculty Perspectives of What Does Not Work
Health Education Research Courses for Faculty And Students
- Requiring too many articles for critique
- Requiring too many assignments, so that students think research is labor intensive and boring
- Speaking over the heads of students
- Straight lecture
Students’ Perspectives Perspectives of What Teachers Do to Help Them Learn
- Answer questions in detail
- Be approachable
- Be understanding
- Compare and contrast research articles
- Concentrate on important points
- Discuss real life research projects
- Encourage attendance at research conferences
- Encouragement questions
- Encourage self-learning
- Encourage students to read professional nursing journals
- Explain information carefully
- Explain research utilization
- Explain the process of research in nursing
- Give handouts to reinforce ideas
- Give take-home exercises
- Help students relate research to clinical applications
- Make class interactive
- Offer consistent enthusiasm
- Offer practice questions, and review questions in class
- Present material in a concise and interesting manner
- Provide all assignments at the beginning of the course
- And provide course textbook and all relevant course materials at the beginning of class
- Provide detailed outline and course syllabus
- Provide great slides
- And provide guidance
- Provide learning activities that are unique
- Provide examples from personal research experience
- And provide review materials prior to exams
- Provide specific examples in class
- Provide time outside the classroom for one-to-one involvement
- And provide visual aids
- Relate research concepts to everyday examples
- Repeat important content
- Review important material
- Use active learning in the classroom
- Use class discussions
- The use clinical examples in teaching research
- Use interesting and interactive material
- Use Power Point slides judiciously and make these available to students
- The use small group exercises
- Use worksheets
Students’ Perspectives of What Teachers Do That Does Not Help Them Learn
- Assigning a lot of reading without noting what is important in the reading
- Being unapproachable
- Covering material too quickly
- Displaying lack of enthusiasm for the subject
- Not providing connections between key concepts
- Not providing time for questions or discussion
- Expressing dissatisfaction with having to teach the class
- Failure to answer questions
- The failure to explain the information
- Failure to explain theories
- Failure to provide adequate explanations
- Going too fast
- Lack of coordination among professors teaching different sections
- Lack of emphasis on application of research
- The lack of opportunity to participate in research
- Lack of respect for students and their questions
- Lack of specificity about course material
- And lack of visual aids
- Long class periods
- Long reading assignments
- Monotonous voice
- Moving too slow
- No variation in the way material is presented
- And not enough emphasis on research implementation in the clinical area
- Not enough interactive assignments
- Not providing opportunities for self-learning
- Providing disorganized and unclear lecture
- And providing same material as presented in the book
- Providing too much detail about the research
- Reading from the text, Power Point slides, or other course materials
- Shoot down answers
- Too many students in the class
- Using only lecture format
- Using only Power Point to teach with, no group participation
Students’ Comments About Meaningful Advice Given to Them by Teachers
However, the majority of examples given by students fell into a broader category of “life advice.” This latter category provides support for the mentoring that is occurring between nurse faculty and students
Meaningful Advice Given to Students by Teachers Meaningful Life Advice
- Apply what you have learned
- Appreciate diversity
- Ask colleagues for help or advice
- Ask questions when you do not understand
- Be enthusiastic
- Be kind and respectful to others
- Be open and receptive to learning every day
- And be patient
- Be patient and compassionate with others
- Be prepared
- Communication is essential
- Consider different perspectives
- Do not swallow elephants or choke on gnats
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
- Do the best you can
- Giving up will do you in
- It’s OK not to know the answer
- Keep learning
- Learn from mistakes
- Learn something from every experience
- Love what you do and develop your full potential
- And never assume anything
- Never give up on your dream
- Never underestimate yourself
- Organization is important not to lose your mind
- Pursue higher education
- Reach for the stars
- Remain open-minded
- Slow down
- Strive for excellence
- Take advantage of every aspect of learning possible
- Take as much as you can from your current experience
- And take each day as a new day
- Take things one day at a time
- The journey is as important as the destination
- There is never a dumb question; to be dumb is not to ask the question
- Think critically
- Think with an open mind
- Have faith in yourself and trust your judgment
- Never give up on yourself
- Touch the lives of people.
- Use reasoning, common sense, and critical thinking skills
- When you do not succeed the first time, do not settle for less the second time
- Your response is your responsibility
- Your work is not your worth
Meaningful Nursing Practice Advice
- Apply theory to clinical practice
- Assess and reassess your patients
- Do not expect to be an expert about nursing right away
- Document accurately
- Each patient is a unique individual having had different life experiences from all
- others
- Every nurse contributes to health care
- It is important to care
- Listen carefully to the patient and family
- Listen to patients and be an advocate
- Listen to patients and be compassionate
- Never let the rules of systems get in the way of excellent nursing practice
- Nurses make a significant difference in someone’s life
- The Nursing care is important and influences the lives of patients
- Nursing requires flexibility, skills, and confidence
- Performing skills and genuinely caring for patients are important acts
- Realize differences between ideals being taught and the reality of nursing practice
- Teamwork is essential for good patient care
- The art of caring is being truly present
- The rewards of nursing are outstanding
- Things will not always go your way so go on the best way that you can
- Treat patients how you would treat family members
- You can best help a patient when you listen and hear what is said