Nursing Education Concept By Mary Jane Smith
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Who Is Mary Jane Smith,Willing To Teach Yet Not Being Sure,Moving Along By Taking It On,Letting Go And Trusting The Process,Still Figuring It Out And Creating New,Summary.
Who Is Mary Jane Smith
Reflecting on one’s personal story of teaching provides an
opportunity to consider professional turning points, encourage openness to
change, and enable development of one’s teaching.
Every teacher has a story
that describes the way in which their teaching has developed over the years.
Story is a way of creating meaning about connections between significant
events, as past and future are linked in the present.
The construction of a
story is a natural human process that enables the understanding of experiences
(Smith &Liehr , 2003). When events are remembered and organized in the
unfolding story of teaching there is a telling of what was and can be, all in
the context of the present moment of the story.
This chapter presents the
author’s story of teaching 30 years of nursing science to master’s and doctoral
students, and offers examples of significant story-moments in a life of
teaching.
Through reflection on the experience of teaching core nursing science
courses significant story-moments were identified. These story moments are
shifts that seemed to shape and transform teaching.
In the process of
reflecting on teaching, insights were discerned as the experience of teaching
was uncovered. Mc Adams (1993) believes that human identity is based on “the
idea that each of us comes to know who he or she is by creating a story of
self”. In reflecting on this personal story, four shifts in the
evolution of Herexperience of teaching surfaced.
These shifts are:
a) wanting
to teach yet not being sure
b) moving along by taking it on
c) letting go and
trusting the process
d) still figuring it out and creating anew
The story
that follows is structured by these shifts, which highlight the story-moments
as turning points in the developing story of teaching.
Willing To Teach Yet Not Being Sure
This phase in Her life of teaching included these story-moments:
letting others do it, attending to a beam of light, and deciding to radiate a
lesson. The story begins as She embarked
with a new PhD into teaching master’s students in a graduate nursing science
course.
There was a yearning to get the knowledge across and at the same time,
a sense of not being sure. Letting others do it was safe, sure, and grounded in
the way She was taught in Her master’s
program.
At that time, the nursing courses were a series of guest lecturers and
student presentations. The teacher of the course coordinated the coming in and
the going out of various persons who talked primarily about areas in which they
held specialized knowledge.
Although the teacher of the course encouraged
questions and clarified areas that were not clear, the teacher sat rather
passively on the sidelines letting others do the teaching. Certainly, one’s
history and experience as a learner has a deep and powerful impact on the way
one teaches.
These formative experiences pattern teaching practices. And so,
when She began teaching, the class
sessions were scheduled with guest lectures, films, and student presentations.
At a tacit level, She knew there was
something not right about this way of doing things.
During this time, which was in the first 1 or 2 years, She was walking through the hall at the
University at a time when classes were going on. The door to a classroom was
open, and She heard a faculty lecturing
with conviction, as though the point being made was valued and significant.
This was a moment of awakening. She said
to myself, “A teacher should teach.” At that moment and although it happened
long ago She recall it vividly today she decided to take charge of and responsibility for the courses She was teaching.
She came to grips with the idea of a lesson and began thinking about
the course as a series of lessons aimed at meeting the objectives. There was
something important to be learned, and conceptualizing what was important up
front as it was developed and integrated with previous lessons became Hergoal.
She put together the lesson in detail on
5×8 cards and then presented the lesson to the class. By this She mean, 1 lectured. The students seemed to be
paying attention as they busily took notes.
During this phase, there was a
progression from sitting on the periphery, more or less as a spectator letting
others teach various aspects of the course, to making a decision about teaching
with responsibility and conviction.
Moving Along By Taking It On
This phase of teaching included these story-moments: grasping the
lesson of the lesson and updating a glimpse of meaning through critical
dialogue. The lesson of the lesson came when She read the students’ papers and found that many
did not get the lesson.
Their writing about the major concepts articulated in
the lesson lacked breadth, depth, and creativity. The lessons were not taking.
She assumed that the students were
learning what was being told to them in the lecture and was disappointed with
evidence to the contrary.
There was a gap in what the teacher assumed was
taught and what the students were learning. Brookfield (1995) describes
teaching innocently as “assuming that the meanings and significance we place on
our actions are the ones that students take from them” (p. 2).
Although
She had a clear grasp of the meaning to
be transmitted in the lesson and the meaning was articulated in a logical way,
the lesson did not take. She recall
discussing this dilemma with colleagues.
One of them sent Hera cartoon titled,
“How to teach a cow a damned good lesson.” It was a depiction of a cow being
hit by a two-by-four with the tag line, “First you have to get her attention.”
It was Her belief that She had the
students’ attention, but She needed to
understand why the lesson wasn’t taking
When talking to students about their papers, She could see that they were grappling with
creating meaning about the best ideas of the course, and that they were trying
to figure things out.
There was a yearning to understand and when the yearning
was mobilized through discussion, learning was enhanced. It was during this
time that She began to feel grounded in
what She was doing and how She was thinking about that which She was teaching.
Through making clear to
students where She was coming from, it
began to dawn on Her that dialogue between teacher and student, student and
student, and student and self were essential to mobilizing a yearning to learn
and understand.
It was at this time that She
attended a seminar given by Richard Paul who believes that critical
thinking entails critical questioning. He made the point that although critical
thinking is expected, it must be developed and requires effort on the part of
the teacher to engage the student in thinking critically.
This represented a
shift from giving the lesson to critically thinking about the lesson. Paul
(1993) describes Socratic questioning as essential to engaging students in
critical thinking. She began thinking
about the lesson as a series of questions that would guide the students in
thinking through the lesson.
These questions took the form of clarifying,
raising basic issues, probing, and guiding students through their viewpoints,
perspectives, and reasoning as they arrived at a stand in relation to the
question.
The focal questions for each lesson were outlined on the course
syllabus and students were encouraged to read and come to class prepared to
discuss the questions with the teacher and with each other.
This way of
teaching not only took time and energy in preparation, but also a sensitivity
in knowing when to push further and when to loosen a bit.
This way of engaging
dialogue is not so much about finding a right answer and certainly not about
one or two word responses, but rather about staying with the question and with
the student in order to uncover a deeper understanding of the topic under
study.
It is essential that the teacher be knowledgeable about the disciplinary
perspective that is at the heart of the lesson and be gentle with the students
in the critical questioning process. Students often find the questioning
disconcerting at the beginning.
However, as time goes on, they learn that it is
through the questioning that they come to know and understand.
A typical
student response to the questioning process is, “Calling on students to answer
is a good way to get everyone involved. Although She can’t say She
like being called on (even though it is getting better), the questions
make Her think a little harder about the subject matter. Knowing She might need to discuss a question in class,
She prepare differently.”
When students
are thinking harder, they are more likely to grasp the lesson of the lesson and
engage in critical dialogue. In taking on teaching, there was a commitment to
build value in each lesson by working steadily, with openness, persistence, and
a gentle determination.
Letting Go And Trusting The Process
This phase of teaching includes these story-moments: engaging
mutual inquiry and enlightenment, and recognizing the unfinished nature of the
lesson.
In this phase, She was
challenged to be truly present in the here and now with students by striving to
see and hear their point of view and helping them to expand their view in
greater breadth and depth. Kolb (1984) believes that individuals form abstract
concepts and generalizations by reflecting on their experience.
Changing the
way students understand and know nursing comes as they integrate what they are
learning with what they already know. Integration is accomplished by engaging
students in the critical reflective process of linking their experience with
the formation of abstract concepts.
She began
requiring that students respond to the following statements based on
Brookfield’s (1995) critical incident format. The questions students respond to
in writing are:
1) Describe the time that you were most engaged in class today
2) Describe the time that you were most distanced in class today
3) Describe
the action that anyone took that was most helpful to you in class today
4)
Describe the action that anyone took that was most confusing to you today
5) What about class surprised you the most today
The students reflect on the
class and describe in detail their responses to the questions. For example, in
describing when they were most engaged, they are encouraged to elaborate by
clarifying and putting in their words what was engaging, and by probing their
engagement in light of assumptions and viewpoints that they hold.
The students
e-mail their response 2 to 3 days after class. The teacher then reads the
reflections for common themes and takes time at the beginning of the next class
session to discuss the themes with the students. This provides an opportunity
for students to hear the reflection of others.
Student responses at the end of
the course indicate that the reflections have contributed to their integration
of the course concepts and to an internalization of the process of critical
reflection. Some written responses that demonstrate an integration of the
process of critical thinking and reflection are as follows:
She have been encouraged to think critically; at first She didn’t recognize the teaching for what it
was. She had to think and stay focused
during class. Preparation is key. No easy answers were given to Her as She was guided and encouraged to think through
the process.
She gained a lot of insight. The reflections were really helpful in
Her ability to process what She had
learned in class. This course was challenging and the reflections helped Her to
make sense of the concepts. She will
continue to work on applying these concepts in Her practice.
In this phase, the challenge of engaging mutual inquiry leads to
reflection about what is, what can be, and other questions. Mutual inquiry
maximizes a depth of knowledge and understanding for students and teachers.
Still Figuring It Out And Creating New
In this, the now phase of Her life as a teacher, She continue to prepare the teaching/learning
session by thinking through the logic of the structure of the session, changing
it, and trying to improve the substance, clarity, and integration of the last session.
Even though She have been teaching for a
long time, there is still the unsettled anticipation of the teaching/learning
session.
One never has it down-pat; there is always the yearning to make the
teaching/learning session different and to really connect with the students.
She think about how She can query the various dimensions of a concept
with the students by asking questions about assumptions, meaning, and frame of
reference.
In addition, She let the
students know She expect them to come
pre-wall to discuss, question, and be questioned.
Questioning in a
nonthreatening manner with the intent to explore the area is always with Her in
the teaching/learning situation. Her intention is not about rightness or
wrongness but rather about exploration and discussion.
It is this process of
discovery that leads to the student’s integration of concepts and principles, a
deepened understanding, and self-illumination that can be taken on to
application.
She am always working
towards guiding the student in understanding abstract concepts that can be
applied in nursing practice.
Another aspect of where She am
now is becoming more aware of Her presence with students that is beyond
instructing and questioning.
She am
aware that when She come to the
teaching/learning situation fully prepared and the students too have read and
come prepared, we enter what Bache (2000) refers to as the “Dance of Content
and Resonance” (p. 4).
In this dance, time passes quickly as ideas and insights
come to the group that really spark learning for student and teacher. In the
dance, there is an intellectual exchange that goes beyond, to the experience of
delight and genuine learning.
The dance does not happen in every
teaching/learning session and when it does, it is wonderful. Another part of
the dance is an other-regarding approach as a way of being a teacher that
brings a spirit of thoughtfulness and consideration to the students’ concerns,
problems, and questions in the teaching/learning situation.
This approach goes
beyond politeness and civility to a genuine presence that seeks first to
understand where the student is coming from, to stay with and true to where
they are, to move with them to some resolution, and to validate what is
understood.
She call this an
other-regarding approach because as teacher, one chooses deliberately to stay
with the student in moving on, through , and beyond as learning and
understanding transpires.
Taking on another regarding approach may not be for
everyone; it is how She continue to
explore Her way of becoming truly myself and finding Her own voice as teacher
with students.
Summary
This story came from reflection on turning points in Her experience
as a teacher of graduate students. The recollective process enabled Her to think
about those moments in Her life as a teacher that mobilized change.
It is not so
much a story about the what of teaching, although that is important and is the
backdrop of the story, but rather a story about engaging the process of
teaching. The story is about being present with students through discussion and
writing in a way that enables them to think, read, and write critically.
Writing this story has enabled Her to claim what She have lived as a teacher and to integrate more
fully those insights learned along the way into Her present teaching. There is
always more to the story and one can never tell the whole story.
It is the one
collected. Every teacher is unique and has an original story to collect and
tell. Telling stories is a creative and energizing way to make teaching
accessible to ourselves and to others.
This story of teaching is shared in the
spirit expressed by Nouwen (1997), “We have to trust that our stories deserve
to be told. We may discover that the better we tell our stories the better we
will want to live them” (p. 5).
Telling and listening to stories offer a
powerful resource for developing the art of teaching. Stories about teaching
are works in progress, worth telling, and worth hearing. These stories are
opportunities for sharing attributes about teaching that can make a difference
in the lives of students and in the lives of teachers.