Chapter 4 Determinants of Learning

1. Chapter 4 Determinants of Learning

2. Assessment of the learner • The nurse educator must be aware of what factors influence how well an individual learns through Assessment of the learner • Assessment of the learner is the first and important step in the instructional design ,but it is also the step most likely to be neglected

3. Assessment of the learner includes attending to the three determinants of learning: Learning Needs • (WHAT the learner needs to learn) Readiness to Learn • (WHEN the learner is receptive to learning) Learning Style • (HOW the learner best learns) Haggard, 1989

4. ASSESSING LEARNING NEEDS

5. Definition • Assessment of Learning Needs can be defined as gaps in the knowledge that exist between a desired level of performance and the actual level of performance (Health care Education Association ,1985) • Such gaps exist because of a lack of knowledge ,attitude ,or skills

6. Assessment of Learning Needs • Identify the learner • Choose the right setting • Collect data about the learner • Collect data from the learner • Involve members of the healthcare team • Prioritize needs (table 4-3) • Determine the availability of educational resources • Assess demands of the organization • Take time-management issues into account

7. Table:4-3 .Needs are prioritized based on the following criteria • Mandatory: Needs that must be learned for survival when the learner’s life or safety is threatened • Desirable: Needs that are not life-dependent but are related to well-being • Possible: Needs for information that are “nice to know” but not essential or required because they are not directly related to daily activities or the particular situation of the learner

8. Methods to Assess Learning Needs • Informal conversations • Structured interviews • Focus groups • Self-administered questionnaires • Tests • Observations • Documentation

9. Assessing Learning Needs of Nursing Staff • Written job descriptions • Formal and informal requests • Quality assurance reports • Chart audits • Rules and regulations • Knox Four-Step approach

10. READNRSS TO LEARN

11. Definition • Readiness to Learn Can be defined as the time when the learner demonstrates an interest in learning the information necessary to maintain optimal health or to become more skillful in the job (Bastable 2010).

12. The Four Types of Readiness to Learn Are: P = Physical readiness E = Emotional readiness E = Experiential readiness K = Knowledge readiness

13. 1. Physicalreadiness measures of ability complexity of task health status gender anxiety level support system 2.Emotionalreadiness Anxiety level Support system motivation risk-taking behavior frame of mind developmental stage 3. Experiential readiness level of aspiration past coping mechanisms cultural background locus of control orientation 4. Knowledge readiness present knowledge base cognitive ability learning disabilities The Components of Each Type of Readiness to Learn Include:

14. LEARNING STYLE

15. Definition Learning styles refers to the way and condition in which learners most eefeciently and most effectively perceive, process, store and recall what they are attempting to learn (James &Gardner 1995)

16. Definition • Keefe (1979) defines Learning Style as the way the learners learn, taking into account cognitive ,affective, and physiological factors that affect how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the learning enviroment

17. Six Learning Style Principles • Both the style by which the teacher prefers to teach and the style by which the learner prefers to learn can be identified. • Educators need to guard against relying on teaching methods and tools which match their own preferred learning styles. • Educators are most helpful when they assist learners in identifying and learning through the their own style preferences.

18. Six Learning Style Principles(cont.) • Learners should have the opportunity to learn through their preferred style. • Learners should be encouraged to diversify their style preferences. • Educators can develop specific learning activities that reinforce each modality or style.

19. Learning Style Models and Instruments • Brain Preference Indicator (Right-Brain, Left-Brain, and Whole-Brain) • Field-Independent/Field-Dependent • Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) • 4. Environmental Preference Survey (EPS) (Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Inventory) • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

20. Learning Style Instruments (cont.) 6. Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) 7. 4MAT System 8. Gardner’s Eight Types of Intelligence 9. VARK Learning Styles

21. Learning Style Instruments 1. Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking • Brain Preference Indicator • Right hemisphere are emotional, visual–spatial, nonverbal hemisphere Thinking processes using the right brain are intuitive, subjective, relational, holistic, and time free. • Left hemisphere are vocal and analytical side Thinking process using reality-based and logical thinking with verbalization.

22. No correct or wrong side of the brain • Each hemisphere gathers in the same sensory information but handles the information in different ways. • Knowledge of one’s own brain hemispherical performance can help educators identify the strengths and weaknesses of various teaching methods.

23. Prefers talking and writing Recognizes/remembers names Solves problems by breaking them into parts Conscious of time and schedules Prefers drawing and manipulating objects Recognizes/remembers faces Solves problems by looking at the whole, looks for patterns, uses hunches Not conscious of time and schedules Examples of Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking Left Brain Right Brain Whole brain—combining both sides of the brain

24. Educators Role based on the Brain Model is to stimulate the use of the whole-brain thinking To stimulate left brain thinking • Provide structured environment by relying on specific objective and a course outline To stimulate Right brain thinking • Provide a more un-structured ,free flowing environment that allow for creative opportunities See book chapter 4. for more information about Instruments to measure left ,right and whole brain thinking see book

25. 2. Field-Independent/Field-Dependent • A Field-Independent Person perceive items as separate or differential from the surrounding field • A Field-Dependent Persons perception is influenced by by or immersed in the surrounding field See book chapter 4. for more information about characteristics & Instruments of Field-Independent/Field-Dependent

26. 3. Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) • This tool asses the Learners preference styles for certain environmental cause. • It Helps the educator structure the learning task and environment • Helps to assess the extent to which learners are able to ignore distractions from other persons • Assesses whether learners see the whole first or the individual parts of a task when learning occur

27. 4. Environment Preference Survey (LSI),Dunn and Dunn’s Learning Style elements Assess learners response to 5 basic Stimuli • Environmental • Emotional • Sociological • Physical • Psychological

28. 5. Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorCarl G Jung (1921/1971) developed a theory that explains personality similarities and differences by identifying attitudes of people (Extraverts & Introverts) along with opposite mental functions which are the ways people perceive or prefer to take in and make use of information from the world around them.According to Myers-Briggs an individual comes to a conclusion about or becomes aware of something through a preference of judging or perceiving

29. Introversion (I) Extraversion (E) Intuition (N) Sensing (S) Thinking (T) Feeling (F) Perception (P) Judgment (J) • See book chapter 4. for more information about Instruments to measure Myers-Briggs personality Type

30. 6. Kolb Learning Style David Kolb ,a management expert from Case Western Reserve University , developed his learning style model in 1970. Kolb’s Model known as the cycle of learning includes four modes of learning that reflect two major dimensions; perception and processing . He hypnotized that learning results from the way learners perceive as well as how they process what they perceive

31. Kolb Learning Style Perception Dimension Concrete experience Abstract conceptualization Process Dimension Active experimentation Reflective observation Diverger Converger AssimilatorAccommodator

32. 7. 4MAT System • There is a combination of Kolb’s model combined with right/left brain research. • There are four types of learners. • Educators can address all four learning styles by teaching sequentially from type-one learner to type-two learner, etc. • Learning sequence is circular and cyclic.

33. 8. Gardner’s Eight Types of Intelligence

34. 9.VARK Learning Style • VARK is a sensory model and it is an extension of the neuro-linguistic model. In the acronym VARK, • V stands for visual, • A for aural, • R for read/write and • K for kinesthetic. • According to Fleming (2006), VARK refers to category of communication preference. It deals with the way we take in and give out information.

35. Interpretation of Style Instruments • Caution must be exercised in assessing styles so that other equally important factors in learning are not ignored. • Styles only describe how individuals process stimuli, not how much or how well information is learned. • Style instruments should be selected based on reliability, validity, and the population for which they are to be used. • More than one learning style instrument should be used for appropriate assessment of learner.

36. Reference • Bastable, S. (2014): Nurse As Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning For Nursing Practice. 3rd ed Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury.