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Integrating key nursing concepts and processes into the mathematics curriculum. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Motivation for Course. Nursing students are showing difficulty passing a 20 question test encompassing basic math skills.
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Integrating key nursing concepts and processes into the mathematics curriculum Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
Motivation for Course • Nursing students are showing difficulty passing a 20 question test encompassing basic math skills. • In Spring 2009, only 17 of 45 students passed the exam on their first attempt. Students demonstrated careless math errors and not retaining information learned during 1st semester Nursing courses. • The course needs to be offered early in the program to help students perform better on these tests.
Preparation/Research • Courtney Nagle, Lecturer in Mathematics worked closely with nursing faculty Jo Anne Carrick and Margo Kertis to integrate healthcare applications into the standard College Algebra curriculum. • Courtney Nagle “shadowed” healthcare professionals to experience first hand the mathematics used in their daily work. • Courtney Nagle attended seminar, A Day in the Life of a Nurse, given by Margo Kertis in which mathematics used by nurses was presented.
Class Format • Math 21 for Nurses was taught for the first time in Fall 2008. • The course covered the standard Math 21 syllabus. • Each lesson began with a Motivation Example to show students how the material related to the healthcare field. • Additional Application Exercises were presented after the section content was covered to give students additional practice applying the content in a healthcare setting. These problems were often worked on in small groups.
Sample Class Content • Course Syllabus • Sample Motivation Question • Sections 3.1 and 3.2 • Section 6.7 • Sample Additional Application Problems • Chapter 3 Additional Exercises
Evaluation • A pre- and post- course survey was administered to analyze students’ overall perception of the course. • Pre-Survey • Post-Survey
Evaluation (cont’d.) • Results from the Survey • SRTE Results (On scale from 1-7 with 1 the lowest rating and 7 the highest) • Overall Quality of Course 6.20 • Overall Quality of Instructor 6.47
Future Plans • Continue to offer Math 21 for Nurses every Fall semester. • Track progress of nursing students who complete Math 21 for nurses for comparison with their peers who have not taken the course. • Track progress of students who hope to enter nursing program who have completed Math 21 for nurses. • Continue to improve and modify current Math 21 for Nurses curriculum by introducing more nursing content into the course.