Helps educators to design assignments and rigorous rubrics that truly measure student learning objectives. The ability of students to pass an examination does not necessarily reflect or guarantee ...their ability to apply knowledge in practice, nor are traditional exams a sufficient means to evaluate all learning objectives. Written for both new and seasoned nurse educators, this book is unique in its provision of rigorous rubrics that fully take into account learning objectives and the teaching-learning process, and promote objective grading. It examines a variety of time-tested, alternative evaluation methods, discusses how to design them, and includes best practices for using them. The book provides an overview of how evaluation and rubrics play an integral part within the larger nursing education teaching-learning process. It helps educators clearly define learning objectives and desired outcomes, and how to evaluate them. The book describes how to formulate a variety of teaching strategies, design effective assignments, and examine in detail specific evaluation methods including best practices for their use and exemplar analytic scoring rubrics. Also available are detailed, modifiable grading rubric templates for each assignment presented. Evaluation methods covered include papers, presentations, participation, discussion boards, concept maps, case studies, reflective journals, and portfolios. The book will assist both new and seasoned nurse educators in their quest to graduate competent, safe nurses at all levels of nursing education. Key Features:.: Provides rigorous, modifiable rubrics for learning objective grading; Includes time-tested alternative evaluation methods; Describes best practices for designing a variety of teaching-learning evaluation tools; Includes guidelines for writing clear assignment descriptions; Discusses papers,
presentations, concept maps, case studies, portfolios, and more.
In this dissertation, the phenomenon of presence in an online educational environment is explored through the lived experiences of graduate nursing faculty who teach online. Greater understanding of ...the phenomenon of presence in online educational environments may lead to better learner-instructor relationships, higher levels of inquiry and critical thinking on the part of faculty and students, and ultimately better student outcomes. Utilizing principles of Hermeneutic Phenomenology and deductive inquiry, and based on the learner-centric Being There for the Online Learner Model, the author conducted in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 13 graduate nursing faculty members who teach online at a major university in the northeast United States. The author also reviewed supporting documents pertaining to institutional structure, faculty development, the institution's learning management system, and online faculty job descriptions. Interview data were analyzed thematically, using the mixed-methods software Dedoose. Results of the study revealed four ways in which graduate nursing faculty experience the sense of presence (i.e., The Modes of Presence derived from the Being There for the Online Learner Model): Realism, Involvement, Immersion, and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Two broad themes, Being there and Being Together were also identified. Being There is the sensation that occurs when graduate nursing faculty feel or perceive they are physically in another location when teaching online. Being Together is the sensation that graduate nursing faculty are physically in the same space with others (i.e., their students), when they are actually separated by distance. In both cases, this is for varying lengths of time, and with varying frequency. The study identified three main conclusions: not all participants experience the sense of presence in the same way; Being There may also include the sensation of "Coming Here"; and, The Illusion of Nonmediation, as described in the Model, should be considered as a fifth Mode of Presence. Based upon these conclusions, I present implications for nursing education science and provide recommendations for creating the sense of presence in online educational environments.
The increase in advanced practice graduate programs and the inclusion of content and skills related to advanced health assessment as a core competency for practice served as the impetus for a 5-year ...follow-up study to track the changes, methodologies, and integration of technology into practitioner programs. The questionnaire was mailed to the faculty/schools listed as current members in the National Health Service Corps Nurse Practitioner Faculty Advocate Network. The number of responding schools was 135 (44%). The family nurse practitioner program continues to be the most offered advanced practice nursing program. Nearly all institutions offer a post-master's program and an advanced health assessment course to their clinical graduate students. Health assessment is usually taught concurrently or as a prerequisite for clinical experiences; there continues to be a strong emphasis on the physical examination component. Ethnic and cultural assessment and gerontological assessment content increased since the original study. Both class and laboratory class sizes decreased. Qualitative data that centered on differences in graduate versus undergraduate health assessment revealed a shift in focus in several areas: differential diagnoses, abnormals, and the inclusion of advanced skills. There was an emergence of more creative strategies: the use of standardized patients, online coursework, videotaping, “live” patients, and simulations.
In this dissertation, the phenomenon of presence in an online educational environment is explored through the lived experiences of graduate nursing faculty who teach online. Greater understanding of ...the phenomenon of presence in online educational environments may lead to better learner-instructor relationships, higher levels of inquiry and critical thinking on the part of faculty and students, and ultimately better student outcomes. Utilizing principles of Hermeneutic Phenomenology and deductive inquiry, and based on the learner-centric Being There for the Online Learner Model, the author conducted in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 13 graduate nursing faculty members who teach online at a major university in the northeast United States. The author also reviewed supporting documents pertaining to institutional structure, faculty development, the institution's learning management system, and online faculty job descriptions. Interview data were analyzed thematically, using the mixed-methods software Dedoose. Results of the study revealed four ways in which graduate nursing faculty experience the sense of presence (i.e., The Modes of Presence derived from the Being There for the Online Learner Model): Realism, Involvement, Immersion, and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Two broad themes, Being there and Being Together were also identified. Being There is the sensation that occurs when graduate nursing faculty feel or perceive they are physically in another location when teaching online. Being Together is the sensation that graduate nursing faculty are physically in the same space with others (i.e., their students), when they are actually separated by distance. In both cases, this is for varying lengths of time, and with varying frequency. The study identified three main conclusions: not all participants experience the sense of presence in the same way; Being There may also include the sensation of "Coming Here"; and, The Illusion of Nonmediation, as described in the Model, should be considered as a fifth Mode of Presence. Based upon these conclusions, I present implications for nursing education science and provide recommendations for creating the sense of presence in online educational environments.
