Lesson Plan - Nurses The context in which the lesson plan will be implemented will be a classroom setting with nursing students attending a graduate level course in nursing. The classroom does not necessarily have to be a physical classroom but can be taught in a clinical environment as well. The lesson plan can also be adapted to small groups or large classroom sizes. For this particular paper, the lesson plan is geared towards a large classroom environment with at least 20 graduate student nurses between the ages of 21 and 43 years old. The lesson topic is one that is defined by both the use of motor skills and the implementation of technology, as well as cognitive recognition of the capabilities of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) when used to create, modify, maintain and transmit an Electronic Patient Record (EPR).

Learning objectives

There are a number of different learning objectives that this lesson plan seeks to meet. The study seeks to define an educational learning objective, an instructional learning objective and a behavioral learning objective. One recent study determined that "how physicians are evaluated throughout their careers and how training programs are accredited has shifted from demonstrating what we teach and what we are learning to demonstrating the achievement of competence" (Hauer, Quill, 2011, p. 503). The Hauer and Quill study seems to acknowledge that no longer are educational objectives simply tied to the subject being taught or learned, now a display of competence is necessary in order to determine whether the educational objective has been reached.

Keeping this in mind, the educational objective for this study is to determine whether the students are competent in entering patient data into a PDA in order to create, modify, change and transmit an EPR.

The instructional objective of the study is to provide the necessary activities and resources to the students in order to gain the knowledge to show an achievement of competence with the PDA (at least regarding the EMR). The instructional objectives for this study will be implemented through the use of Blooms Taxonomy which consists of tools that assist students in cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills, or in more simplistic terms; "the learners should have acquired new skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes" (Bloom's, 2010) after an instructional event. Most experts believe that the instructional objectives need to be defined as 'the first step to enhance learning' (Sharma, Sastri, Ahluwalia, 2010, p. 171). For this study, the new skill(s) that will be gained through the instructional event is the psychomotor skill of physically entering the information. The new knowledge gained will be how to create and transmit the information to the necessary medical professionals.

Finally the behavioral learning objective for this lesson is that the student(s) will be able to walk through the entire process of entering or changing information in the PDA to create or modify a new or existing EMR. As one expert most eloquently wrote "The learner's changed behavior is evaluated after the completion of the session to demonstrate that learning took place" (Wittmann-Price, Fasolka, 2010, p. 233). It is projected that all students should be capable of achieving all three learning objectives.

Learner Types

There are a number of learning types for students that any lesson plan must consider when attempting to be an effective tool in the educational environment. The three most common types of learning styles include auditory, visual and kinesthetic.

An auditory learner likes to listen intently and can usually acquire knowledge by reading aloud (to themselves or to others). When they are bored they will usually talk to others and are very good at remembering through self-verbalization.

The visual learner will usually take detailed notes and they like to sit in the front of a classroom in order to view what is taking place. They will often visualize the assignment by closing their eyes, which they also do to recall items and events. They also find passive surroundings to be ideal. They learn well through illustrations and presentations that use color and will oftentimes use rich language both verbally and in written form.

The kinesthetic learner is someone who enjoys a hands-on approach. These students speak with their hands, find reasons to move around when they are bored. The enjoy activities such as cooking, construction, engineering and art. They also like to sit near the door or an open space and are uncomfortable in classroom, especially if the classrooms have no capacity of hands-on experiences. They need to be active and take frequent breaks. Most individuals have one dominant learning style, but almost all students can also learn through the use of all three learning styles.

Teaching strategies...

The first teaching strategy is the collaboration method. Collaborating in a classroom has always seemed a very natural manner of learning. One imagines that the early schools of Aristotle and Socrates led to a number of collaborative efforts, and the lesson plan will seek to implement that strategy through small groups; each required to teach and learn from each other the method for effective creation of EMR's. Collaborating in the classroom or clinical setting allows for interactions that will surely be beneficial to most (if not all) the participants. However, one of the drawbacks to collaboration is that its success is often based on the relationship(s) between the various participants. If there are some that do not wish to participate, or perhaps they think they know too much (or too little) then the process could become bogged down or frustrating in nature. The lesson plan will have to address this issue by assuring that students who work well together are placed in the same groups. It would also be nice to be able to determine the dominant learning style for each group and design an activity based on that style. As one recent article states that "the need for collaboratively determined care is essential for avoiding errors and promoting quality" (Tschannen, Kalisch, 2009, p. 796) and this lesson plan seek to promote quality learning through its instructional objectives.
The second teaching strategy will complement the first in an effective manner. Active learning allows the student(s) to actively pursue the knowledge needed to attain achievement levels designated by the lesson plan. Active learning takes place when the students are using a 'hands-on' approach in the classroom. The lesson plan will ask each group of students to interact with one another while requiring that each student enter or modify an EMR.

One expert determined that "the discipline of nursing lacks evidence that evaluates student characteristics and engagement as a function of successful academic outcomes" (Popkess, McDaniel, 2011, p. 89) but it is projected that the outcomes of this active learning activity will provide the impetus for a successful outcome of learning.

The third teaching strategy is one that allows the flexibility of groups that are being student-led instead of instructor led teaching. The students will determine the course of their educational endeavors, by collaborating one with another in their group setting. Each group will be required to present to the overall class a synopsis of what they learned. The synopsis will include audio, visual and kinesthetic medias such as, videos, speakers, and hands on experiments.

Anticipatory Set

To develop student anticipation of the learning event, the lesson plan will incorporate such requirements as; a PowerPoint report created by each group documenting the various features and history of the PDA. A second anticipatory set will require that the students provide individual written reports on the use of EMR in their work (or school setting if they are not currently working in the medical industry). They will be required to document all categories of the EMR, as well as what is included, and what is not. The report(s) will also document who has access to the EMR and why.

Closure

Finally, the students will present a group report and presentation to the classroom on their acquired competence with the PDA regarding the EMR. Additionally, each student will be required to demonstrate (individually) to the instructor the act of creating, modifying and electronically transmitting to the instructor an EMR in a proficient manner.

Instructional Resources

The instructional resources needed for this lesson plan to be effective, will include enough PDA's (20) to ensure that each student has one of their own. Other resources will include the computer classroom with computers and internet accessibility with software that will allow the students the ability to create PowerPoint presentations. Additionally, the students will need to have the accessibility to the internet or school intranet in order to conduct research in a competent manner.