Educational Standards
There are a number of common criticisms of educational standards. The first is the concern that predetermined set standards for education creates a 'teach to the test' mentality vs. truly educating students to be creative problem solvers. Another concern is that of equity in education: namely students with different learning styles, learning challenges, or socio-economic obstacles are unfairly penalized by the format of standardized tests (What do critics of standards have to say, 2004, Educational Broadcasting Corporation).
But most educators would agree that there must be standards in some form -- in other words, that every unit taught must have an objective for student learning and that students must have goals throughout the educational process. The concern is having standards imposed upon a classroom in a manner that is not truly appropriate for the students' needs and is not conducive to process-based learning. Ultimately, learning is a process, not a destination. Feedback through the use of formative rather than summative assessments is essential so teachers can adapt to learners and this can be discouraged by an excessive focus on testing. Of course, ultimately professionals in the field must exhibit core competencies but the objective is professional excellence, not creating good test takers. Test taking is necessary for certain phases of introducing nurses to the profession such as to pass a licensing exam but every single component of the nursing educational module should not be constructed with an aim of passing such a test.
Reference
What do critics of standards have to say? (2004). Educational Broadcasting Corporation.
Retrieved from: http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/standards/index_sub7.html
Q2. Simulation exercises are particularly useful for kinesthetic learners and visual learners. People who learn by doing or learn by seeing are often at a disadvantage in a standard classroom...
Of course, it is also essential that nursing students understand the academic rationale behind what they are doing, so they can act independently in practice and make spontaneous decisions when necessary. But the material should be offered in many different ways in the learning environment to ensure that students have a grasp of the material in a manner beyond the theoretical level. "Simulation occurs whenever we use a synthetic environment to achieve learning outcomes…It can be as straightforward as using standardized patients, basic task trainers, high-fidelity simulators, or a surgical environment where you are using animal or cadaveric tissue. Any time you are creating a scenario that simulates the real thing and allows deliberate practice and feedback, you have a simulated experience" (Gabriel 2013).
Simulation also provides a valuable bridge between life in the classroom and life in a work setting. Students can experience being judged by the real standards of the workforce without having any negative impact on real patient's lives if they make mistakes. Although simulation technology can indeed be expensive, the better the technology can simulate real world experiences the better its instructive potential. The expense of malpractice litigation and lost lives is far greater -- or even the expense of new nurses who quit when they are overwhelmed by the realities of practice.
References
Gabriel, B. (2013). Prepping for performance: The value of simulation in medical education.
AAMC. Retrieved from: https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/june2012/285322/simulation.html
Q3. Nursing education should be viewed as gradually giving students more and more core competencies and greater autonomy in the theater of practice. This may begin with simulations under close instructor guidance, so students get the physical reinforcement of completing tasks accompanied by an understanding of why they are doing what…
