Indeed, this multicultural state of the nursing profession can be very profitably incorporated into one of the key tools that I would use in developing, assessing, and evaluating curricula. The concept of different learning styles has made considerable inroads in many American and other Western educational systems. This awareness helps to create systems of learning that allow as many students as possible to benefit from the same curriculum. When an instructor is capable of teaching the same concept in a number of different ways (by using different educational technologies, for example, or drawing in students to help others with the same learning styles) then all members of the class and eventually the profession will benefit.

One element of differing learning styles that is not usually considered in creating curricula that support aural vs. visual learners (for example) is the way in which basic cultural concepts affect learning style. This is not an issue that has had to be addressed with consistency before now in the United States since those nurses born outside of the United States were most likely to have been trained in American nursing programs. This homogeneity of training programs in large measure (or at least was thought to have in large measure) compensated for or even negated cultural differences.

However,...

A program that is not culturally sensitive will not only frustrate students but will also ensure that the profession loses out on many of the valuable philosophies that a multicultural workforce can provide.
This multicultural aspect of nursing curricula must also be attended to in terms of how nurses from the developing world learn how to work in the best ways with American patients. Not only must nursing instructors learn to speak the cultural dialects of their students, but they must also teach those students the cultural dialects of the healing arts in the United States.

Which concepts concerning student-centered learning, learning theories, learning styles, teaching strategies, and/or educational technology do you think are most important to consider when planning curriculum? Identify two such examples of teaching/learning concepts and describe how these will inform your approach to curriculum development and revision in the future.

References

Keating, S. (2010). Curriculum development and evaluation in nursing. (2nd Ed.) New York: Springer.