Social cognitive and constructivist learning theories for nurse educators

¶ … Learning Theories: Implications for the Nurse Educator

There are two specific learning theories that have to be addressed here. These are social cognitive and constructivist. By discussing both of these through the lens of the nurse educator, one is better able to understand how these theories work within that context and how they can affect not only what the nurse educator chooses to teach but what and how those who need nursing education actually learn. Social cognitive theory is focused on the observation of others (Bandura, 1985; Berg & Miller, 1992). In other words, it is believed that human beings cannot learn everything from their own experiences, and that part of helping the human race to continue is learning how to adapt from seeing what others are doing (Pajares, et al., 2009). While that might seem to be common sense, it is a very important theory of learning that has been widely studied over the years. It is only one way a person learns, of course, as there are many different types of options when someone is being taught.

Another choice for learning is constructivist theory, which is essentially the opposite of social cognitive theory. Those who believe in constructivist theory think that it is important for people to learn how to do things by actually performing the tasks they are trying to learn (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006). This can take some trial and error, of course, but that does not mean that it is not effective or that it does not help people learn. Many human beings are "hands on" learners who are clearly focused on doing things their own way (Atkinson, et al., 2000; Clark). When they do that, they learn much more and are able to address issues they might not have understood if they merely watched someone else perform the tasks instead. A combination of the two different theories can be most effective in teaching the vast majority of people, and the nurse educator can use that to his or her advantage.

The Connection Between Theory and Practice

There is a strong connection between theory and practice. People who are focused on only one way to learn and do something may not be having much success, but that does not mean they lack the ability to learn. Instead, it means that they are not learning in the correct way (Bandura, 1985). Because their approach to the situation is wrong, they are missing out on important information they would have otherwise been able to obtain. For nurse educators, this can be frustrating. Teaching nurses how to handle specific issues and preparing them for various types of practices is an important job, and one that can be stressful and difficult for any educator who does not clearly understand the differences between people who learn best based on a particular theory. For example, when one nurse learns best by watching and then imitating behavior and another nurse learns best by being instructed as he or she performs the steps to a procedure, it is not realistic to ask both of those nurses to conform to only one way of being taught information.

When a nurse educator is open to acknowledging different kinds of theories, that nurse educator makes a large difference in how well nurses learn what they need to know in order to be successful. Of course, theory and practice are not necessarily the same thing. A theory like social cognitive or constructivist may make perfect sense on paper, but using it in the real world can have its own perils (Bandura, 1985; Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006). Many people are a mix of the two theories when it come to how they learn, and that can lead to difficulties in teaching them (Berg & Miller, 1992). A nurse educator who starts out teaching a nurse in one particular way may not be able to just move to a different way and have it be successful if the first option is not a good choice. A hybrid between theory and practice may be required in order to have a successful outcome.

The Variance in Potential Educational Learning Outcomes

With the two different types of teaching and learning that come about from these theories, there is going to be a difference in the potential outcomes for educational learning. In other words, not every nurse student is going to do as well as expected because of the way he or she is being taught, and other students may actually do better than expected because they are taught in a way they can more clearly understand and comprehend the material (Berg & Miller, 1992; Atkinson, et al., 2000). That is important to consider, because there are many factors that affect how well a student performs when being taught something. Good nurse educators will be able to spot when this is a problem and take care of it in such a way that the student is able to continue learning without interruption. For each and every nurse educator there are many students who will be in need of instruction. As these students move through their learning experience, they will have the opportunity to adjust to different ways of doing things and will be able to work on adjusting how they learn.

Still, nurses who learn better based on one theory or the other will likely always do so. This must be addressed so that all nurses who are being taught have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow no matter which way they learn best. By incorporating both kinds of theories into the way a person is educated, there is a very real opportunity to find what works best and use it to offer success to as many people as possible (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006). There will still be people who struggle with the material, and there will also be those who have difficulties with whether they can learn all they need to know or not, but that is seen no matter what the profession. The variance in learning outcomes should come from the variance in how individual people learn, not in how they are taught and whether they are struggling to learn something a particular way.

Conclusion

Overall, the main issue the nurse educator must face is how to impart the right information to the nurses he or she is teaching in the best way possible. Because people learn differently, there are several theories that can be used to teach what needs to be known. The most common of those are the social cognitive theory and the constructivist theory. By using only one of these, though, the nurse educator is limiting himself or herself and also limiting how well a group of student nurses will learn. That is important to consider, as nurse educators should be open to working with all different types of students who have different learning styles. A mix of both types of theories will generally work better when trying to teach a group of students, because of the way the group is made up of people with different learning and retention styles (Berg & Miller, 1992; Atkinson, et al., 2000). A person must want to learn, but the way he or she is taught can deeply affect the value of the information he or she takes in over time. For nurses, that can be particular important because of their need to perform procedures correctly for their patients.

Both social cognitive and constructivist theories are excellent choices when it comes to people learning how to do new things. That is because everyone learns differently, but most people either learn by being told something and replicating it or they learn by trying it for themselves. There are few other ways to learn, so these are the most common considerations. Some people do learn well from a combination of theories, though, so nurse educators often incorporate both of the theories into the way they teach their students. That allows for the best outcome for the maximum number of students, but is no guarantee that there will not be students who still struggle with understanding the material correctly. There are limited options for those who still struggle to learn, based on current educational theories.