Learning Styles and Learner-Centered Teaching in Nursing

Education as Dialogue and the Role of Remediation

Education is a dialogue, not a monologue. Although an educator may have a plan about what he or she wishes to teach, the teacher must respond to student input. Students may not understand the material as it is initially presented; they may be bored or ill-prepared; they may raise probing and unexpected questions; or they may have different learning styles.

Using different approaches is particularly essential in healthcare education, given that new scientific knowledge builds upon old knowledge. Remediation is effective because it ensures students have mastered foundational concepts early on, before they fall completely behind. Given the nursing shortage the nation is facing, finding ways to prepare students with inadequate backgrounds and swiftly bring them to the same level of competency as their peers is a pressing concern. "Far too many students arrive on college campuses today unprepared to do university-level work. The typical solution to this problem is to place students into remedial, or developmental, courses — classes that don't offer credit — and try to get them up to speed" (Remediation, 2014, Education Sector). However, there is a danger that students may become bored with remedial classes or feel frustrated at falling behind their peers. Using technology or accelerated remediation courses can be a useful way to combat such frustration.

Teacher and Student Responsibility in Learner-Centered Education

Teachers alone cannot be blamed for all the problems students face, but it is not necessarily the students' fault either. Students may be at a profound economic or social disadvantage compared to their peers: they may need to work several jobs to afford college and may arrive with poor academic preparation. These circumstances affect student performance in class, and there is little a teacher can do over the course of one semester to remedy such deep-rooted social challenges. Teachers can, however, try to motivate students psychologically by using engaging pedagogical techniques and by demonstrating genuine enthusiasm for the subject matter.

Although content knowledge is important, simply possessing knowledge is not the same as teaching effectively. Teachers must reach out to students and help them understand why the subject matter is meaningful in ways that are comprehensible and relevant. This is the core of what it means to be learner-centered. Students, however, also bear a responsibility in the learner-centered environment to meet teachers halfway. "Learner-centered teachers do not employ a single teaching method. This approach emphasizes a variety of different types of methods that shift the role of instructors from givers of information to facilitators of student learning. Traditionally, instructors focused on what they did, and not on what the students were learning. This emphasis on what instructors do often leads to students who are passive learners and who did not take responsibility for their own learning" (Learner-centered teaching, 2013, U.S. Sciences). Both teachers and students must take responsibility for the learning process.

Learning Styles and Multi-Modal Instruction

A good teacher is aware of different learning styles and presents material using a variety of strategies, rather than relying on any single approach. Of course, no student is a purely auditory or purely visual learner; most people have several areas in which they excel rather than just one. Regardless, taking self-administered assessments about learning styles can help students become more self-reflective about what helps them learn and, as a result, become more effective learners. This is particularly critical in the nursing profession, given that nursing is a visual, kinesthetic, spatial, and verbally based discipline requiring a wide variety of skill sets (Lohri-Posey, 2003). Online learning offers advantages for all students through its ability to incorporate a multimedia approach into the virtual classroom.