Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Lesson/Training Plan



1.       Title of the lesson/training:

Renal nutrition for nursing teammates -This training is a voluntary 8 week online class provided by a Registered Dietitian for Registered Nurses interested in expanding their knowledge of the renal diet for Stage IV chronic kidney disease.

2.       Target audience:

       Registered nurses working in hemodialysis. Each class will have a maximum of 5 students.

3.       Learning/Training objective:

Participants will identify nutritional concerns based and provide the appropriate nutrition education material based on information provided by the patient. 

4.       Materials needed:

Education handouts that cover the following topics will be reviewed and utilized during class

·       Protein

·       Phosphorus

·       Potassium

·       Fluid

·       Sodium

 

5.       Instruction procedure/learning procedure/class outline and methods:

 

Week 1-Introduction to class with syllabus posted online. Instructor will post a weekly update starting with week one to review updates and projects for the upcoming week. Updates and announcements will occur on Monday. This week, participants will review a Wiki tutorial on how to use a Wiki page. Assigned readings: Education pieces will be posted to class website for review (protein and phosphorus).

 

Week 2- Please refer to Wiki #1 which will include a case study provided by instructor. Please utilize the Wiki to solve problems and find solutions collaboratively (West & West, 2009). See rubric in syllabus for discussing case study.  Discussion post is due by Wednesday at 12:00 am.  Assigned readings: Education piece will be posted to class website for review (potassium).

 

Week 3-Please refer to Wiki # 2 for case analysis of the case study in Wiki # 1. Please refer to rubric in syllabus for comments on building a case solution.  After reviewing the case study, please respond with recommendations for providing patient education.  Assigned readings:  Education pieces will be posted to the class website for review (fluid and sodium).

 

Week 4 and 5-Each participant will be assigned one topic to research for Wiki page. For example, one participant will be assigned the topic “protein”. Each topic should include artifacts, analysis aids, and useful links.  See rubric research expectations.

 

Week 6-Each class participant to review all of the research Wikis by Wednesday at 12:00. Please refer to Wiki #3 which will include a case study based on the research provided in the individual Wikis. Each participant will be assigned to one of two groups to debate two possible solutions to the clinical case study. See Rubric for debate expectations.

 

Week 7-Each class participant will use the research from their individual Wiki and create a 1-page patient education handout on that topic (i.e. protein, phosphorus, etc.). Please post individual education handout to discussion board by Wednesday at 12:00. Please review each education handout and post comments of constructive criticism to the message board for each education piece by Sunday at midnight. See Rubric in syllabus education handout expectations.

 

Week 8-Zoom meeting for 1 hour to wrap up our class findings from critical thinking exercises. Participants are encouraged to print a copy of each education handout to utilize in the clinic setting. Each class participant will receive a zoomerang to provide feedback for instructor.  

 

6.       Suggested Learning Activities/practices:

 

Critical thinking skills encourage participants to thoroughly evaluate and carefully determine a solution for nutritional issues in the dialysis facility (West & West, 2009). Critical thinking skills will be challenged and enhanced by using case studies, debates (via discussion board) and online critique.

As noted in the Snodgrass (2011) study, “the opportunity for students to revise content through interaction with their mentor, and the need for students to respond to questions from peers outside their group facilitated a stepped learning process (p. 578). Case studies on a Wiki mimic clinical interaction with a patient, where a healthcare provider must critically reflect on information obtained from a patient assessment. The Wiki provides an opportunity to critically reflect and problem solve in a stress-free atmosphere.

 

This class includes case studies that encourage problem solving and a collaborative approach to finding solutions (West & West, 2009).  Debates will be used to review opposing arguments and create an argument based on literature. Debating a case study will increase enhance familiarity with class content and allow for critical reflection of differing sides of an issue.

 

Scaffolding will be utilized by the instructor to provide a basis for case study discussion. The instructor will provide a “temporary starting or starting point support structure to be used by learners until they self-organize and construct or modify their own knowledge” (West & West, 2009, p. 37).

 

7.       A basic rubric will be used to assist with expectations of class. Since this is a voluntary class provided for supplemental RN training, no grades will be assigned. It is expected that most participants will be self-directed, motivated learners since they chose to sign up for this optional education session. Feedback will be provided by the instructor on the discussion board and in individual emails throughout the class.  

 

8.       References:

 

West J.A., & West, M.L. (2009) Using wikis for online collaboration. San Fransisco, CA:  Jossey Bass

 

Snodgrass, S. (2011). Wiki activities in blended learning for health professional students: Enhancing critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(4), 563-580.

 

9.       This class utilizes Wiki pages to discuss a case study, debate a case study, build research, and develop education materials.  This class benefits from a collaborative approach to critical thinking and problem solving. This online atmosphere mimics the conversations that occur in a clinic where clinical teammates discuss similar issues.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Christine,
    It is definitely an advantage to be a health care educator when designing this assignment due to the opportunities that case studies provide. According to Stavredes, "Instruction should situate the learning in an authentic tasks that allows learners to understand why it is important to learn, as well as is relevance to them personally and professionally (p 39, 2011)." Case studies are also perfect examples of appealing to an adult learner's need to know why they're learning something and situating it in real-life (Stavredes, 2011)

    I love your week 2 activities. I had not thought about that, but in designing a wiki page for my class to discuss case studies, it would be very helpful for me to set one up in advance so that they can see an example. This would be especially helpful for them to see examples of scholarly journals and research they would be required to provide as well as my expectations and navigation. I think I am also going to use your idea for providing a wiki tutorial and weekly updates as well as touching base with the groups on their wiki pages weekly. Wonderful touch! Thank-you for that ideas. I'm going to re-post my comment here under my wiki so that I don't forget.

    Reference:
    Stavredes, T. (2011). Effective online teaching: Foundations and strategies for student success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

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    1. Thank you for your positive comments. I think your class sounds very interesting and your students will get so much out of "real life" scenarios provided by case studies. Case studies seem to be the tried and true way of teaching students and professionals in health care settings. Good luck with your class!

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  3. One suggestion I would make: don't make it voluntary. Self-direct and self-motivated, absolutely. Maybe extra credit or as part of a larger requirement, but the majority of the students will not do it if there is not a requirement. This is due to several factors that adult learners bring to learning, including that they have many other demands on their time and energy outside the classroom (Parsons & Oja, 2013). Additionally, time management skills are often lacking (Allwardt, 2011). Even the most dedicated student may fail to get into the wiki if it is not put higher on the list of priorities by being a requirement.

    Allwardt, D. E. (2011). Writing with wikis: A cautionary tale of technology in the classroom. Journal of Social Wok Education, 47(3), 597-607.

    Parsons, J. J., & Oja, D. (2013). Computer Concepts. Boston, MA: Cengage Learing.

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    1. Great point! However, I really thought about this and I wasn't sure how to "grade" my co-workers who have sought out and opportunity to learn more about a topic that isn't necessarily a requirement for their role in the facility. Maybe the class could be submitted to offer a CEU for nursing? By offering a CEU, this might motivate the participants to complete tasks. What about some type of certificate and announcement to our leadership that certain individuals successfully completed training? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated as I struggled with this part of my lesson plan. Thank you!

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  4. Nice detailed subject matter. I think this lesson plan can be introduced and implemented to a university now. The fact that your training is for Registered Nurses interested in expanding their knowledge of the renal diet for Stage IV chronic kidney disease address the need for this specialized training. In order to remain relevant in the field, I am sure those nurses are committed to life long learning. Would you classify individuals who take this course as goal oriented learners? According to (Houle 1961) “the goal oriented are indifferent to and even impatient with any kind of education, which is not explainable in their own terms.”

    Houle, C. (1961). The Inquiring Mind. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

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  5. Thank you for your comments! Yes, I agree that Registered Nurses that seek out additional training (by choice) are goal oriented learners. If I would actually teach this class at my current place of employment, I imagine the roster would consist of "goal oriented learners". I agree that this type of learning would be welcomed by nurses in this field since they would automatically see how they can apply the information to patient care. My experience with nurses that have a specialty is that they are self-directed and motivated to learn information that they can pass on to their patients. Thanks for your feedback!

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