Chapter 4

Determinants of Learning
 Assessment of the learner

• The nurse educator must be aware of

what factors influence how well an
individual learns through Assessment of
the learner
• Assessment of the learner is the first and
important step in the instructional design
,but it is also the step most likely to be
neglected
 Assessment of the learner includes attending to
the three determinants of learning:

Learning Needs
• (WHAT the learner needs to learn)

Readiness to Learn
• (WHEN the learner is receptive to learning)

Learning Style
• (HOW the learner best learns)

Haggard, 1989
ASSESSING LEARNING NEEDS
 Definition

• Assessment of Learning Needs can

be defined as gaps in the knowledge
that exist between a desired level of
performance and the actual level of
performance (Health care Education
Association ,1985)
• Such gaps exist because of a lack of
knowledge ,attitude ,or skills
 Assessment of Learning Needs

1. Identify the learner

2. Choose the right setting
3. Collect data about the learner
4. Collect data from the learner
5. Involve members of the healthcare team
6. Prioritize needs (table 4-3)
7. Determine the availability of educational
resources
8. Assess demands of the organization
9. Take time-management issues into account
Table:4-3 .Needs are prioritized based on the
following criteria

 Mandatory: Needs that must be learned for survival

when the learner’s life or safety is threatened
 Desirable: Needs that are not life-dependent but are
related to well-being
 Possible: Needs for information that are “nice to
know” but not essential or required because they are
not directly related to daily activities or the particular
situation of the learner
 Methods to Assess Learning Needs

• Informal conversations
• Structured interviews
• Focus groups
• Self-administered questionnaires
• Tests
• Observations
• Documentation
 Assessing Learning Needs of
Nursing Staff

• Written job descriptions

• Formal and informal requests
• Quality assurance reports
• Chart audits
• Rules and regulations
• Knox Four-Step approach
READNRSS TO LEARN
 Definition

• Readiness to Learn
Can be defined as the time when the
learner demonstrates an interest in
learning the information necessary to
maintain optimal health or to become more
skillful in the job (Bastable 2010).
The Four Types of Readiness to
Learn Are:
P = Physical readiness

E = Emotional readiness

E = Experiential readiness

K = Knowledge readiness
 The Components of Each Type of
Readiness to Learn Include:
1. Physical readiness 3. Experiential readiness
– measures of ability – level of aspiration
– complexity of task – past coping mechanisms
– health status – cultural background
– gender
– locus of control
– anxiety level
– orientation
– support system
2. Emotional readiness
- Anxiety level 4. Knowledge readiness
- Support system – present knowledge base
- motivation – cognitive ability
- risk-taking behavior – learning disabilities
- frame of mind
- developmental stage
LEARNING STYLE
 Definition

Learning styles refers to the way and

condition in which learners most eefeciently
and most effectively perceive, process, store
and recall what they are attempting to learn
(James &Gardner 1995)
 Definition

• Keefe (1979) defines Learning Style as the

way the learners learn, taking into account
cognitive ,affective, and physiological
factors that affect how learners perceive,
interact with and respond to the learning
enviroment
 Six Learning Style Principles
• Both the style by which the teacher prefers to
teach and the style by which the learner prefers to
learn can be identified.
• Educators need to guard against relying on
teaching methods and tools which match their
own preferred learning styles.
• Educators are most helpful when they assist
learners in identifying and learning through the
their own style preferences.
 Six Learning Style Principles
(cont.)
• Learners should have the opportunity to
learn through their preferred style.
• Learners should be encouraged to
diversify their style preferences.
• Educators can develop specific learning
activities that reinforce each modality or
style.
Learning Style Models and Instruments

1 Brain Preference Indicator

(Right-Brain, Left-Brain, and Whole-Brain)
2 Field-Independent/Field-Dependent
3 Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT)
4 4. Environmental Preference Survey (EPS)
(Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Inventory)
5 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Learning Style Instruments (cont.)

6. Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI)

7. 4MAT System
8. Gardner’s Eight Types of Intelligence
9. VARK Learning Styles
 Learning Style Instruments
1. Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking
•Brain Preference Indicator
•Right hemisphere are emotional, visual–spatial,
nonverbal hemisphere
Thinking processes using the right brain are
intuitive, subjective, relational, holistic, and time
free.
•Left hemisphere are vocal and analytical side
Thinking process using reality-based and logical
thinking with verbalization.
• No correct or wrong side of the brain
• Each hemisphere gathers in the same sensory
information but handles the information in
different ways.
• Knowledge of one’s own brain hemispherical
performance can help educators identify the
strengths and weaknesses of various teaching
methods.
 Examples of Right-Brain/Left-Brain and
Whole-Brain Thinking
Left Brain Right Brain
• Prefers talking and writing • Prefers drawing and
• Recognizes/remembers manipulating objects
names • Recognizes/remembers
faces
• Solves problems by
• Solves problems by looking
breaking them into parts at the whole, looks for
• Conscious of time and patterns, uses hunches
schedules • Not conscious of time and
schedules
Whole brain—combining both sides of the brain
 Educators Role based on the Brain Model is to stimulate
the use of the whole-brain thinking

To stimulate left brain To stimulate Right brain

thinking thinking
• Provide structured • Provide a more un-
environment by relying structured ,free flowing
on specific objective environment that allow for
and a course outline creative opportunities

See book chapter 4. for more information about Instruments to measure left ,right
and whole brain thinking see book
2. Field-Independent/Field-Dependent
• A Field-Independent Person perceive items as
separate or differential from the surrounding field
• A Field-Dependent Persons perception is
influenced by by or immersed in the surrounding
field

See book chapter 4. for more information about characteristics &

Instruments of Field-Independent/Field-Dependent
3. Embedded Figures Test (GEFT)

• This tool asses the Learners preference styles for certain

environmental cause.
• It Helps the educator structure the learning task and
environment
• Helps to assess the extent to which learners are able to
ignore distractions from other persons
• Assesses whether learners see the whole first or the
individual parts of a task when learning occur
4. Environment Preference Survey (LSI),Dunn and
Dunn’s Learning Style elements

Assess learners response to 5 basic Stimuli

Environmental

Emotional

Sociological

Physical

Psychological
5. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Carl G Jung (1921/1971) developed a theory that

explains personality similarities and differences by
identifying attitudes of people (Extraverts & Introverts)
along with opposite mental functions which are the
ways people perceive or prefer to take in and make use
of information from the world around them.

According to Myers-Briggs an individual comes to a

conclusion about or becomes aware of something through
a preference of judging or perceiving
 Extraversion (E) Introversion (I)

Sensing (S) Intuition (N)

Thinking (T) Feeling (F)

Judgment (J) Perception (P)

See book chapter 4. for more information about Instruments to measure Myers-
Briggs personality Type
6. Kolb Learning Style
David Kolb ,a management expert from Case
Western Reserve University , developed his
learning style model in 1970.

Kolb’s Model known as the cycle of learning

includes four modes of learning that reflect two
major dimensions; perception and processing .

He hypnotized that learning results from the way

learners perceive as well as how they process
what they perceive
 Kolb Learning Style

Concrete experience Abstract conceptualization

Active experimentation Reflective observation

Diverger Converger
Assimilator Accommodator
7. 4MAT System

• There is a combination of Kolb’s model

combined with right/left brain research.
• There are four types of learners.
• Educators can address all four learning
styles by teaching sequentially from type-
one learner to type-two learner, etc.
• Learning sequence is circular and cyclic.
8. Gardner’s Eight Types of Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence Musical intelligence

Spatial intelligence Logical–mathematical intelligence

Bodily kinesthetic intelligence Intrapersonal intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence
9.VARK Learning Style

VARK is a sensory model and it is an extension of the neuro-

linguistic model. In the acronym VARK,
 V stands for visual,
 A for aural,
 R for read/write and
 K for kinesthetic.

According to Fleming (2006), VARK refers to category of

communication preference. It deals with the way we take in
and give out information.
 Interpretation of Style Instruments
• Caution must be exercised in assessing styles so
that other equally important factors in learning are
not ignored.
• Styles only describe how individuals process
stimuli, not how much or how well information is
learned.
• Style instruments should be selected based on
reliability, validity, and the population for which
they are to be used.
• More than one learning style instrument should be
used for appropriate assessment of learner.
 Reference

• Bastable, S. (2014): Nurse As Educator: Principles of Teaching and

Learning For Nursing Practice. 3rd ed Jones and Bartlett Publishers,
Sudbury.