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Principles of Teaching and

Learning Related to Health


Education
What are the roles of educators in the learning process?

• Assessing problems or deficits and learners’ abilities


• Providing important best evidence information and presenting it in unique and
appropriate ways
• Identifying progress being made
• Giving feedback and follow-up
• Reinforcing learning in the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes
• Determining the effectiveness of education provided
Explain why assessment of the learner is fundamental to the educational
process?

• This initial step in the process validates the need for learning and the approaches
to be used in designing learning experiences.

• Good assessments ensure that optimal learning can occur with the least amount
of stress and anxiety for the learner. Assessment prevents needless repetition of
known material, saves time and energy on the part of both the learner and the
educator, and helps to establish positive communication between the two
parties.

• Furthermore, it increases the motivation to learn by focusing on what the


patient or staff member feels is most important to know or to be able to do.
Three components of the
determinants of learning that
require assessment?
1. Learning needs—what the learner needs and wants to learn.
2. Readiness to learn—when the learner is receptive to learning.
3. Learning style—how the learner best learns.
Steps in the assessment of learning
needs
a. Identify the learner (the development of formal or informal education
programs must be based on accurate identification of the learner)
b. Choose the right setting (Establishing a trusting environment helps learners feel
a sense of security in confiding information, believe their concerns are taken
seriously and are considered important, and feel respected. Ensuring privacy and
confidentiality is recognized as essential to establishing a trusting relationship.
c. Collect data about the learner (Once the learner is identified, the educator can
determine characteristic needs of the population by exploring typical health
problems or issues of interest to that population)
Steps in the assessment of learning
needs
d. Collect data from the learner (Learners are usually the most important source of needs assessment data
about themselves. Allowing patients and/or family members to identify what is important to them, what
they perceive their needs to be, and actively engaging learners in defining their own problems and needs
motivates them to learn because they are invested in planning for a program specifically tailored to their
unique circumstances. Also, the educator may not always perceive the same learning needs as the learner.)

e. Involve members of the healthcare team (Other health professionals likely have insight into patient or
family needs or educational needs because of their frequent contacts. Nurses are not the sole educators of
these individuals; thus, collaboration with other members of the healthcare team for a richer assessment of
learning needs is necessary)

f. Prioritize needs ( due to endless list of needs, Maslow’s (1970) hierarchy of human needs can help the
educator prioritize so that the learner’s basic needs are attended to first and foremost before higher needs
are addressed. Prioritizing the identified needs helps the patient or staff member to set realistic and
achievable learning goals.)
Steps in the assessment of learning
needs
g. Determine availability of educational resources ( The educator may identify
a need, but it may be useless to proceed with interventions if the proper
educational resources are not available, are unrealistic to obtain, or do not
match the learner’s needs.)

h. Assess the demands of the organization. (This assessment yields information


that reflects the climate of the organization. What are the organization’s
philosophy, mission, strategic plan, and goals? The educator should be familiar
with standards of performance required in various employee categories, along
with job descriptions and hospital, professional, and agency regulations)
Steps in the assessment of learning
i.
needs
Take time-management issues into account. (Because time constraints are a major
impediment to the assessment process, educators need to:

1.Do close observation and active listening. It is much more efficient and effective to take
the time to do a good initial assessment

2.Learners must be given time to offer their own perceptions of their learning needs if
the educator expects them to take charge and become actively
involved in the learning process

3.Assessment can be conducted anytime and anywhere the educator has formal or
informal contact with learners.
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

a. Informal conversation- often learning needs are discovered during


impromptu conversations that take place with other healthcare team
members involved in the care of the client and between the nurse and the
patient or his or her family. Thus, nurse educator must rely on active
listening to pick up cues and information regarding learning needs
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

b. Structured interview-The nurse educator asks the learner direct and


often predetermined questions to gather information about learning needs. As with the
gathering of any information from a learner in the assessment
phase, the nurse should strive to establish a trusting environment, use open-ended
questions, choose a setting that is free of distractions, and allow the learner to state what are
believed to be the learning needs

Nurse educators must remain nonjudgmental when collecting information about the learner’s
strengths, beliefs, and motivations. Nurses can take notes with the learner’s permission so
that
important information is not lost.
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

c. Focus groups- Focus groups involve getting together a small


number (4 to 12) of potential learners to determine areas of
educational need by using group discussion to identify points of
view or knowledge about a certain topic. A facilitator leads the
discussion by asking open-ended questions intended to encourage
detailed discussion. It is important for facilitators to create a safe
environment so that participants feel free to share sensitive
information in the group setting
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

d. Questionnaires-Nurse educators can obtain learners’ written responses to


questions about learning needs by using questionnaires. Checklists are one
of the most common forms of questionnaires. They are easy to administer,
provide more privacy compared to interviews, and yield easy-to-tabulate
data. The educator’s role is to encourage learners to make as honest a self-
assessment as possible. Becausemchecklists usually reflect what the nurse
educator perceives as needs, a space should be provided for the learner to
add any other items of interest or concern.
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

e. Tests-Giving written pretests before planned teaching can help identify


the knowledge levels of potential learners regarding certain subjects and can
assist in identifying their specific learning needs before instruction begins.
This approach prevents the educator from repeating already known material
in the teaching plan. Furthermore, pretest results are useful to the educator
after the completion of teaching when pretest scores are compared with
posttest scores to determine to what extent learning has taken place.
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

f. Observation- Observing health behaviors in several different


time periods can help the educator draw conclusions about established
patterns of behavior that cannot and should not be drawn from a single
observation. Watching the learner perform a skill more than once is an
excellent way of assessing a psychomotor need. In addition, by observing the
skill performance the educator can best determine whether additional
learning may be needed.
Different methods of assessing the learning needs?

g. Documentation- Initial assessments, progress notes, nursing care


plans, staff notes, and discharge planning forms can provide information
about the learning needs of patients. Nurse educators need to follow a
consistent format for reviewing charts so that they review each chart in the
same manner to identify learning needs based on the same information
Readiness to learn
• 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 a job.
Four types of readiness to learn
• P = Physical Readiness
• E = Emotional Readiness
• E = Experiential Readiness
• K = Knowledge Readiness
Physical readiness
The educator needs to consider five major components
of physical readiness:
1. measures of ability,
2. complexity of task,
3. environmental effects,
4. health status, and
5. gender
because they affect the degree or extent to which learning will occur.
Physical Readiness: Measures of
ability
Ability to perform a task requires fine and/or gross motor movements, sensory acuity,
adequate strength, flexibility, coordination, and endurance.
Physical and sensory abilities are affected by disabilities.

Creating a stimulating and accepting environment by using instructional tools to match


learners’ physical and sensory abilities encourages readiness to learn.

Example:
walking on crutches is a psychomotor skill for which a patient must have the physical
ability to be ready to learn.
Physical Readiness: Complexity of
task
• The more complex the task, the more difficult it is to achieve.
Psychomotor skills once acquired are usually retained better and
longer than learning in other domains. once ingrained, psychomotor,
cognitive, and affective behaviors become habitual and maybe
difficult to alter.
Physical Readiness: Environmental
effects
An environment conducive to learning helps to hold the learner’s
attention and stimulate interest in learning. Unfavorable conditions,
such as extremely high levels of noise or frequent interruptions, can
interfere with a learner’s accuracy and precision in performing cognitive
and manual dexterity tasks
Physical Readiness: Health status
The amounts of energy available and the individual’s present comfort
level are factors that significantly influence that individual’s readiness to
learn. Energy-reducing demands associated with the body’s response to
illness require the learner to expend large amounts of physical and
psychic energy, leaving little reserve for actual learning. Nurse
educators must seriously consider a person’s health status, whether
well, acutely ill, or chronically ill, when assessing for readiness.
Physical Readiness: Gender
Research suggests that women are generally more receptive to medical
care and take fewer risks with their health than do men. This difference
may arise because women. traditionally have taken on the role of
caregivers and, therefore, are more open to health promotion teaching.
In addition, women traditionally have more frequent contacts with
health providers while bearing and raising children. Men, by
comparison, tend to be less receptive to healthcare interventions and
are more likely to be risk takers
Emotional readiness
Learners must be emotionally ready to learn. Like physical readiness,
emotional readiness includes several factors that need to be assessed.
These factors include anxiety level, support system, motivation, risk-
taking behavior, frame of mind, and developmental stage.
Emotional Readiness: Anxiety level
Anxiety influences a person’s ability to perform at cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor levels. In particular, it affects patients’ ability to concentrate and
retain information.

The level of anxiety may or may not be a hindrance to the learning of new skills;
some degree of anxiety is a motivator to learn, but anxiety that is too low or too
high interferes with readiness to learn. On either end of the continuum, mild or
severe anxiety may lead to inaction on
the part of the learner. Fear is a major contributor to anxiety and,
therefore, negatively affects readiness to learn in any of the learning domains
Emotional Readiness:Support
system
The availability and strength of a support system also influence
emotional readiness and are closely tied to how anxious an individual
might feel. Members of the patient’s support system who are available
to assist with self-care activities at home should be present during at
least some of the teaching sessions so that they can learn how to help
the patient if the need arises.
Emotional Readiness:Motivation
Emotional readiness is strongly associated with motivation, which is a
willingness to take action. Knowing the motivational level of the learner
assists the educator in determining when that person is ready to learn.
The nurse educator must be cognizant of the fact that motivation to
learn is based on many varied theories of motivation and, thus, be careful
to link a specific theory’s concepts or constructs to the appropriate
method of assessment and subsequent educational interventions. The
learner who is ready to learn shows an interest in what the nurse
educator is doing by demonstrating a willingness to participate or to ask
questions.
Emotional Readiness:Risk-taking
behavior
Some patients, by the very nature of their personalities, take more risks
than others do. The educator can assist patients in developing strategies
that help reduce the level of risk associated with their choices. If patients
participate in activities that may shorten their life span rather than
complying with a recommended treatment plan, the educator must be
willing to teach these patients how to recognize certain body symptoms
and then what to do if they have them.

Understanding staff willingness to take risks helps the nurse educator


understand why some learners may be hesitant to try new approaches
to delivering care
Emotional Readiness:Frame of Mind
Frame of mind involves concern about the here and now versus the
future. If survival is of primary concern, readiness to learn will be
focused on the present to meet basic human needs. According
to Maslow (1970), physical needs such as food, warmth, comfort, and
safety as well as psychosocial needs of feeling accepted and secure
must be met before someone can focus on higher order learning.
People from lower socioeconomic levels, for example, tend to
concentrate on immediate, current concerns because they are trying to
satisfy everyday needs.
Emotional Readiness:Developmental
stage
Each task associated with human development produces a peak time
for readiness to learn, known as a teachable moment. Unlike children,
adults can build on meaningful past experiences and are strongly
driven to learn information that helps them to cope better with real-life
tasks. They see learning as relevant when they can apply new
knowledge to help them solve immediate problems.

Children, in contrast, desire to learn for learning’s sake and actively


seek out experiences that give them pleasure and comfort
Experiential readiness
Refers to the learner’s past experiences with learning and includes
four elements:
a. level of aspiration,
b. past coping mechanisms,
c. cultural background, and
d. locus of control.

The educator should assess whether previous learning experiences have been
positive or negative in overcoming problems or accomplishing new tasks
Experiential Readiness: Level of
aspiration
The extent to which someone is driven to related to the type of short- and
long-term goals established—not by the educator but by the learner. Previous
failures and past successes influence the goals that learners set for themselves.

Early successes are important motivators in learning subsequent skills.

Satisfaction, once achieved, elevates the level of aspiration, which in turn


increases the probability of continued performance output in undertaking
future endeavors to change behavior.
Experiential Readiness:Past coping
mechanism
Educators must explore the coping mechanisms that learners have
been using to understand how they have dealt with previous problems.
Once these mechanisms are identified, the educator needs to
determine whether past coping strategies have been effective and, if
so, whether they work well in the present learning situation.
Experiential Readiness:Cultural
background
The educator’s knowledge about other cultures and sensitivity to
behavioral differences between cultures are important so that the
educator can avoid teaching in opposition to cultural beliefs. Assessment
of what an illness means to the patient from the patient’s cultural
perspective is imperative in determining readiness to learn. Remaining
sensitive to cultural influences allows the educator to bridge the gap,
when necessary, between the medical healthcare cultureand the patient’s
culture. Building on the learner’s knowledge base or belief system (unless
it is dangerous to well-being), rather than attempting to change it or claim
it is wrong, encourages rather than dampens readiness to learn.
Experiential Readiness:Locus of
control
Educators can determine whether readiness to learn is prompted by internal or
external stimuli in ascertaining the learner’s previous life patterns of responsibility
and assertiveness.

When patients are internally motivated to learn, they have what is called an
internal locus of control; that is, they are ready to learn when they feel a need to
know about something. This drive to learn comes from within the learner.

Learners with external locus of control need someone to emcourage them to know
something of which the responsibility of motivation comes from the educator
Knowledge readiness
Knowledge readiness refers to the learner’s present knowledge base,
the level of cognitive ability, the existence of any learning disabilities
and/ or reading problems, and the preferred style of learning.

Nurse educators must assess these components to determine readiness


to learn and should plan teaching accordingly.
Knowledge readiness: Present knowledge
base
How much someone already knows about a specific subject or how proficient that
person is at performing a task is an important factor to determine before
designing and implementing instruction.

Nurse educator must always find out what the learner knows prior to teaching and
build on this knowledge base to encourage readiness
to learn.

If educators make the mistake of teaching subject material that has already been
learned, boredom and lack of interest may occur in the learner
Knowledge readiness: Cognitive
ability
The educator must match the level of behavioral objectives to the cognitive
ability of the learner.

Individuals with cognitive impairment present a special challenge to the


educator and require simple explanations and step-by-steinstruction with
frequent repetition. Nurse educators should be sure to make information
meaningful to those persons with cognitive impairments by teaching at their
level and communicating in ways that learners can understand.

Enlisting the help of members of the patient’s support system by teaching them
requisite skills allows them to contribute positively to the reinforcement of self-
care activities.
Knowledge readiness: Learning and
Reading Disabilities
Learning disabilities, which may be accompanied by low-level reading
skills, are not necessarily indicative of an individual’s intellectual
abilities, but they do require educators to use special or innovative
approaches to instruction to sustain or bolster readiness to learn.

Individuals with low literacy skills and learning disabilities become


easily discouraged unless the educator recognizes their special needs
and seeks ways to help them accommodate or overcome their
problems with encoding words and comprehending information.
Knowledge readiness: Learning
Styles
A variety of preferred styles of learning exist, and assessing how
someone learns best and likes to learn helps the educator to select
appropriate teaching approaches.

Knowing the teaching methods and materials with which a learner is


most comfortable or, conversely, those that the learner does not
tolerate well allows the educator to tailor teaching to meet the needs
of individuals with different styles of learning, thereby increasing their
readiness to learn.
Learning Style
Refer to the ways in which and conditions under which
learners most efficiently and most effectively perceive,
process, store, and recall what they are attempting to learn
and their preferred approaches to different learning tasks.
Learning style models
• Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking

• Field-Independent/Field- Dependent Perception

• Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model


Learning style models
• Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking
Although not technically a model, right-brain/left-brain thinking,
along with whole-brain thinking, adds to the understanding of brain
functions that are associated with learning

Recognizing that one side of the brain may be better equipped for
certain kinds of tasks than for others, educators can find the most
effective way to present information to learners who have a dominant
brain hemisphere)
Learning style models
• Right-Brain/Left-Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking
Roger Sperry and team established that, in many ways, the brain
operates as two brains (Herrmann, 1988; Sperry, 1977), with each
hemisphere having separate and complementary functions.
Learning style models
Field-Independent/Field- Dependent Perception
Learners have preference styles for certain environmental cues.
A field-independent person perceives items as separate or
differentiated from the surrounding field;
A field-dependent person’s perception is influenced by or immersed
in the surrounding field.
Field independent/dependent model
• Gagne’s (1985) theory regarding the conditions of
learning suggests that the internal processes of
learning can be influenced by external events.

• Mayer (1984) also emphasizes that, for learning to


take place, information must first be perceived or
selected.
Field independent/dependent model
• Witkin (1976) identified a continuum of perception that
ranges from a field-independent style in which items are
perceived relatively independent of their surrounding field ,
and a field dependent style in which a person has difficulty
perceiving items aside from their surrounding field.
Field independent/dependent model
Field dependent style Field independent
style
Is more global (seeing More analytical ( seeing
the whole more than the parts more than
the parts) the whole)
Differences between field dependent & filed
independent learning styles

Field independent Field dependent


May have strong More difficulty with
mathematical reasoning mathematical reasoning
Analyzes the element of a Analyzes the whole
situation picture; less able to
analyze the elements
Recognizes & recalls Does not perceive details
details
Differences between field dependent & filed
independent learning styles

Field independent Field dependent


More task oriented More people oriented
Forms attitude Attitudes guided by
independently authority figures or peer
group
More pronounced self- Sees themselves as others
identity see them
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory
• David Kolb – Management expert
• Kolb’s theory on learning style is that learning is a
cumulative result of past experiences, heredity, and
the demands of the present environment
• Kolb’s model, known as the Cycle of Learning,
includes four modes of learning, which reflect two
major dimensions of perception and processing.
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory- modes of
learning
Perception Dimension:
 Concrete Experience (CE mode) - learners tend to
rely more on feelings than on a systematic
approach to problems and situations; learns from
actual experience
 Abstract Conceptualization (AC mode) - learners
rely on logic and ideas rather than on feelings to
deal with problems or situations; learners create
theories to explain what is seen
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory- modes of
learning
Process Dimension:
 Active Experimentation (AE mode) - learning is active,
and learners like to experiment to get things done; use
theories to solve problems; prefer to influence or change
situations and see the results of their actions; they enjoy
involvement and are risk takers. They learn by doing
 Reflective Observation (RO mode) - learners rely on
objectivity, careful judgment, personal thoughts, and
feelings to form opinions; they learn by watching and
listening or by observing others
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory

• Four learning style types:


• Diverger
• Assimilator
• Converger
• Accomodator
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory
 Diverger - CE and RO; good at viewing concrete situations
from many points of view; like to observe, gather
information, and gain insights rather than take action;
place a high value on understanding for knowledge’s sake
and like to personalize learning by connecting information
with something familiar in their experiences; active
imaginations, enjoy being involved, and are sensitive to
feelings
 group discussions and participating in brainstorming
sessions
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory
• Assimilator - RO and AC; demonstrate the ability
to understand large amounts of information by
putting it into concise and logical form; good in
inductive reasoning; less interested in people and
more focused on abstract ideas and concepts
• through lecture, one-to-one instruction, and self-
instruction methods with ample reading
materials to support their learning
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory

• Converger - AC and AE learner; find practical application for


ideas and theories and have the ability to use deductive
reasoning to solve problems. Good at decision making &
problem solving; likes dealing with technical work rather
than interpersonal relationships

• through demonstration–return demonstration methods of


teaching accompanied by handouts and diagrams
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory

• Accommodator - AE and CE; learn best by hands-on


experience; actively accomplish things or and enjoy new
and challenging situations; uses trial- & error methods to
solve problems demand new and exciting experiences and
are willing to take risks that might endanger their safety
• Role-playing, gaming, and computer simulations
Kolb’s theory of experimental learning

• Kolb’s model depicts learning as a 4-stage cycle beginning


with an immediate concrete experience during which the
person makes observations & reflections.
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory
Learning style models
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model

Kolb’s believed that knowledge is acquired through a transformational process, which


is continuously created and recreated.

In this model, the learner is not a blank slate but rather approaches a topic to be
learned with preconceived ideas.

Kolb’s theory on learning style is that it is a cumulative result of past experiences,


heredity, and the demands of the present environment. These factors combine to
produce different individual orientations to learning
Developmental stage of the learner

When planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating an educational program, the nurse as
educator must carefully consider the characteristics of learners with respect to their
developmental stage

An individual’s developmental stage significantly influences the ability to learn.


Pedagogy is the art and science of helping children to learn
Andragogy- is the term used to describe the theory of adult learning. It is the art and science of
teaching adults.
Gerarogy-teaching of older persons
To meet the three different orientations to learning and health-related educational needs of
learners, a developmental approach must be used. Three major stage-range factors associated
with learner readiness—physical, cognitive, and psychosocial maturation—must be considered
at each developmental period throughout the life cycle.
Discuss developmental characteristics of the
learner

Chronological age – relative indicator of physical, cognitive &


psychosocial stage of development.
Every person is unique – typical developmental trends are identified
as milestones in normal life progression
In teaching-learning process – imperative to examine developmental
phases from infancy to senescence to appreciate changes in
behaviour that occur in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor
domains.
Age is influential to learning readiness, not examined in isolation.
Discuss developmental characteristics of the
learner

To affect ability to Learn - Growth and Development interact with


 Experiential Background
 Physical status
 Emotional status
 Personal motivation
 Environmental factors: stress, conditions, support systems
Discuss developmental characteristics of the learner

Passages of learning ability from childhood to adulthood


Dependence – characteristic of the infant and young child, who are totally
dependent on others for direction, support, and nurturance from a physical,
emotional, and intellectual standpoint; demonstrates manipulative behavior
Independence – when one could care for self, make choices, take
learning responsibility
Interdependence – occurs when one has an advanced in emotional & intellectual
maturity to achieve self reliance, sense of self esteem ability to give & receive,
give respect for others
Discuss developmental characteristics of the
learner

Nurse considers the following:


Learners take responsibility for own health
Recognize learners as sources of health data
Assess background knowledge of topic
Know content built on stage & person’s previous knowledge/ experiences
The Teachable Moment – learner is most receptive or create new
opportunities, attend to needs of learner
Use present situation to heighten need of behaviour changes
Infancy (First 12 Months of Life) and Toddlerhood (1–2
Years of Age)

In this age group, the focus of instruction for health maintenance of
children is geared toward the parents, who are considered the
primary learners rather than the very young child

However, the older toddler should not be excluded from healthcare


teaching and can participate to some extent in the education
process.
Infancy (First 12 Months of Life) and Toddlerhood (1–2
Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


■Read simple stories from books with lots of pictures.
■Use dolls and puppets to act out feelings and behaviors.
■Use simple audiotapes with music and videotapes with cartoon
characters.
■Role play to bring the child’s imagination closer to reality.
■Give simple, concrete, nonthreatening explanations to accompany
visual and tactile experiences.
Infancy (First 12 Months of Life) and Toddlerhood (1–2 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


Perform procedures on a teddy bear or doll first to help the child anticipate what an
experience will be like
Allow the child something to do—squeez your hand, hold a Band-Aid, sing a song, cry if
it hurts—to channel his or her response to an unpleasant experience.
 Keep teaching sessions brief (no longe than about 5 minutes each) because of the
child’s short attention span.
Cluster teaching sessions close together so that children can remember what they
learned from one instructional encounter to another.
 Avoid analogies and explain things in straightforward and simple terms because
children take their world literally and concretely.
 Individualize the pace of teaching according to the child’s responses and level of
attention.
Infancy (First 12 Months of Life) and Toddlerhood (1–2 Years of Age)

For Long-Term Learning


Focus on rituals, imitation, and repetition of information in the form of
words and actions to hold the child’s attention. For example, practice
washing hands before and after eating and toileting.
 Use reinforcement as an opportunity for children to achieve permanence
of learning through practice.
 Employ the teaching methods of gaming and modeling as a means by
which children can learn about the world and test their ideas over time.
Encourage parents to act as role models, because their values and beliefs
serve to reinforce healthy behaviors and significantly influence the child’s
development of attitudes and behaviors.
Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age)
• Children in the preschool years continue with development of skills
learned in the earlier years of growth.
• Their sense of identity becomes clearer, and their world expands to
encompass involvement with others external to the family unit.
• Children in this developmental category acquire new behaviors that
give them more independence from their parents and allow them to
care for themselves more autonomously.
• Learning during this developmental period occurs through
interactions with others and through mimicking or modeling the
behaviors of playmates and adults
Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age)
For Short-Term Learning
• Provide physical and visual stimuli because language ability is still
limited, both for expressing ideas and for comprehending verbal
instructions.
• Keep teaching sessions short (no more than 15 minutes) and
scheduled sequentially at close intervals so that information is not
forgotten.
• Relate information needs to activities and experiences familiar to the
child. For example, ask the child to pretend to blow out candles on a
birthday cake to practice deep breathing.
Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age)
For Short-Term Learning
• Encourage the child to participate in selecting between a limited
number of teaching– learning options, such as playing with dolls or
reading a story, which promotes active involvement and helps to
establish nurse–client rapport.

• Arrange small-group sessions with peers to make teaching less


threatening and more fun.

• Give praise and approval, through both verbal expressions and


nonverbal gestures, which are real motivators for learning.
Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age)
For Short-Term Learning
• Give tangible rewards, such as badges or small toys, immediately
following a successful learning experience to encourage the mastery of
cognitive and psychomotor skills.

• Allow the child to manipulate equipment and play with replicas or dolls
to learn about body parts. Special kidney dolls, ostomy dolls with
stomas, or orthopedic dolls with splints and tractions provide
opportunities for hands-on experience.

• Use storybooks to emphasize the humanity of healthcare personnel; to


depict relationships between the child, parents, and others; and to help
the child identify with certain situations.
Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age)
For Long-Term Learning
• Enlist the help of parents, who can play a vital role in modeling a
variety of healthy habits, such as practicing safety measures and
eating a balanced diet; offer them access to support and follow-up as
the need arises.

• Reinforce positive health behaviors and the acquisition of specific


skills.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

Children at this developmental level are motivated to learn because of


their natural curiosity and their desire to understand more about
themselves, their bodies, their world, and the influence that different
things in the world have on them (Whitener et al., 1998).

This stage is a period of great change for them, when attitudes, values,
and perceptions of themselves, their society, and the world are shaped
and expanded.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Allow school-aged children to take responsibility for their own health
care because they are not only willing but also capable of
manipulating equipment with accuracy. Because of their adeptness in
relation to manual dexterity, mathematical operations, and logical
thought processes, they can be taught, for example, to apply their
own splint or use an asthma inhaler as prescribed.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Teaching sessions can be extended to last up to 30 minutes each
because the increased cognitive abilities of school-aged children make
possible the attention to and the retention of information. However,
lessons should be spread apart to allow for comprehension of large
amounts of content and to provide opportunity for the practice of
newly acquired skills between sessions.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Use diagrams, models, pictures, digital media, printed materials, and
computer, tablet or smartphone applications as adjuncts to various
teaching methods because the increased facility these children have
with language (both spoken and written) and mathematical concepts
allows them to work with more complex instructional tools.

Choose audiovisual and printed materials that show peers


undergoing similar procedures or facing similar situations.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Clarify any scientific terminology and medical jargon used.

Use analogies as an effective means of providing information in


meaningful terms, such as “Having a chest x-ray is like having your
picture taken” or “White blood cells are like police cells that can
attack and destroy infection.”
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Use one-to-one teaching sessions as a method to individualize
learning relevant to the child’s own experiences and as a means of
interpreting the results of nursing interventions specific to the child’s
own condition.

Provide time for clarification, validation, and reinforcement of what is


being learned.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Select individual instructional techniques that provide opportunity
for privacy—an increasingly important concern for this group of
learners, who often feel quite self-conscious and modest when
learning about bodily functions.

Employ group teaching sessions with others of similar age and with
similar problems or needs to help children avoid feelings of isolation
and to assist them in identifying with their own peers.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Prepare children for procedures and intervention well in advance to
allow them time to cope with their feelings and fears, to anticipate
events, and to understand what the purpose of each procedure is,
how it relates to their condition, and how much time it will take.

Encourage participation in planning for procedures and events


because active involvement helps the child to assimilate information
more readily.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning


 Provide much-needed nurturance and support, always keeping in
mind that young children are not just small adults. Praise and rewards
help motivate and reinforce learning.
Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age)
For Long-Term Learning
 Help school-aged children acquire skills that they can use to assume
self-care responsibility for carrying out therapeutic treatment
regimens on an ongoing basis with minimal assistance.

Assist them in learning to maintain their own well-being and prevent


illnesses from occurring.

Research suggests that lifelong health attitudes and behaviors begin in


the early childhood phase of development.
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)
Adolescence marks the transition from childhood to adulthood or
adolescence is the link between childhood and adulthood.

During this prolonged and very change-filled time, many adolescents and
their families experience much turmoil.

How adolescents think about themselves and the world significantly


influences many healthcare issues facing them, from anorexia to obesity.
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Use one-to-one instruction to ensure confidentiality of sensitive information.

 Choose peer-group discussion sessions as an effective approach to deal with


health topics such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, safety measures,
obesity, and teenage sexuality. Adolescents benefit from being exposed to
others who have the same concerns or who have successfully dealt with
problems like theirs.
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Use face-to-face or computer group discussion, role playing, and gaming as


methods to clarify values and solve problems, which feed into the teenager’s
need to belong and to be actively involved. Getting groups of peers together
in person or virtually (e.g., blogs, social networking, podcasts, online videos)
can be very effective in helping teens confront health challenges and learn
how to significantly change behavior
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Employ adjunct instructional tools, such as complex models, diagrams, and


specific, detailed written materials, which can be used competently by many
adolescents. Using technology is a comfortable approach to learning for
adolescents, who generally have facility with technological equipment after
years of academic and personal experience with telecommunications in the
home and at school.

 Clarify any scientific terminology and medical jargon used.


Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Share decision making whenever possible, because control is an important


issue for adolescents.

 Include adolescents in formulating teaching plans related to teaching


strategies, expected outcomes, and determining what needs to be learned
and how it can best be achieved to meet their needs for autonomy.

 Suggest options so that they feel they have a choice about courses of action.
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Give a rationale for all that is said and done to help adolescents feel a sense
of control.

 Approach them with respect, tact, openness, and flexibility to elicit their
attention and encourage their responsiveness to teaching–learning
situations.

 Expect negative responses, which are common when their self-image and
self-integrity are threatened.
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Short-Term Learning

 Avoid confrontation and acting like an authority figure. Instead of directly


contradicting adolescents’ opinions and beliefs, acknowledge their thoughts
and then casually suggest an alternative viewpoint or choices, such as “Yes, I
can see your point, but what about the possibility of . . .?”
Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age)

For Long-Term Learning

 Accept adolescents’ personal fable and imaginary audience as valid, rather


than challenging their feelings of uniqueness and invincibility.

 Acknowledge that their feelings are very real because denying them their
opinions simply will not work.

 Allow opportunity to test their own convictions. Let them know, for example,
that although some other special people may get away without taking
medication, others cannot. Suggest, if medically feasible, setting up a trial
period with medications scheduled further apart or in lowered dosages to
determine how they can manage.
The Developmental Stages of
Adulthood
• The period of adulthood constitutes three major developmental stages—the
young adult stage, the middle-aged adult stage, and the older adult stage

• Education is more learner centered and less teacher centered; that is,
instead of one party imparting knowledge to another, the power relationship
between the educator and the adult learner is much more horizontal

• The emphasis for adult learning revolves around differentiation of life tasks
and social roles with respect to employment, family, and other activities
beyond the responsibilities of home and career
Young Adulthood (20–40 Years of Age)
• Young adulthood is a time for establishing long-term, intimate
relationships with other people, choosing a lifestyle and adjusting to it,
deciding on an occupation, and managing a home and family. These
decisions lead to changes i n the lives of young adults that can be a
potential source of stress
Young Adulthood (20–40 Years of Age)
• Teaching strategies must be directed at encouraging young adults to seek
information that expands their knowledge base, helps them control their
lives, and bolsters their self-esteem.

• Health promotion is the most neglected aspect of healthcare teaching at this


stage of life.

• Nurse as educator must find a way of reaching and communicating with this
audience about health promotion and disease prevention measures.
Middle-Aged Adulthood (41–64 Years
of Age)
• Midlife is the transition period between young adulthood and older
adulthood.

• The accumulation of life experiences and their proven record of


accomplishments often allow them to come to the teaching–learning
situation with confidence in their abilities as learners. However, if
their past experiences with learning were minimal or not positive,
their motivation likely will not be at a high enough level to easily
facilitate learning. Physical changes, especially with respect to hearing
and vision, may impede learning as well
Older Adulthood (65 Years of Age and
Older)
• Santrock (2017) identifies three groups of older adults: the
young-old (65–74 years of age), the old-old (75–84 years of
age), and the oldest-old (85 years and older).

• Newman and Newman (2015) have identified the last stages


of aging into two categories: later adulthood ( 60–75 years)
and elderhood (75 years until death).
Older Adulthood (65 Years of Age and
Older)
• Patient education needs are generally greater and more
complex than those for persons in any of the other
developmental stages. Numerous studies have documented
that older adults can benefit from health education
programs. Their compliance, if they are given specific health
directions, can be quite high. Given the considerable
healthcare expenditures for older people, education
programs to improve their health status and reduce
morbidity would be a cost-effective measure
What are the roles as nurse educator in assessing
stage-specific learner needs according to levels?
 Data gathering
 Synthesize information
Interpret
Motivator
Facilitator

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