Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
406
Creative Expression as a Learning Strategy: The Coat of Arms Project
Linda Cooper, RN, PhD1, Janice Waddell, PhD, RN2, and Rachael Kay1. (1) School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada, (2) School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| Learning Objective #1: Examine a non-traditional approach to learning that can be used by nursing and trans-disciplinary teams to promote critical thinking abilities and understanding of abstract concepts. |
| Learning Objective #2: Learn and discuss qualitative research findings related to the implementation of this learning strategy. |
The Coat of Arms assignment was a non-traditional approach to learning designed to promote nursing students’ critical thinking abilities and understanding of abstract concepts through their aesthetic way of knowing (Koithan, 1996). The Coat of Arms assignment focused on the development of knowledge synthesis concerning the nature and role of nursing, creative expression of thoughts and feelings regarding nursing and cooperative learning skills. Working in groups of 5 or 6 persons, students shared their thoughts and feelings about ‘Nursing’ and identified the key qualities that they felt represented the profession. Symbols were selected to express each quality and organized to fit on a Coat of Arms shield template. Individual scholarly papers and group presentations allowed students to provide the rationale behind their choice of imagery. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Coat of Arms assignment in stimulating aesthetic ways of knowing, as perceived by the student participants. Students were recruited from an undergraduate introductory nursing theory course and 30 participants were randomly selected and assigned to one of three focus groups. Through semi-structured interviews, this study examined the following research questions: (1) According to the students, did the Coat of Arms assignment facilitate the synthesis of knowledge concerning the nature and role of nursing? (2) According to the students, did the Coat of Arms assignment provide an avenue for creative expression of thoughts and feelings regarding nursing? (3) According to the students, did the Coat of Arms assignment facilitate the development of cooperative learning skills? Semi-structured interview transcripts were analyzed for themes and provided rich insight into the students’ experiences of participating in the Coat of Arms assignment.