Eight faculty members are involved with the first cohort of students as teachers of four required courses, electives and/or the major research project. Quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches provide richness and context, and maximize usefulness of the results. Tools for program evaluation include self-assessment (questionnaires), reflective journals, and discussion in focus groups.

In the context of a philosophy that values lived experience and relationship as the basis of nursing, faculty are teaching in an environment that is disembodied, technology-based, and at a distance. One key focus in our evaluation to date, is the development of teaching in an online environment with emerging curricular issues. The apparent paradox of teaching human science curriculum online will be presented and discussed in detail from what we have learned and continue to learn.

To date, we have learned most from the monthly focus group meetings of faculty in which their experiences of designing and teaching are explored -- from the first semester in which students were enrolled in the MScN Program, May 2005. These meetings continue through the first 2 years of program delivery in conjunction with the first full-time cohort of students. The faculty constructs the curriculum, based on our human science philosophy, disciplinary knowledge, and our teaching-learning experience. Furthering the purpose of the Sigma Theta Tau Congress, this poster disseminates the first year of our research to an international audience, contributing to a science of nursing and influencing practice and education. 

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)