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Active Teaching: Keeping Students Engaged in the Classroom

Tuesday, July 12, 2011: 3:45 PM

Indra Hershorin, PhD, RN
Division of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores Miami Shores, FL

Learning Objective 1: Explore various instructional strategies that promote learner engagement.

Learning Objective 2: Formulate a personal plan to integrate active teaching/learning in the classroom.

According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) despite the doubling of newly licensed nurses entering the profession from 108,702 RNs in 2000 to 209,758 RNs in 2008 the supply of nurses is expected to decline, resulting in a shortage of one million nurses (NCSBN, 2009). High student attrition from nursing programs contributes to the national nursing shortage. With the expansion of technologies used in clinical practice, the increased amount of content to cover in the nursing curricula, and the different types of learners, nurse educators are faced with the challenging task of creating a learning environment that will help students to succeed.

The teacher who is able to maintain participants’ interest with an exciting and dynamic delivery using a variety of instructional methods is more likely to be successful in helping students reach the learning objectives. Active teaching strategies with a focus on active learning can promote critical thinking, encourage clinical reasoning, and engage students in the learning process. Active teaching and learning involves the use of strategies which maximizes opportunities for interaction. Pitching the perfect lecture and using instructional strategies such as, video clips, case studies, one-minute paper, questioning, web resources, inspirational quotes, and music can engage students in the learning process. Engaging students in the learning process can make them more likely to commit to memory information associated with the lesson that can lead to success and increased NCLEX-RN pass rates. Knowing how students learn and using a combination of teaching strategies will keep students engaged in the classroom, improve teacher satisfaction, and ultimately contribute to increased NCLEX-RN pass rates.

 

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