Enquiry-based learning: an introductory guide

Evidencing Enquiry Based Learning: An Innovative Approach to Educating Children and Young People's Nursing Students

This discussion paper gives an overview of an innovative online distance learning pre-registration BSc (Hons) Children and Young People's nursing program underpinned by Enquiry-Based Learning pedagogy. Whilst the program is delivered to all four fields of practice (Adult, Children and Young People, Learning Disability, and Mental Health), in all four nations of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), the focus here is Children and Young People's nursing. Nurse education programs are delivered in accordance with the Standards for Nurse Education developed by the professional nursing body in the UK. This online distance learning curriculum uses a life-course perspective for all fields of nursing. Students develop the general knowledge and skills to care for all people across the life course but as the program progresses, they learn how to care for people within their own field of practice in greater depth. The educational context of the Children and Young People's nursing program highlights that the use of Enquiry-Based Learning can help address some of the challenges faced by Children and Young People's nursing students. A critical evaluation of Enquiry-Based Learning and its use within the curriculum concludes that Enquiry-Based Learning provides Children and Young People's nursing students with the graduate attributes of being able to communicate with infants, children, young people, and their families, adopt critical thinking to clinical settings and have an ability to find, generate, or synthesize their own knowledge in order to lead and manage evidence-based quality care for infants, children, young people, and their families in a variety of care settings and within interprofessional teams.

Exploring nursing students' learning experiences and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using self-regulated online enquiry-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities adopted online teaching as the primary teaching and learning method. Most of the online teaching, however, has been limited to the broadcasting of asynchronous lectures and sharing of teaching materials.

OBJECTIVES

To explore undergraduate nursing students' self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using online self-regulated enquiry-based learning (EBL) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods design was adopted.

SETTING

A university in Hong Kong providing pre-registration nursing programmes.

PARTICIPANTS

155 students studying in the fourth year in a five-year Bachelor of Nursing programme participated in the quantitative study in which 18 joined the focus groups (4 groups with group size of 4-5).

METHODS

Five video-based scenarios along with two interactive online workshops, a mind-map development exercise, gamified assessments, reading materials, group discussions, and presentations were adopted in a gerontological nursing course offered in 2019-2020 to enhance the students' learning, driven by a process of enquiry. Attitudes toward older people were measured at baseline and one week after the course (post-test). Information on self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and confidence were collected at post-test only. Paired t-tests and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Focus groups were conducted through semi-structured interviews and transcribed verbatim for inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

A significant improvement was demonstrated in the students' attitude toward older people. The students appreciated the opportunities provided by the online EBL to apply key concepts of gerontology in the teaching and learning activities and to enhance their critical thinking skills. Three major themes were revealed from the focus group: Perception of the teaching pedagogy, Improvement of cognitive skills, and Positive and negative aspects of the learning experience.

CONCLUSIONS

The online self-regulated EBL improved the students' online learning experience in a gerontological nursing course during the pandemic and improved their attitudes toward older people.

How we implemented an integrated professionalism curriculum to 2nd year medical students at the National University of Ireland Galway Medical School, with examples from students' final output

Since the introduction of professionalism in medical curricula worldwide, little evidence has been published to exemplify good educational practice. The Medical school at the National University of Ireland Galway teaches professionalism in an interdisciplinary manner, integrating the learning objectives of health informatics, understanding health & illness in society, medical law and ethics. Students work in small groups on clinical cases. Enquiry-based learning is used as the teaching method following a few introductory lectures on specific objectives. Students present their work in the format of a scientific essay. The latter is assessed by a board of reviewers. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate evidence of excellent professional output and illustrate the benefits to a fully integrated professionalism curriculum.

Students' views of enquiry-based learning in a continuing professional development module

The purpose of this study was to explore whether qualified nurses who had undertaken a continuing professional development module at a UK university, which utilised enquiry-based learning (EBL) as the educational strategy, believed that their nursing practice had been influenced by this educational approach. This study was underpinned by the assumptions of Gadamerian hermeneutic phenomenology; semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight nurses who had undertaken a continuing education module utilising an EBL approach. The responses in this study indicate that participants believed that their practice of nursing had been positively influenced by engaging in EBL. They felt that by becoming self-directed, critical, reflective practitioners, they were better able to deliver evidence-based practice/care. Self reports of practice change attributed to engaging in EBL were provided, with the patient identified as the principal beneficiary, echoing the espoused aims of continuing professional development. EBL was credited with being a motivating, energizing and enjoyable way of learning but participants were critical of the lack of preparedness of both the students and facilitators. Consideration needs to given as to whether EBL is viewed as a philosophy of learning or as a facilitative strategy used alongside other educational methods.