Judith Young, IU School of Nursing
Principal Investigator: Judith Young, professor, Department of Community and Health Systems, School of Nursing
Project Title: Designing a Hybrid Course to Prepare Nursing Professionals as Leaders in Changing Social, Political, and Technological Setting of American Healthcare
Funding Level: $2,500
Abstract:
Institutions of Higher Education engage in curricular reform to better prepare graduates with the competencies needed for twenty-first century practice. A challenge of such reform is to provide effective and flexible models that address both market circumstances and student needs. Currently program offerings and student needs tend toward a condensed (“accelerated”) nursing curriculum catering to students who have already earned a baccalaureate in another discipline. Nursing students in these programs seek to complete a baccalaureate program in a single year rather than in an 18-month curriculum. Hybrid courses combine online educational settings with the traditional setting of the face- to- face classroom. To help students efficiently attain required professional competencies using a hybrid format requires the intentional redesign of traditional courses in ways that incorporate sound guiding principles: employment of student collaboration and greater student-faculty interactions, application of active learning strategies, and the provision of timely feedback from instructors on student work which establishes a high bar for quality. Research indicates that the blended learning model can improve learning outcomes and helps students develop better self-regulation (metacognition) as learners (Mahoney, Marfurt, daCunha & Engelbretson 2005). Faculty have also reported enhanced opportunities for instructor-student interaction, as well as greater student- to- student engagement and support of varied student learning preferences (Mahoney, et al.). This pilot course redesign employs a blended format, allowing creative ways to combine face-to-face student interaction and collaboration with individual asynchronous student learning, in order to improve student learning outcomes and allow students flexibility in scheduling.