Annette Greer

THE USE of Innovative Pedagogies in Nursing Education: An International Perspective

ABSTRACT The purpose of this global study was to explore the types of innovative pedagogies used in nursing education worldwide; transformative learning theory served as the theoretical basis for the study. A descriptive, mixed‐method design with a researcher‐developed instrument was used to conduct the electronic survey. Respondents were 946 nurse educator members of Sigma Theta Tau International; more than 93 percent were Caucasian women. Respondents indicated that the conventional teacher‐centered approach remains the most prevalent pedagogical style (56 percent); fewer than 20 percent of respondents used feminist or postmodern approaches. Ninety percent of respondents reported using instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. The majority viewed their faculty role as facilitator (88 percent) or information provider (65 percent). Greater efforts are needed to create an evidence base for nursing education through research that focuses on the effectiveness of innovative pedagogical strategies. This study, by describing the current patterns of teaching/learning strategies and approaches used by nurse educators, provides a beginning research base for improving nursing education.

The status of interprofessional education and interprofessional prevention education in academic health centers: a national baseline study.

Purpose Given the emphasis on prevention in U.S. health care reform efforts, the importance of interprofessional education (IPE) that prepares health professions students to be part of effective health care teams is greater than ever. This study examined the prevalence and nature of IPE and interprofessional (IP) prevention education in U.S. academic health centers. Method The authors extracted a 10-item survey from the longer published IPE Assessment and Planning Instrument. In September 2010, they sent the survey to 346 health professions leaders in health sciences schools and colleges at 100 academic health centers. These institutions were identified via the online membership list of the Association of Academic Health Centers. The authors conducted descriptive statistical analysis and cross-tabulations. Results Surveys were completed by 127 contacts at 68 universities in 31 states and the District of Columbia. IPE was more prevalent than IP prevention education in all categories of measurement. Respondents affirmed existence of IPE in courses (85.0%) and in clinical rotations/internships (80.3%). The majority reported personnel with responsibility for IPE (68.5%) or prevention education (59.8%) at their institutional unit, and 59.8% reported an IPE office or center. Conclusions This study provides evidence that IPE and IP prevention education exist in academic health centers, but additional attention should be paid to the development of IP prevention education. Sample syllabi, job descriptions, and policies may be available to support adoption of IPE and IP prevention education. Further effort is needed to increase the integration of IP and prevention education into practice.

Learner-centered characteristics of nurse educators.

The purpose of this study was to describe the learner-centered teaching characteristics of nurse faculty who report using contemporary pedagogy. A secondary analysis of data collected by an international survey of nurse educators regarding pedagogical teaching approaches and strategies was used to answer the research questions.The study sought to: 1) describe characteristics emerging from faculty response, 2) make inferences from faculty responses regarding meaning, and 3) make inferences regarding the importance of the meaning to nursing.A qualitative research design was used to address the research question. Themes that emerged were placed under the concepts of power, role of teacher, responsibility of learner, and philosophy of evaluation guided by Weimers (2002) conceptual framework of a learner-centered philosophy of teaching. Themes and meaning units derived from the study helped to generate textual and structure statements that represent the characterizations of learner-centered nurse educators.

Learner-Centered Teaching and the Use of Technology

This article explores the use of various learning technologies as tools for facilitating learner-centered teaching. The article offers another perspective on the scholarship of teaching with technology—through discussion of various theoretical models of learner-centered teaching, the role of technology on the student/instructor relationships, the impact on technology in different educational settings and contexts, and learners’ cultural differences. The article concludes with a brief discussion of future trends, cautions, and speculations related to technology use in learner-centered teaching.

Descriptive Metaevaluation Case Study of an Interdisciplinary Curriculum

This article describes an example of metaevaluation in an educational setting. The metaevaluation examined an evaluation of a community-based, interdisciplinary curriculum. The Program Evaluation Standards (PES), divided into the categories of utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy, provided a framework for the metaevaluation. Utility standards address the information needs of intended users. Feasibility refers to the extent to which an evaluation is realistic, prudent, diplomatic, and frugal. Propriety refers to the properness of an evaluation in terms of meeting legal and ethical obligations. Accuracy pertains to the trustworthiness of evaluation data. Use of the PES as a framework for descriptive metaevaluation of a single case illustrated the breadth of issues involved in curriculum evaluation and their interrelated ness. Furthermore, the PES helped to reveal strengths and weaknesses that served as start ing points for further improvement of the evaluation.This article describes an example of meta-evaluation in an educational setting. The meta-evaluation examined an evaluation of a community-based, interdisciplinary curriculum. The Program Evaluation Standards (PES), divided into the categories of utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy, provided a framework for the meta-evaluation. Utility standards address the information needs of intended users. Feasibility refers to the extent to which an evaluation is realistic, prudent, diplomatic, and frugal. Propriety refers to the properness of an evaluation in terms of meeting legal and ethical obligations. Accuracy pertains to the trustworthiness of evaluation data. Use of the PES as a framework for descriptive meta-evaluation of a single case illustrated the breadth of issues involved in curriculum evaluation and their interrelatedness. Furthermore, the PES helped to reveal strengths and weaknesses that served as starting points for further improvement of the evaluation.

Virtual Reality in Interior Design Education: Enhanced Outcomes Through Constructivist Engagement in Second Life

This paper describes an implementation process of Second Life SL virtual reality as a pedagogical tool in an interior design foundations course. SL was found to advance learning, collaboration, engagement, and critical thinking among students who brought disparate levels of preparation. The case study presented represents a process evaluation approach, documenting and analyzing the development and implementation of the curriculum within an environment that was new to most stakeholders. Output measures reported include student evaluations of the course, peer evaluations of student products, and final grades. Important to successful incorporation of SL in interior design instruction is ensuring that the training students receive in SL align with the assignments they are expected to complete. Also important is the ongoing, cooperative support of university technical staff in providing the needed training and developing the virtual environment. Effective, informative hard-copy and on-line visual aids for students unfamiliar with SL or other virtual reality applications are also necessary. Alignment of SL activities and the course curriculum into a workable sequence was achieved by trial and error during two years of development. Since incorporating SL, the researchers have found that virtual reality enhances student engagement and outcomes.

North Carolina Farm Women: Opportunities for Support and Farm-Related Education

ABSTRACT The stress that farming visits upon male farmers has been acknowledged for decades. Stress- and work-related injuries among nonmigrant farm women is well documented from 1980 through the mid-1990s. A void of literature concerning nonmigrant farm women exists since that time. One possible explanation for this deficit is that United States Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture data only consider the contributions of women on the farm if they are reported as farm operators. From 2002 to 2007, the number of women farm operators in North Carolina (NC) increased by 3%, and currently 13% of the state’s farms are operated by women. These numbers emphasize the importance of understanding the self-perceived needs of women farmers. A qualitative research project was conducted to investigate the social-emotional needs of NC farm women. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 women with whom the NC Agromedicine Institute had previously worked in collaboration on farm health and safety. Key themes from interviews were (1) chameleonic, (2) inseparable connectedness, (3) farm sword, (4) women of a feather, and (5) one size doesn’t fit all. Participants reported multiple roles, difficulty separating from the farm, preferring the farm over any other place, and viewing themselves as misperceived farm professionals. Participants need opportunities to interact with other farm women for support and sharing farm-management techniques. Future study recommendations include (1) inventory existing programs for farm women; (2) further investigate the support and educational needs of farm women; and (3) examine how farm women are perceived by nonfarm individuals.

Qualitative assessment of agritourism safety guidelines: a demonstration project.

ABSTRACT In 2007, the National Childrens Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) published Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children to provide helpful recommendations for protecting the health and safety of children visiting agritourism farms. Supplement A: Policies and Procedures Guide and Supplement B: Worksite Guide were subsequently published in 2009 and provided agritourism farms with checklists to use in reviewing, planning, and implementing their own health and safety practices. In order to better understand what would be required of a farm wishing to implement the guidelines using Supplements A and B, the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute conducted a single-family farm demonstration project with support from the NCCRAHS. The aims of the project were to (1) determine child health and safety risks associated with an existing agritourism farm; (2) determine the cost of making improvements necessary to reduce risks; and (3) use project findings to motivate other agritourism farms, Cooperative Extension agents, and agritourism insurers to adopt or recommend Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children for their own farms or farms with which they work. At the conclusion of the study, the target farm was in compliance with an average of 86.9% of items in Supplements A and B. Furthermore, 89% of individuals self-identifying as farmers or farm workers and 100% of Cooperative Extension agents and agritourism insurers attending an end-of-project workshop indicated their intent to adopt or recommend Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children for their own farms or farms with which they work.

Not Just the Farm Wife: Perceptions and Needs of North Carolina Farm Women

This has the potential to increase the repetitiveness of work and decrease the variety and ‘job rotation’ that naturally arises from work on a family farm. This exploratory pilot study aimed to investigate musculoskeletal symptoms and work tasks in modern, intensive pig barns. This study involved two phases: 1) questionnaire on workers’ MSD symptoms and perceptions of work tasks; and 2) video analysis of posture and lifting exposures during common pork production tasks, including breeding, piglet processing, counting and sorting piglets, vaccinating, and moving dead pigs. Ninety-two percent of workers reported symptoms in at least one body part; 57% reported resulting interruption of work activities. Moving dead pigs resulted in unacceptably high spinal forces during 6 of 18 observations and on average exceeded predicted strength capability for 6 of 7 body parts. Frequency of trunk bending >45 degrees was 8.5/min while sorting piglets; processing piglets showed hand grip frequencies in excess of 27/min. These results suggest a need for interventions to limit bending, lifting, and repetitive gripping. Improvements may include strategies like developing a device or method for catching and lifting piglets to avoid bending, and adapting a piglet processing cart that can limit gripping. There is also substantial opportunity for enhancing working conditions by evaluating the ‘natural experiment’ of work methods undergoing change right now, such as the introduction of needleless injectors. The impact on productivity and farm economics needs to be forefront in any proposed intervention, as pork production involves narrow financial margins.

Profile of Public Health Leadership.

CONTEXT Public health leaders play pivotal roles in ensuring the population health for our nation. Since 2000, the number of schools of public health has almost doubled. The scholarly credentials for leaders of public health in academic and practice are important, as they make decisions that shape the future public health workforce and important public health policies. OBJECTIVE This research brief describes the educational degrees of deans of schools of public health and state health directors, as well as their demographic profiles, providing important information for future public health leadership planning. DESIGN Data were extracted from a database containing information obtained from multiple Web sites including academic institution Web sites and state government Web sites. Variables describe 2 sets of public health leaders: academic deans of schools of public health and state health directors. RESULTS Deans of schools of public health were 73% males and 27% females; the PhD degree was held by 40% deans, and the MD degree by 33% deans. Seventy percent of deans obtained their terminal degree more than 35 years ago. State health directors were 60% males and 40% females. Sixty percent of state health directors had an MD degree, 4% a PhD degree, and 26% no terminal degree at all. Sixty-four percent of state health directors received their terminal degree more than 25 years ago. In addition to terminal degrees, 56% of deans and 40% of state health directors held MPH degrees. CONCLUSION The findings call into question competencies needed by future public health professionals and leadership and the need to clarify further the level of public health training and degree type that should be required for leadership qualifications in public health.