Developing Course Elements
Nurses are vital in the smooth operation of any country’s healthcare system globally. Therefore, training nurses to meet the needs of a country’s healthcare sector is important. The Course Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health was developed using the ADDIE model. The first stage in the design process was to clearly define the learning objectives of the module Community Health Nursing Orientation. The process involved the identification of the key concepts and skills that community health nurses needed to acquire, as well as the desired outcome of the module.
After defining the objective, it was also important to identify the target audience for the course and modules (Jonnalagadda et al., 2022). The target audience of the course was identified as a student with little or no knowledge of community health nursing. This was very important in selecting the level of complexity of the materials to be used and the pace of the module.
The final step in the design phase was to select the appropriate instructional strategies and materials for the course. By considering the learning objectives and the targeted audience for the course, appropriate materials and strategies were selected. For this module, the students will be taught a combination of strategies, such as video tutorials, exercises, case studies, and quizzes.
After the program’s design phase, it progressed to the development phase of the ADDIE model. This phase is important as it involves creating the instructional materials, including course content, visuals, and assessments (Jonnalagadda et al., 2022).
The first step was the creation of the course content. This was done using a combination of materials to aid learners in understanding the course concept. It was developed using a combination of text, images, and multimedia. The module’s content was organized into topics that followed a logical sequence from simple to more complex content, building upon the previous one.
The second step was the creation of the visuals for the Community Health Nursing Orientation module. This was done to enhance the learning experience and student outcomes. Appropriate materials, such as videos, were selected to illustrate the historical origin and the role of community health nursing to make the content more engaging and easier to understand.
The final step in the development phase was to create the easements for the module. This is important as it evaluates learners’ understanding of the concepts covered in the module. The assessment criteria that were created for the module included quizzes, assignments, and continuous assessment tests. The assessment provided learners, instructors, and institutions with feedback about the modules, which helped reinforce the important concepts covered in the module.
Challenges of Online Learning
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic affected all sectors of the world’s economy. The pandemic highly affected the education sector, which accelerated the shift towards non-physical learning sessions using online platforms. Many institutions globally have had to adapt to the new order of virtual classrooms (Richards, 2023). While online learning offers a variety of benefits to the learners and institutions in general, it poses some challenges that may affect the achievement of the course objectives, especially in community health nursing and other disciplines.
One of the major challenges that the online learning environment has is that it limits the interaction between students and the instructor, unlike in traditional classroom setups where instructors can read the student’s facial expression and body language, which can be used as immediate feedback for the instructor to gauge student understanding and comprehension of the subject (Midcalf, & Boatwright, 2020). Online learning does not offer such an opportunity. In addition, online classes sometimes rely upon pre-recorded lectures and written documents, making assessing student understanding of the subject difficult.
Limited interaction between instructors and students can be addressed using real-time video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. Real-time video platforms will enable instructors to interact with students. In addition, these platforms will allow the instructor to assess the student’s understanding through non-verbal cues. For example, in the module History and the Origin of Community Health Nursing, the module instructor can plan for a weekly online hour where the instructor allows students to ask questions or clarify doubts. Besides the weekly online hour, the instructor can encourage students to use the platform’s chat features to pose questions and encourage real-time interaction during lectures.
Besides the limited interaction between students and lecturers, the online learning environment also poses difficulty in maintaining student engagement. Online learning environments are less stimulating and isolating; thus, students may lack motivation to maintain a high concentration and focus, leading to low retention rates and poor performance (Meeter et al., 2020). Instructors can address this challenge by using interactive learning strategies. For instance, in module one, the instructor can use case studies, group projects, and scenarios while explaining the purpose of community health nursing. In addition, the instructor can incorporate case studies into real-life scenarios, such as multidisciplinary collaboration between community health nurses in different cases, to facilitate group discussions and encourage participation and collaboration among students.
Constructivist Theory and Learning Outcome
One of the students’ outcomes of the course is that upon completing the module, the student should be able to explain the roles and responsibilities of the community health nurse in emergency preparedness and disaster management. This outcome mirrors educational theories, such as constructivist theory. This theory explains that students keenly develop their knowledge and meaning through experiences and continuous interaction with their environment (Hartikainen et al., 2019). In the case of emergency preparedness and disaster management, the learners will actively learn by utilizing case studies, simulations, and real-world scenarios.
One of the strategies that can be used is to adapt the constructivist theory in online learning by using case studies and simulations. These resources will be used to introduce students to real-world scenarios and experiences. The instructor will serve students with case studies that allow them to use their knowledge of emergency preparedness and disaster management more practically. In addition, the instructor can encourage collaboration and discussion through online forums and group projects. For instance, it will require students to develop emergency preparedness and disaster management plans. This will encourage students to share their experiences and insights.
Suitable Learning Resources
“Public Health Nursing e-book: Population-centered Health Care in the Community” was published by Elsevier in 2019. This book is an important resource for community health nursing students. The book covers important sections of community health and is a potential source of knowledge and skills needed for population-centered healthcare.
The book covers various topics but begins with the history and evolution of community health nursing and also provides an overview of the current status of the healthcare sector. The book then covers various topics, such as health promotion, community assessment, and disease prevention. The book is highly stimulating because it incorporates the use of case studies and also provides tips and examples that the student nurse may use in real-world settings (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2019). In addition, the book’s content is evidence-based and utilizes reputable resources.
The other resource used in the course modules is the article “Environmental Health Nursing Education: One School’s Journey.” The article discusses the processes involved in developing and implementing environmental health nursing. The article also discusses the challenges faced in implementing community health nursing and its successes.
The article is important to the course modules as it highlights the need to include environmental health in nursing education. The author recognizes the roles of nurses in identifying and addressing environmental health challenges that may affect the community (McElroy et al., 2021). The article is highly stimulating as the author provides practical insight and recommendations to other nursing schools and emphasizes the need for collaboration between nursing schools and public health agencies. Therefore, students can learn to acknowledge the importance of collaboration in nursing.
Tools Supporting Skill Development
Discussion Online Discussion Board is a useful online learning tool that promotes critical thinking, communication skills, and collaboration skills in students. It allows the students to discuss and evaluate the concepts of the module. Through the Online Discussion Board, students can develop digital literacy skills as it enables students to develop arguments to respond to their peers online (Liu et al., 2020). It provides an environment where learners can interact with one another outside the classroom setup. It helps students build community and collaboration through questions and feedback.
Online Discussion Board promotes self-reflection by demanding that the students think deeply about their learning and articulate their perspectives and thoughts while responding to their peers. The tool also promotes inclusivity in learning and provides support to learners. It provides an environment where all students feel accommodated and share their ideas and perspectives without fear.
It also allows the students to share various ideas, thus promoting diversity. The tool also creates an intellectually stimulating learning environment where students can explore and analyze module concepts and ideas. This builds students’ ability to develop critical thinking, evaluation skills, and concept synthesis.
Soliciting Feedback
Feedback is an essential part of any course or course module. It is important to source feedback from different sources to improve the course module. First, instructors will solicit feedback from students to improve the module. This may include the students’ opinions about the course to improve the module. Student opinions will be collected through surveys, questionnaires, and group discussions (Rajabalee & Santally, 2021).
Expert feedback is also an important source of feedback relating to the course module. Expert opinion will be acquired from professionals, especially practicing community health nurses. The nurse will provide an objective opinion about the course and suggest improvements based on their expertise in the field.
The incorporation of feedback into the continuous improvement plan of the module is important for the course. Before the course development, the instructor will acquire expert feedback to inform course design, learning objectives, and teaching methods during the course planning stage. In the development, expert feedback can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the course modules. The expert and peer feedback will help identify sections of the modules that require improvement. Student opinions are vital in evaluating the effectiveness of the after-the-development phase, and this will also help identify the sections that require immediate improvements.
References
Hartikainen, S., Rintala, H., Pylväs, L., & Nokelainen, P. (2019). The concept of active learning and the measurement of learning outcomes: A review of research in engineering higher education. Education Sciences, 9(4), 276. Web.
Jonnalagadda, R., Singh, P., Gogineni, A., Reddy, R. R. S., & Reddy, H. B. (2022). Developing, implementing and evaluating training for online graduate teaching assistants based on Addie Model. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 28(1), 1-10. Web.
Liu, Z. Y., Lomovtseva, N., & Korobeynikova, E. (2020). Online learning platforms: Reconstructing modern higher education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(13), 4-21. Web.
McElroy, K. G., Gilden, R., & Sattler, B. (2021). Environmental health nursing education: One school’s journey. Public Health Nursing, 38(2), 258-265. Web.
Meeter, M., Bele, T., den Hartogh, C., Bakker, T., de Vries, R. E., & Plak, S. (2020). College students’ motivation and study results after COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Springer. Web.
Midcalf, L., & Boatwright, P. (2020). Teacher and parent perspectives of the online learning environment due to COVID-19. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 87(1). Web.
Rajabalee, Y. B., & Santally, M. I. (2021). Learner satisfaction, engagement and performances in an online module: Implications for institutional e-learning policy. Education and Information Technologies, 26(3), 2623-2656. Web.
Richards, S. (2023). Faculty perception of student engagement in online anatomy laboratory courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical Science Educator, 1-16. Web.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2019). Public health nursing e-book: Population-centered health care in the Community. Elsevier Health Sciences.