A facilitative approach to learning about curriculum development.
Graduate students have high ambitions and desire excellence in their work. Creating learning opportunities that capture this drive and help them achieve and exceed their goals is a challenge for educators. This article describes two teaching approaches, group process and an adaptation of Bensusan's escalator model, which were used in a graduate nursing course to help students learn about curriculum development. Students participated as a faculty group, submitting successive iterations of their work as they developed hypothetical curricula. Benefits students identified from course faculty's critiques of their submissions included experiencing enhanced self-direction, self-esteem, and mutual respect among students and between students and course faculty, as well as authentic curriculum development in a safe, caring, and supportive context. This article discusses the strengths and limitations of this pragmatic and productive learning approach to preparing future nurse educators for their role as curriculum developers.
Goldenberg
Dolly
D
Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, The University of Western Ontario, HSA #3a, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C1. dgoldenb@uwo.ca
Andrusyszyn
Mary-Anne
MA
Iwasiw
Carroll
C
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D019359:Knowledge; D007858:Learning; D017145:Models, Educational; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011588:Psychology, Educational; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*