title: The Neighborhood: a Web-based platform to support conceptual teaching and learning.
abstract: The need for reform in nursing education has been clearly defined.The difficulty has been in finding ways to facilitate the process. This article describes an innovative web-based virtual community, The Neighborhood, used to promote conceptual learning across a new curriculum at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. The Neighborhood features 30 fictional characters that represent various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and demonstrate a range of health and psychosocial prob-lems. These characters interact with various community agencies in numerous health care settings. The Neighborhood has strong links to three well-founded teaching strategies: storytelling, case-based learning, and interpretive pedagogy. Because the cases unfold over time, in much the same way problems develop in real life, ongoing exposure to a concept is permitted, facilitating deep understanding.
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico, Health Sciences Center College of Nursing, Albuquerque, USA. jgiddens@salud.unm.edu
authors.forename: Jean Foret
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Giddens
mesh_terms: D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017145:Models, Educational; D016294:Models, Nursing; D033262:Narration; D009516:New Mexico; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011588:Psychology, Educational; D013663:Teaching / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014584:User-Computer Interface