Nurse Educator Tips for Teaching

A nurse educator (Miriam Abbott) and a Psychology major at Kansas State University (Wyatt Abbott) explain what prompted them to study word patterns in AI-generated text to find out whether they could recognize similar patterns in writing submissions by nursing students. Their findings suggest that the presence or absence of specific words may provide clues to whether a student writing submission was generated by AI. Listen to the presenters as they discuss concerns many nurse educators share about the evolving AI landscape, and learn more about their perspectives on issues related to academic integrity in this podcast and their article.

Artificial intelligence (AI) pedagogies are increasingly common in health care education, but limited information guides their application in didactic nursing environments. Drs. Michele Gerdes, Andrew Bayne, Jennifer Wessol, Ellen Stephenson King, Kristina Henry, and Professor Allison Vance describe the current state of AI–based pedagogies used in didactic nursing education. Based on their scoping review, most articles addressed use of generative AI and pairing AI with other pedagogical strategies. You can learn more about this review in their article.

Drs. Tomeka Dowling and Crystal Toll discuss the need to integrate concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social determinants of health (SDOH) into nursing curricula. RN to BSN students were surveyed to assess their perceptions of DEI-SDOH curricular threads and impact on nursing practice. Students indicated that DEI-SDOH curricula promoted self-examination, critical analysis of health care systems, and development of DEI-SDOH competence. You can learn more about their curriculum development process and assessment in their article.

Nursing students experience significantly more stress compared to non-nursing peers, which increases their risk for poor mental health and academic outcomes. MINDSTRONG, an evidence-based cognitive behavioral program focused on resiliency, prepares students to cope with stressors and adopt healthy lifestyles. Dr. Jacqueline Hoying describes the MINDSTRONG program and findings from her study on outcomes in undergraduate nursing students who completed the program (learn more in her article). She shares information with listeners about how to access program resources for implementation in this podcast.

Faculty should provide guidance to help new students embrace challenges and adapt to the rigor of the nursing curriculum. Mindset training may be a key to increase academic success. Dr. Ashley Carter developed a series of 10 lessons as 5-minute pearls throughout a semester-long introductory nursing course using short video clips. These lessons introduce the concepts of fixed versus growth mindset, neuroplasticity, and self-efficacy and include evidence-based strategies to support students' success and role development. You will enjoy this podcast and learn more in her teaching tips article.

Dr. Cathleen Evans created 3 tabletop board games as formative assessments for prelicensure students to develop their situational decision-making skillls: Ready Responder, Clinical Case Competency, and Decisions at the Point of Care. The games, adaptable to specific client types, care environments, and contexts, have vetted multiple-choice and client case answer keys. In this podcast and article, you will learn how she developed and uses these games for formative assessments.

Durable learning reflects the teaching/learning methods that result in retained knowledge that can be transferred to practice. There is limited research on durable learning in nursing education. Dr. Crista Reaves explored how nursing students acquired and retained knowledge. Thematic analysis revealed (1) learner- and instructor-initiated techniques that promoted durable learning and (2) techniques that were not effective in the classroom, clinical practice, and simulation. Learn about the research in their article.

Self-reflection is a key component of simulation debriefing that helps students describe their development of clinical judgment skills. Drs. Michelle Bussard and Lisa Jacobs asked students what they learned about themselves and what changes they plan to make to their nursing practice based on observation of their own performance during simulation in a video recording. Their qualitative study revealed findings about communication, body language, safety, and other AACN essential competencies that might have been overlooked in traditional methods of assessment in simulation. Learn more about how video-recorded simulations help students get the most out of debriefing after simulation in their article.

Student course evaluations are the primary way faculty receive feedback on their teaching. The challenge is in getting meaningful, actionable feedback from students that can be used to make improvements to instruction. Drs. Michelle Stubbs and Julie Reis share their recommendations for improving the quality of feedback students provide, including use of continuous feedback processes that go beyond surveys and Likert scales. In this podcast, you'll hear specific steps you can take to collect meaningful feedback and implement a dynamic and responsive instructional improvement cycle. Learn more about their work in their article.

Dr. Leigh Montejo used Taboo AI to create an engaging, interactive, and effective online learning environment for students. Gaming supports active learning and increases learner engagement. Learn more about Taboo AI in this podcast and Article and how to use it in your course.