CHAPTER 8 ACTIVITY-BASED STRATEGIES

1.COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Learners work together and are responsible for not only their own learning but also for
the learning of other group members. Learners work together toward achieving shared
learning goals.

3 TYPES

a. Formal Groups

Purpose: To complete a specific learning task consisting of concepts or skills

Length of Existence: One class to many weeks
Ex. Nursing research course

b. Informal Groups

Purpose: To enhance understanding of a specific unit of information; to make

connections prior to learning.
Length of existence: No more than one class and perhaps for only a few minutes during a
class.
Ex. An application in patient education e.g. teaching about the childbirth experience to a
group of parents-to-be

c. Base Groups

Purpose: To provide encouragement and to monitor progress throughout the learning

experience.
Length of Existence: The length of learning experience; usually long-term
Ex. New staff orientation or preceptorship programs

Advantages of Cooperative Learning

¤learn to function as a team; enhance social skills; can help to address individual learning
needs and learning styles; critical thinking is promoted

II. SIMULATIONS

-are controlled representations of reality. They are exercises that learners engage in to
learn about the real world without the risks of the real world.

Purpose and Uses of Simulations

¤ to help learners practice decision-making and problem-solving skills; develop human
interaction abilities; learn psychomotor skills in a safe and controlled setting; apply
principles and theories they have heard or read about; used to achieved many learning
objectives; an avenue for attitude change; used to evaluate learning and competence.
Role of the Educator

1. Planning- choosing or developing an appropriate simulation that will meet learning

objectives

2. Facilitating- introduce the activity, take a backseat, and talk relatively little. Coach the
learners who are trying to find their way through a sticky problem, encourage creative
thinking and act as an information source.

3. Debriefing/final discussion- briefly summarize what has taken place. Have the learners
explain what they did and why. Point how principles and concepts have been applied and
how the experience ties in to the learning objectives.

TYPES

1. Simulation Exercises. A controlled representation of a piece of reality that learners can

manipulate to better understand the corresponding real situation.
-focus on the process of learning.
-participants learn how to make decisions or solve problems or apply theory.
Ex: laboratory simulation in which senior nursing students visited mannequin patients
who were outfitted with tubes, dressings, intravenous lines, and the like. The situation
simulated emergencies, complications, and urgent scenarios that the students had to
assess and to which they had to respond.

2. Simulation Game. A game that represents real-life situations in which learners compete
according to a set of rules in order to win or achieve an objective.
possible solutions to the problem/s. They discuss and look at possible outcomes.
Disadvantages: takes a lot of time; students unhappy of their role; teachers may have
difficulty adjusting to their role in this nontraditional format.

IV. SELF-LEARNING MODULES

-also called self-directed learning modules, self-paced learning modules, self-learning

packets, and individualized learning activity packages.

-defined as a self-contained unit or package of study materials for use by an individual.

¤ Self-directed learning is based on some of the principles of adult learning such as:

1. Adults are self-motivated to learn material for which they see relevance.
2. Adults’ prior experience is a resource for further learning.
3. Adults are problem focused and readily learn material they can use to solve problems.
Components of Self-Learning Module

• Introduction and instructions

• Behavioral objectives
• Pretest
• Learning Activities
• Self-evaluations
• Posttest

Introduction and Instructions

-tells the learner how to work through the module, how use the pretest and self-evaluation
guides, where to locate resources, what procedures to use for handling in assignments or
scheduling skill test, and what the roles of the educator and learner are.

Behavioral Objectives
-express on clear language, what the learner will be able to do on completion of the
module.

Pretest
-helps learners evaluate which sections of the module they might skip over and which
ones they need to study in depth.

Learning Activities
-creative portion of the module, help to achieve objectives, should appeal people with
different learning styles; should have an access to an instructor.

Self-evaluation
-included at the end of every lesson or subconcept. It is generally some form of quiz,
either multiple-choice questions or short-answer questions.

Posttest
-to determine whether learners have mastered module objectives. The posttest may be an
objective-item test, a case study, a written assignment such as a care plan, or a
demonstration of a psychomotor skill.

Advantages for students: learn independently at one’s own pace and one’s own time;
flexibility; address a variety of nursing styles; active learning; provide immediate
feedback on performance.

For educators: help students who are struggling with course material; freed from having
to repeat same material year after year, which b\can become monotonous.; standardized
curriculum.

Disadvantages: may miss learning with other people miss interactions that take place in a
classroom; procrastination because of lack of structure and deadlines; learners may be
less than honest about their results; take many hours to design and test.