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Learn Nursing Education Strategies to Use With Your Future Students

Published On: September 6, 2016

If you want to influence the next generation of nurses, your next step might be to earn an MSN in Nursing Education and become a nurse educator. A master’s in nursing education can help you develop the knowledge and skills required to engage students in a meaningful, active learning process.

7 Principles for Nursing Educators

One standard in nursing education is the seven principles for good practice in the classroom setting. A.W. Chickering and Z. F. Gamson set forth these principles in an article in the American Association for Higher Education Bulletin.

Encourage contact between students and faculty: Be available to students — in person, through email or by video chat.
Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students: Inspire students to collaborate, share ideas and respond to each other’s ideas.
Use active learning techniques: Find ways to help students relate the material to real life, not just memorize information for tests.
Give students prompt feedback: Learn how to give constructive feedback.
Emphasize time on task: Help students realistically estimate how much time they should allocate to assignments.
Communicate high expectations: Students often match teacher expectations, so low ones can predict low outcomes.
Respect diverse talents and ways of learning: Present a range of learning experiences to accommodate students with different learning styles.

These principles apply to both traditional in-class and online teaching. Earning your master’s degree in nursing online can show you first-hand what does and does not work in the online learning environment.

The Flipped Classroom

An MSN in Nursing Education can tell teach you how to develop curricula, improve your teaching skills, and evaluate and develop active strategies in the classroom.

The flipped classroom is quickly finding its way into nursing education. Flipping the classroom means students preview the lecture content at home, before class. They may read assigned material, view videos, complete e-learning modules or take pre-class quizzes. They may interact with the instructor and other students through emails, texts, group discussion boards, blogs and other forms of digital communication.

During class, students take part in activities designed to make the pre-class material real and help them develop critical thinking skills. “The flipped classroom model provides an opportunity for students to practice leadership skills, gain experience working with their peers and in intradisciplinary teams,” according to a December 2014 article in Nursing and Health. “It prepares them to communicate effectively and clearly with co-workers, patients and families, to act professional, to develop conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, and to practice the art of delegation and prioritization.”

Guide to Teaching

In an article at Nurse.com, one nurse educator suggests using the steps of the nursing process as a guide to teaching.

Assessment: Identify the topic, types of students, teaching and learning goals, and time frame.
Planning: Develop objectives, content, teaching strategies and ways to evaluate learning.
Interventions: Prepare the classroom or online modules, test your technology, engage learners and enable the learning process.
Evaluation: Assess your goals and integrate student feedback into the process.

An MSN in Nursing Education can introduce you to a variety of teaching/learning theories and strategies, preparing you to become an educator for the next generation of nurses. You can help strengthen the nursing workforce, serve as a role model and be a leader in putting evidence-based practice into action.

Learn more about the UT Arlington online MSN in Nursing Education program.