NursingQuest: Supporting an Analysis of Nursing Issues

Abstract

According to Wagner (2005): From toddlers to seniors, people are increasingly connected and are digitally communicating with each other in ways that would have been impossible to imagine only a few years ago. According to Alexander (2004): The combination of wireless technology and mobile computing is resulting in escalating transformations of the educational world, (p. 29) The use of mobile devices to support teaching and learning is not a new concept, but educators need time to reflect on this changing context and explore its potential for teaching and learning (Ayers, 2004; Blocher, Echols, de Montes, Willis, & Tucker, 2003; Heimlich & Norland, 2002; Martens & Stangvik-Urban, 2002; Moss, 2004; Nuhfer, Krest, & Handelsman, 2003; Pratt, 2002; Williams & Calvillo, 2002).

Headnote

ABSTRACT

With the development and use of new strategies, practices, applications, and resources in technology, the teaching and learning context is shifting. Nurse educators are challenged to create instructional strategies that appeal to the newer generation of students and have the potential to enhance learning. Effective learning programs for these students require new digital communication skills, new pedagogies, and new practices. Nursing students should not be seeking the right answer as much as they should be seeking appropriate information and then developing approaches to issues or resolutions for problems. The focus of the teaching and learning context is shifting from the individual to the group, with the purpose of constructing new knowledge from available information. This article discusses the value of WebQuest activities as inquiry-oriented strategies and the process of adapting the WebQuest format for the development of a strategy called NursingQuest.

With the development and use of new strategies, practices, applications, and resources in technology, the teaching and learning context is shifting. According to Wagner (2005):

From toddlers to seniors, people are increasingly connected and are digitally communicating with each other in ways that would have been impossible to imagine only a few years ago. (p. 42)

The potential for technology to contribute to nursing education depends on the design and implementation of new instructional and assessment strategies.

Most of the students currently applying to nursing education programs are considered members of the Millennial Generation (i.e., individuals born in or after 1982). These students typically prefer teamwork to competitiveness, are comfortable with experiential activities, and make extensive use of technology (Oblinger, 2003). The challenge for nurse educators is to create instructional strategies that appeal to these students and make use of technological capabilities; effective educational programs will require new digital communication skills, new pedagogies, and new practices (Maltz, DeBlois, & the EDUCAUSE Current Issues Committee, 2005).

This article discusses the value of WebQuest activities as inquiryoriented strategies and the process of adapting the WebQuest format for the development of an assessment strategy called NursingQuest. A link to the NursingQuest assessment strategy is provided.

Technology and Teaching Environments

The introduction of technology and the Internet into classrooms has been the most important change in the field of education in the past 100 years. According to Alexander (2004):

The combination of wireless technology and mobile computing is resulting in escalating transformations of the educational world, (p. 29)

The use of mobile devices to support teaching and learning is not a new concept, but educators need time to reflect on this changing context and explore its potential for teaching and learning (Ayers, 2004; Blocher, Echols, de Montes, Willis, & Tucker, 2003; Heimlich & Norland, 2002; Martens & Stangvik-Urban, 2002; Moss, 2004; Nuhfer, Krest, & Handelsman, 2003; Pratt, 2002; Williams & Calvillo, 2002).

Instructional and assessment strategies need to be more consistent with the new learning environment (Frederick, 2002; McLafferty & Foust, 2004). They should be designed so students can apply the course material to their own lives and are motivated to analyze the content for themselves (Bates & Poole, 2003; Freedman, 2004; Piercy, 2004; Scanlon, 2003). Projects that involve collaborative learning help students cope with a complicated and diverse world. The world's information is expanding at such a rate that knowledge sharing is imperative (Draves & Coates, 2003). Assessment strategies that enable students to work together and apply their learning throughout a course provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their creativity (Jackson, 2003; Wooster & Lemcool, 2004). Herz (2005) focused on how groups create the context in which information makes sense and can be understood. Herz (2005) referred to the "space between" and stated:

It is here, in this space between - between the old technology and the new tools, between the offline and the online - that the opportunities [for learning] reside, (p. 31)

The focus then shifts from the individual to the group, with the purpose of constructing new knowledge from the available information.

Inquiry -Oriented Learning

Inquiry-oriented learning is an approach that engages students in activities that mirror methods of scientific investigation and reflect the importance of "learning the process" of formulating questions and supporting claims with evidence (Kubicek, 2005, p. 53). Inquiry implies involvement that leads to learning. For students, this means enhancing the skills and attitudes necessary for seeking information about issues and problems (Kubicek, 2005).

Students should not be seeking the right answer as much as they should be seeking appropriate information about issues or resolutions for problems. For educators, inquiry implies emphasis on the development of inquiry skills and attitudes that will enable students to value lifelong learning skills. When students are encouraged to engage in a number of reflective and problem-solving activities, they undergo a conceptual shift that leads to new schémas and ways of seeing the world (Chaska, 1990; Diekelmann & Scheckel, 2003; Young & Wilson, 2002). Case (2003) noted that most efforts to support students in thinking critically about online research have focused on evaluating the credibility of Internet information. He suggested that rather than having students simply screen Web sites, critical thinking can be supported through students' careful scrutiny of Web sites using assigned criteria. Additional tasks, such as prereading assignments, initial comparative assessments, and assessments using evidence and implication as criteria, can help students develop their own learning approaches (Case, 2003).

Adaptation of the WebQuest Format

Recent literature about education and technology has described online strategies, such as concept mapping, blogging, gaming, wikibooks, and WebQuests, that are making their presence known in higher education (Alexander, 2004; Downes, 2004; Foreman, 2004; Lamb, 2004; Perry, 2004; Woods, Shimon, Goc Karp, & Jensen, 2004). WebQuest was developed in 1995 as an inquiry-based activity designed for online problem solving (Braun, 2004; Dodge, 2001, 2004; Molebash & Dodge, 2003). Students are engaged in learning experiences that focus on solving a problem or answering a question.

Although there is no strict format for the development of WebQuest activities, most examples include a fivestep process that contains an introduction, a description of the task or problem to be addressed, the information sources, an evaluation system, and a conclusion (Braun, 2004; Young & Wilson, 2002). Young and Wilson (2002) suggested that WebQuest activities:

are intended for use within the larger context of course objectives and curriculum. Encouraging greater reflection by active students will increase the likelihood that they will successfully link the activity back to the principles and ideas of the curriculum. (Contextual Use of WebQuests section, ¶1)

WebQuest activities give students an opportunity to review sources that can help them answer their questions about an issue or serve as a reference they can share with clients and their families (Wooster & Lemcool, 2004).

Schwartz, Lin, Brophy, and Bransford (as cited in Young & Wilson, 2002) developed an instructional model based on conceptual-change principles that revised the WebQuest in two main points:

* Students should be given an opportunity to propose possible solutions based on their current knowledge and understandings.

* Students need time to debrief and reflect with others as they complete the online activity.

Schwartz et al. (as cited in Young & Wilson, 2002) suggested that their model can be used for small team collaboration and research activities. Initially, students are given a challenge; then they are asked to reflect on the challenge and generate their own ideas; and finally they are exposed to other points of view about the challenge. These three steps precede formal inquiry using outside sources. The next step involves students engaging in a process called "Research and Revise," during which they use various Web resources to learn more about the challenge. They proceed to another stage, called "Test your Mettle," during which they engage in activities that help them explore the depth of their knowledge. This stage creates an assessment situation that helps them evaluate what they know or do not know. Students return to the "Go Public" stage after proving to themselves that they understand the content well enough to express a solution to the challenge.

Development of Nur singQuest Initial EdQuest

I became interested in designing and using an assessment strategy that had the potential to increase student motivation, help them learn by doing, and enhance their analysis of nursing issues and problems. To design an assessment strategy that would be relevant to an Issues in Nursing course, I first used the "lessons gained" from an assessment strategy that I had developed and implemented for a previous course in adult education and human resources development. This seminar-based course was delivered to 11 graduate students who had a variety of work and professional backgrounds. From the beginning of the course, students were involved with how the assignment, which was based on a WebQuest format, would be structured and how it would progress throughout the semester.

I referred to the assessment strategy as an EdQuest and described it in the course outline:

You will post a one-page synthesis for each Web site assessment (3 pages in total) as to the issue or problem that you identified for the search, how you conducted the search, how you evaluated the worth of the site as the most relevant reference. This assessment will outline the process of your Internet search, reflect a current site related to change and transformation in adult education and human resource development, and expand your knowledge of the relationship between trends and issues, practices and reality. You are expected to read other students' assessments and provide feedback to the student who posted the synthesis.

The students' initial reaction to the assignment was positive; however, they had some questions about where the synthesis pages would be posted and in what format. One of the students asked whether the summary pages for the EdQuest could be posted throughout the semester so student feedback could be incorporated into the final synthesis or so a student could decide to evaluate an alternative Web site on the basis of comments from the student group. This collaborative learning suggestion was agreed to by all of the students and was incorporated as part of the assignment.

Informally, students indicated to me that the assignment was valuable and should be used again with some revisions. For example, they believed that more specific guidelines were needed; therefore, they suggested that a framework for the assessment of the sites or a rubric identifying the evaluative criteria would help students focus on the main elements of the assignment. They also had positive feedback about the quality of the Web sites selected by students for the assignment and indicated that they would bookmark the Web sites for future reference. The final course evaluation that was completed and collected in an anonymous manner also indicated a positive response to the assessment strategy; 10 of the 11 students indicated agree or strongly agree to a statement on the formal course evaluation about the relevance of the assessment strategy to learning outcomes.

Evolution of the NursingQuest

After developing and using the modified WebQuest, I decided to conduct further research on online assessment strategies, revise the criteria related to the EdQuest, and use it as an assessment strategy for an Issues in Nursing course with third-year and fourth-year nursing students. I changed the intent of the original activity from an analysis of Web sites to reflect more of the model developed by Schwartz et al. (as cited in Young & Wilson, 2002). The process supports "Issues in Action" and incorporates more of a thinkinglearning-teaching approach (Nuhfer et al., 2003).

The revised assignment will be used with a group of nursing students as one of the assessment tools for the course. It will be structured in the following manner:

* Students will be organized in small groups and asked to identify a nursing issue or problem from current health care news.

* As a group, they will think about and record what they currently know about the issue or problem and then perform additional searches and research.

* The focus of the assignment will be to develop an approach to the identified issue or problem and then share this approach with the rest of the students by posting it on the course Web site.

* Each group will also make a short presentation during class time. A draft of the NursingQuest assignment and its components is available at http://www.usask.ca/nursing/ classes/nursingquestl.

Students will be provided with a rubric outlining the grading criteria that will be used to evaluate their efforts. At the end of the course, students will be asked to complete an online evaluation to assess the assignment and comment on its strengths and limitations. Questions may include:

* What did you learn by completing this assignment?

* How did you approach the issue?

* How effective was your approach?

* What suggestions would you make to improve the assignment?

I believe this assessment strategy will be effective in helping students expand their knowledge about nursing issues and enhance their ability to develop relevant approaches or solutions. However, the strategy needs to be implemented, revised as necessary on the basis of student feedback, and evaluated for its congruency with learning outcomes.

Summary

Significant change is occurring within the teaching and learning environment, and nurse educators are challenged to create instructional strategies that appeal to the new generation of students and reflect the capabilities of technology. Technology can help students relate new information to that already known and maximize the probability that learning will occur. WebQuest activities are inquiry oriented, requiring students to access, analyze, and synthesize information about an issue or a problem. An adaptation of the WebQuest format resulted in the development of NursingQuest. The assessment strategy encourages group discussion about a specific nursing issue and the development of an approach as a result of research related to the issue. Formative and summative evaluation of the assessment strategy will determine whether its use reflects sound pedagogical practice.

Sidebar

WebQuest activities are inquiry oriented, requiring students to access, analyze, and synthesize information about an issue or problem.

References

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