Assessment Guidance NRS304, Facilitating Learning and Development in Practice

Assessment Title: Develop an episode of learning for a member of staff/student and provide an evidence-based rationale for the chosen activities and learning tools employed

Standard academic introduction

• What are you going to cover, what is the essay about?
• In your introduction of essay, you briefly explain the topic of your learning episode and refer to the appendix.
• Are there any key terms which need to be defined for the reader? This should not be in a list but written in the form of a paragraph.
• In the future tense
• Around 300 words (10% of the length of the essay)
• In the third person

Episode of learning for a member of staff/student

• Forms the basis for your application to practice.
• Not for a class!!
• For one student or one member of staff
• Envisage yourself as a practice supervisor working with one student nurse or new staff member.
• Within your day you have brief teaching moments of 10-15 minutes which are episodes of learning.
• One of those teaching and learning moments will form the basis for your episode of learning. 

Main body:

LO1

• First discuss the theoretical underpinning of an effective learning strategy and an effective learning environment.
• Then apply it to practice through linking it to the lesson plan.
• Justify why you choose the activities, why are they effective learning strategies?
• What strategies did you use to create an effective learning environment?
• What is an effective learning environment?

LO2

• First critically evaluate learning theories and learning approaches.
• Critically evaluate means there needs to be an argument, showing different perspectives.
• What learning theories and learning approaches underpin your lesson plan?
• How does this knowledge influence your approach?
• Analyse how this impacts the person under supervision (for example student nurse, a colleague or a health care assistant)

LO4

• The clinical environment is the where practical learning takes place such as the hospital ward or a care home. For student nurses learning within the clinical environment might be called work-based learning, practice-based learning or practice placement.
• Provide a theoretical background about learning within the clinical environment.
• Apply theories of learning to the clinical environment – how do they impact learning in practice?
• Make sure to link it back to the clinical environment in which your lesson plan takes place.

LO3

• Critically analyse feedback strategies. This is based on theory.
• Apply to practice: critically analyse how strategies for giving and receiving performance feedback are implemented in practice.
• How did you apply it in your lesson plan?

LO5

• Differentiate between feedback and assessment – what is the difference?
• Provide a theoretical base about assessment, assessment validity and reliability.
• Apply how this is used within the clinical environment.
• How did you use this within your lesson plan?

Throughout your essay make sure to support your work with evidence of critical debate and analysis using supporting literature.

Module Learning Outcomes:

LO1 - Create effective learning strategies that contribute to effective learning environments.
LO2 - Critically evaluate learning theories and learning approaches and analyse their impact on those under supervision.
LO3 - Critically analyse and implement appropriate strategies for giving and receiving performance feedback.
LO4 - Apply appropriate theories to synthesize episodes of learning within the clinical environment.
LO5 - Apply appropriate theories of assessment to an episode of learning within the clinical environment to ensure assessment validity.

Conclusion

Finally conclude your work - highlight the key points from the main body of your work and give recommendations for practice based on your discussion from the main body of your work.