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BURNETT CHIONA
Msc in Nursing and Midwifery student (Kamuzu College of Nursing)
Course : Integrated teaching practum
Title : Teaching practum portfolio
Table of Contents
1.0. Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................... 3
2.0. Vision, Mission and Philosophy .......................................................................................... 4
3.0. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5
4.0. Background for the portfolio .............................................................................................. 6
5.0. Pre-teaching practicum proposal .......................................................................................... 7
5.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 7
5.2. Background ...................................................................................................................... 7
5.3. Aim of placement ........................................................................................................... 12
5.4. Objectives for the placement .......................................................................................... 12
5.5. Plan of activities for the six weeks of teaching practice ................................................ 13
5.5.1. Activities for week 1: .............................................................................................. 13
5.5.2. Activities for week 2 ............................................................................................... 13
5.5.3. Activities for week 3 ............................................................................................... 13
5.5.4. Activities for week 4 ............................................................................................... 14
5.5.5. Activities for week 5 ............................................................................................... 14
5.5.6. Activities for week 6 ............................................................................................... 14
6.0. Conceptual and theoretical models guiding the conduct of the portfolio .......................... 16
6.1. From Novice to Expert by Patricia Benner .................................................................... 16
6.2. Gibbs Reflective model .................................................................................................. 18
7.0. Actual competencies achieved during the teaching practicum .......................................... 20
7.1. Competency of analyzing the Nursing Midwifery Technician (NMT) training
curriculum of St.Johns Institute for Health ............................................................................... 20
7.2. Competency of developing schemes of work and lesson plans ..................................... 21
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7.3. Competency of utilizing innovative teaching strategies in classroom teaching............. 22
7.4. Competency of conducting formative assessment for the students................................ 24
7.5. Competency of performing leadership and administrative roles at St. Johns Institute
for Health................................................................................................................................... 26
8.0. References .......................................................................................................................... 28
Appendix I: The curriculum and syllabus for NMT programme ................................................. 32
Appendix II: The course outline of surgical nursing 1 ................................................................ 33
Appendix III: The scheme of work .............................................................................................. 34
Appendix IV: Samples of lesson plans and lesson delivery evaluation....................................... 35
Appendix V: Samples of teaching and learning aids ................................................................... 36
Appendix VI: Samples of students marked scripts for formative assessment ............................. 37
Appendix VII: Teaching timetables ............................................................................................. 38
Appendix VIII: Attendance of meetings/minutes and management tools ................................... 39
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1.0.Acknowledgement
I am grateful the Almighty God for keeping me safe and focused during the whole period of the
teaching practum allocation. The Almighty God with the power of the Holy Spirit provided with
wisdom and intelligence that enabled me to successfully complete the planned teaching practum
activities.
I would like also to convey my sincere gratitude to my lecturer Dr. E. Chilemba. Her
inspirations and guidance throughout the theoretical work in the integrated teaching practum
module which formed the foundation of all the activities that were happening during this
teaching practum period can go without acknowledgement. Dr. Chilemba modeled me to be a
good Nurse Educator; as such I did not encounter a lot of challenges as student nurse educator
I would also like to acknowledge the College Principal, Faculty members and Staff of St. Johns
Institute for Health for accepting that I should do my teaching practice at their institution and
providing me with all necessary support that made my teaching practum experience a success
Finally I would like to thank my family and friends who are always there for me, with both
material and moral support that I always need.
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2.0.Vision, Mission and Philosophy
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3.0.Introduction
A portfolio is a collection of projects and materials developed by the student that document
achievement of the objectives of the clinical course(Oermann & Gaberson, 2014).It is in the
portfolio that the student has the opportunity to compile objective evidence of achieving
expertise and skills that they acquired through a practical experience(Billings & Halstead, 2016).
Using portfolios in nursing education is very advantageous because it provides students with the
opportunity to show what they can do, it also encourages the students to become reflective
learners and develop skills in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their work (Miller,
Linn, & Gronlund, 2009). Therefore this write up of the portfolio has detailed description of five
key competencies that I achieved during my practum allocation at St. Johns institute for Health.
The teaching practum was for period of six weeks starting from8th July to 16th August, 2019.
This portfolio mainly is reflection of my experience in classroom teaching and performance of
leadership roles at St. Johns Institute for Health.
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4.0.Background for the portfolio
The teaching practicum component of any teacher education training programme is an important
undertaking because it is where student teachers are provided with opportunities to try the art of
teaching before actually getting into the real world of the teaching profession (Msangya, Mkoma,
& Yihuan, 2016). Komba and Kira (2013) recommended that after the teaching practice
experience students need also to provide an evaluation of the experience so as to determine
whether learning did occur or not. One of the evaluative reporting of the learning experience in
the teaching practicum is by a using portfolio. According to Lyons, (1998) cited in Kocoglu,
Akyel and Ercetin (2008) noted that portfolios were introduced to education in the in early 1980s
The use of portfolios in the teacher education has been widely documented in literature. Berrill
and Addison (2010) at Trent University in Canada established that portfolio was an effective
tool in the construction of teacher identity. In their study they identified that the majority of
respondents found the portfolio to be powerful tool in supporting the construction of their teacher
identity. This can be attributed to effect that portfolios are viewed as spaces where teachers
represent their unique conceptions of what it means to teach by analyzing, discussing, and
evaluating their own teaching practices and professional growth (Oner & Adadan, 2011). In fact
for the above reason portfolios are considered to even more useful in nursing education since
they show evidence of the continuous construction and path made by the student through any
practical experience (Gonçalves, Baptista, & Lobão, 2010).
The use of portfolios in education have also been associated with the improved reflective skills
among the students, study conducted by Oner and Adadan ( 2011) at Bogazici University in
Turkey noted that the development of pre-service chemistry teachers‘ reflective skills improved
when they were involved in web-based portfolio construction as part of their teaching practicum
course. Reflection is a crucial component of transforming the students teachers from mere
containers of information into powerful means of learning, in this regard, portfolios receive the
most attention in teacher education because of their potential to foster reflective learning skills
(Oner & Adadan, 2011). According to Randolph, Clawson, and Coughlan (2008) scholar-
teachers who creates portfolios discuss their course results and provide measures and evidence of
student learning as they provide personal conclusions and suggestions for future improvements.
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5.0.Pre-teaching practicum proposal
5.1.Introduction
Teaching practice refers to the range of experiences to which student teachers are exposed when
they work in classrooms and schools (Marais & Meier, 2004 cited in Komba & Kira, 2013). In
general Teaching Practice exposes the student teachers to the actual teaching and learning
environment. During teaching practice, a student-teacher is given the opportunity to try the art of
teaching before actually getting into the real world of the teaching profession (Msangya et al.,
2016). According to Altintas and Gorgen (2014) the major aim of teaching practice is to ensure
that student teachers are well prepared for the teaching profession. Futhermore Msangya et al
(2016) stated that student teachers should be provided with adequate range of skills, knowledge,
attitudes and relevant educational experience before going to the teaching practices. As such
during the theory block at Kamuzu College of Nursing courses such as integrated teaching
practum, instructional design and implementation as well as educational leadership and
administration have been widely covered providing in-depth understanding of what teaching in
nursing colleges involves. For this reason planning for the teaching practice by the students‘
teachers is an important undertaking since it is the only way to ensure that they attain meaningful
learning during the process of teaching practum. This proposal therefore provides a detailed
account of the planned activities for the forthcoming teaching practice that is to be under taken at
St. Johns in instate for health in Mzuzu with a view of provided guidance in my day to day
learning and socialization to the teaching profession.
5.2.Background
Teaching practice is a very important component of teacher training programme because it
provides a good transition from theory to real teaching contexts (Saban & Cocklar, 2013 cited in
Chimhenga, 2017). Chimhenga (2017) viewed knowing the learners, the student teacher will
teach, planning teaching, organizing teaching, monitoring and evaluating learning as process a
student teacher should follow during the first teaching practice. Following this process a student
teacher will be enabled to easily cope up with the challenge during the teaching practice
experience. Furthermore Zeichner (2012) observed that teaching practices facilities should be
able to afford the student teacher opportunities to integrate both content and pedagogy acquired
through coursework into instruction. Basing on this fact during this teaching practice my
teaching proposal will be shared with college leadership of St.Johns institute for health, with the
intent that this will enable responsible officers to be aware of what am suppose doing during this
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period as such providing me with necessary support that will be required in order for me to
achieve my planned goals for this allocation.
In relation to knowing the learners at the teaching practum facility, Komba and Kira (2013)
pointed out that it very important for teacher to know the learning styles of his or her learners
so that he or she can customize his teaching method that suits the learning styles of his learners.
Campbell, et al (1999) cited in Sarabdeen (2013) defined learning style as specific behavioral
pattern an individual displays in learning. According to Kolb (1984) cited in Pritchard (2009)
identified learners according to the learning styles and grouped them into four categories, these
categories of the students according to the learning styles are the convergers, diverger,
assimilator and accommodator. The converger during learning likes small- group discussion and
class room participation but they dislike lectures, they prefer data-based programs and prefer
computer based learning, while the diverger likes the traditional classroom based delivery that
comprises of brainstorming sessions, reflective activities, lectures and rhetorical questions, on
the other hand the accommodators group like experiment so that they could use hands on
computer-based simulation games, online group works, role play games and observations, they
prefer computer based delivery mode. Knowing the learning styles of different students at St.
Johns institute for health can help in designing the kind of teaching strategies to be used during
the teaching practice.
However studying the learning styles for the individual learner can be a challenging task for
teachers as observed by Johnson and Romanello (2015), as they proposed that the nurse
educators should study the generational of their learners because each generation has its own set
of values, ideas, ethics, and culture towards learning. Johnson and Romanello (2015) noted that
the nursing classrooms today are commonly composed of millennial students (born after 1982)
while most of the faculty member are most likely to represents generation X or Baby Boomer
age categories, who are born between 1943 and 1960. Johnson and Romanello (2015) established
that Millenials enjoy learning style such as working in groups, teamwork, use technology
whenever possible and experiential activities. Similarly in a study of the relationship between
generation and learning styles by Gurpinar, Alimoglu, Mamakli and Aktekin (2010), found that
a group of students with a mean age of 18.9 preferred courses with a strong emphasis on
practical applications but were less interested in courses with a strong emphasis on theory.
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Phillips and Trainor (2014) noted millennial students mostly come to the classroom with
expectations about the classroom experience that include technology integration, active
engagement, and experiential learning. It can therefore be emphasized that during the teaching
practum the first step is to understand generation of the student at the college. This will be done
by reviewing the student data and establishing mean age of group of the learners at St. John
Institute for Health. Understanding this general diversity of the students at St. Johns Institute for
Health will help me in the process of planning instruction delivery methods for both classroom
and clinical teaching that best suits the learners‘ generation. However considering the findings
elaborated by Trainor (2014) of that the current generation in nursing colleges are Millenials; it
means that I will plan my lesson delivery to be student centered. Student centered strategies for
teaching to be used includes group works, case studies, problem based learning, enquiry based
learning and project based learning. On a separate note Savery (2006) argued that in higher
education faculty are to incorporate active learning strategies during their classroom teaching in
order to make the classroom less teacher centered and more student centered. Williams (2005)
supported the use of the case study method in nursing useful because a case study made the
students develop critical thinking abilities. Furthermore Billings and Halstead (2016) noted that
teaching using a case study allows the student to practice problem solving in a safe environment
without the threat of endangering a patient.
In order to effectively deliver curriculum instruction based on the student centered teaching
strategies it is paramount to plan properly the curricular decisions regarding what students are to
learn and how learn it. According to Moore-Cox (2017) a class has multiple actors that involved
in the process of teaching and learning, these include teachers, students, student teams, in-class
resources, and good time management. These actors must be well organized in advance before
the process of teaching. Jantarach and Soontornwipast (2018) noted that use of scheme of work
and lesson plans as a way teacher can do to prepare for a classroom experience that can promote
active participation of the learners and the teacher in process of teaching and learning. Therefore
during this teaching practice will be able to organize the teaching by developing a scheme of
work for atleast one course covering for five weeks, ten lesson plans and various teaching and
learning aids. This organization will enable me to implement the classroom and clinical teaching
as taught during the theory block, furthermore allowing me to translate theory learnt in class to
real life practice of teaching. On the other side Jensen (2001) noted that using lesson plan by
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educators has many advantages, among others includes that a lesson plan serve as a guide during
class, help teachers clarify the goals and objectives for the class period, it has activities that are
designed to meet those goals and objectives of the lesson and it makes teachers and students to
be active participants in the learning experience. However Jantarach and Soontornwipast (2018)
observed that to learn how to plan a lesson, it is an important activity for novice teachers,
especially student teachers, who have little experience in teaching.
On the aspect of clinical teaching Watson (1989) cited in Rideout (1999) proposed that the
process of clinical teaching need also to be student-centered. Koharchik and Redding (2016)
identified that the pre- and post clinical conferences are some of creative approaches to clinical
teaching that provide important forums for student learning, however they stated that clinical
instructor should approach the pre- and -post clinical conference thoughtfully and pose
questions that enable students to apply their knowledge, think critically, and reflect. Ehrenberg
and Ha¨ggblom (2007) recommended use problem based learning approach of teaching in the
clinical environment, they argued that problem based learning promotes greater responsibility for
the student as such enhancing the learning process.
Therefore during this teaching practice much effort will be put in planning instructions that will
promote student learning both in classroom and clinical setting. As for classroom teaching plan,
a scheme of work for one course will be developed covering the whole period of the teaching
practice and lesson planning will be based on teaching method that are student centered, while
also clinical teaching plan will also be based on the innovative teaching strategies that promote
student learning in the clinical area.
In addition to teaching, assessment is another important pillar of nursing education. Assessment
in education is defined as the a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information
about teaching and learning in order to make informed decisions that enhance student
achievement and the success of educational programs (Genesee and Upshur, 1996 cited Jabbarifar,
2009). Billings and Halstead (2016) stated that the quality of assessment is a key feature of good
teaching in nursing education because assessment facilitates learning or change of behavior of a
student. If the assessments are designed based on deep understanding they can lead to deep
learning (Morrison, 2003). Marton and Säljö (1979) cited in Prosser and Trigwell, (1998)
described deep approach to learning as type of learning which aims towards understanding that
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allows the learner to use and reuse the information in a variety of situations while surface
approach to learning is the type of learning where learner just memorizes material for the tests
and exams only. Therefore it can be argued that well tailored assessment methods can influence
the learning approaches of nursing students.
Assessments designed to assess understanding rather than rote learning can contribute to a deep
learning approach. Sabzevari, Abbaszade and Borhani (2013) noted that the most commonly
used assessment methods to evaluate medical and surgical nursing courses are listed as multiple
choice questions, true-false, Objective Structured Clinical examination (OSCE), portfolio, log
book, written practical tests and simulation based situations for clinical evaluation. Leung, Mok,
and Wong (2008) noted that multiple-choice questions are an appropriate means of assessment
when they are well constructed since they promote critical thinking. However they stated that the
high quality multiple-choice tests are the one that is constructed with case scenarios and are
written to test higher-order cognitive domains rather than simple facts. Leung et al (2008)
observed that adequate training in writing multiple- choice questions and adequate review of the
questions are vital to produce high quality assessment items.
Therefore during this teaching practice range of assessment method will be developed,
assignment and test items will be developed, the aim will be to develop items that covers both
objective items and subjective test items with the aim of assessing student learning and
promoting deep learning. The application of this assessment method during this teaching practice
will be done in administration formative assessment and summative assessments at St. Johns
Institute for health Furthermore after each and every formative assessment administered to the
students feedback will be provided so as to promote learning. Weurlander, Söderberg, Scheja,
and Hult (2012) noted that assessment in education are also summarize students‘ achievements
in order to award certification that is as in summative assessment and to give feedback to
students in order to support learning called formative assessment. However Duers and Brown
(2009) argued that formative assessment has the potential to prepare students, not only to
succeed in summative assessments during the course, but also in the world beyond the
classroom. They stated that this is because formative assessment replaces the rote learning
associated with summative assessment. Duers and Brown (2009) stated that educational
providers should consider formative assessment as being integral to effective teaching because of
its potential to improve student achievement. According Vygotsky (2005) cited in Duers and
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Brown (2009) formative assessment promotes the idea that a student, on his or her own, can
learn a certain amount, thereafter, assistance is required if the student is to develop their learning
further. This assistance can take form of encouragement or provision of suitable material, for
example, feedback on performance, to prompt the student to move to a higher level of learning,
as such formative assessment is ideal for lifelong learning since it includes feedback comments
rather than grades, as such during this teaching practum formative assessment done in classroom
and clinical will always be accompanied with immediate feedback so as to promote lifelong
learning among my learners.
Tiwari and Tang (2003) also noted that process of assessment using portfolio has positive
impact in enhancing deep learning among the students, this is because this method encourages
the students to reflect on their experience, identify learning needs and initiate further learning as
such they end up in understanding and applying the theoretical concepts into practice hence deep
learning. Using this method will enable me to evaluate my own teaching experiences through
interactions with their supervising lecturers and through self-reflection with a view to bring
about meaningful learning to me.
5.3.Aim of placement
The aim of the placement is to equip the learner with advanced knowledge, skill and appropriate
attitudes in teaching at a nursing college.
5.4.Objectives for the placement
By the end of five weeks I will be able to;
analyze the nursing and midwifery training curriculum and related policies used at St.
Johns Institute for Health.
develop a scheme of work for atleast one course covering for a period of five weeks
develop atleast 10 lessons plans for classroom teaching
conduct 10 classroom teaching sessions utilize different innovative teaching strategies
conduct atleast 5 clinical teaching sessions using student centered approaches for the
students in clinical area
develop and administer test items for formative assessments to the nursing student.
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5.5.Plan of activities for the six weeks of teaching practice
5.5.1. Activities for week 1:
Orientation to the college policies
Enquire on the student data to analyze the student generation diversity
Identify the learning styles of the identified student generation
Liase with the dean of faculty to identify a mentor for me
Examine the Curriculum used at St. Johns instate for health to establish teaching methods
and assessment method prescribed by the curriculum
Identify one course that I will teach during the period of teaching practice
Familiarizing with how clinical learning environment for St. Johns Institute for Health
5.5.2. Activities for week 2
Develop a scheme of work for one course
Observing one class room teaching conducted by mentor
Discuss with the mentor on the scheme of work developed and make necessary changes as
per feedback
Develop 2 lesson plans for to be used for teaching in the week
Teach atleast 2 lessons utilizing the following student centered teaching strategies;
Teach one lesson utilizing case based method or case study
Teach one lesson utilizing problem based learning
Observe how clinical teaching is conducted at St. Johns Institute for health
5.5.3. Activities for week 3
Develop 2 lesson plans for 2 topics following the scheme of work
Conduct 2 classroom teaching session utilizing the following innovative teaching
strategies;
Teach one lesson utilizing group discussion
Teach one lesson utilizing concept mapping
Conduct 1 clinical teaching sessions using clinical case presentation
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Familiazed with leadership activities performed in the office of the college principal
5.5.4. Activities for week 4
Develop 2 lesson plans for topics following the scheme of work
Conducting 2 classroom sessions utilizing the following innovative teaching strategies
Teach one lesson utilizing concept mapping
Teach one lesson utilizing enquiry base learning
Conduct 2 clinical teaching session
1 session to be taught in skills laboratory utilizing simulation
1 session to be in the ward utilizing reflective journaling
Familiarize with leadership roles performed in the office of the dean of faculty
5.5.5. Activities for week 5
Develop 2 lesson plans for 2 topics following the scheme of work
Teach 2 classroom sessions using following innovative teaching strategies
Teach one lesson utilizing case study
Teach one lesson utilizing problem base learning
Conduct formative assessment for the students in the clinical area using reflective
journaling and observation checklist
Give feedback to the students done assessment for learning
5.5.6. Activities for week 6
Develop test items (multiple choice, essays etc) for formative assessment that promote
deep learning and ask the mentor to evaluate them
Teach to classroom session utilizing the following methods
1 session utilizing case study method
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1 session utilizing mind mapping
Provide feedback to students after each formative assessment for students on the theory
courses taught
Reflect on the teaching practice portfolio
Write a teaching practice report and submit one copy to the College principal and to
Kamuzu College of Nursing
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6.0.Conceptual and theoretical models guiding the conduct of the portfolio
Randolph, Clawson, and Coughlan (2008) emphasized that a portfolio submitted by a scholar
should not only be a mere scrapbook of descriptions of learning experience, but should contain
reflections on learning and teaching experiences. Therefore in order realize meaningful learning
through this portfolio, the following models were used are as guidance to my learning process ;
Novice to Expert by Patricia Benner, Gibbs Reflective model and Blooms Taxonomy model
6.1.From Novice to Expert by Patricia Benner
Introduction
Patricia Benner developed the model of ―from novice to expert‖ from the Dreyfus Model of
Skill acquisition(Benner, 1982). Briefly, in her model she explained that for one to acquire and
develop skills passes through five levels of proficiency: novice, advanced beginner, competent,
proficient then expert.
Benner (1982) established that when a learner is in novice stage, he or she will have no
experience with the situations in which they are expected to perform tasks. As such they lack
confidence to demonstrate safe practices and they require continued verbal and physical support.
Benner described the advanced beginner stage of the learners as those learners who can
demonstrate marginally acceptable performance because they had prior experience in the actual
experience. She argued that at this stage the learners require occasional supportive cues. On the
competent level, Benner described a competency as usually is demonstrated by the nurse who
have been on the same or similar situation for two to three years. A nurse who is at this level is
able to demonstrate efficiency and has confidence in his or her actions. They basically require no
supporting cues. Furthermore according Benner (1982) with continued practice, the competent
performer moves to the proficient stage, at this stage of the proficient performer perceives
situations as wholes. The holistic understanding of the proficient nurse improves his or her
decision making process. At the expert level, the expert nurse, with her/his enormous
background of experience, has an intuitive grasp of the situation and zeros in on the accurate
region of the problem without wasteful consideration of a large range of unfruitful possible
problem situations(Benner, 1982)
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How the model of “from Novice to expert” guided my learning
The model of ‗from novice to expert‘ guided my learning during this teaching practice in two
folds. The first fold is that I realized that I belonged to advance beginner, this is because Benner
(1982) described the advanced beginner stage of the learners as those learners who can
demonstrate marginally acceptable performance because they had prior experience in the actual
experience. Since I already have background in teaching and have ever been exposed to teaching
experience, however as advanced beginner I needed to have someone who can occasionally
provide me with supportive cues. For this reason when I was practicing teaching practice at St.
Johns Institute for Health I requested for mentor who had master in nursing education. By
working with the mentor I was able to be guided throughout this teaching practice and leading to
a meaningful learning. Furthermore in order to progress from novice towards expert this model
guided me to repeatedly repeat the experiences of teaching using learner centered approach for
more than once, this because I was aware that for me to be competent to I needed have more
experience so I taught six lessons using the learner centered approaches and after these six
lessons coupled with reflection I could feel that am also improving.
On second fold the model of from novice to expert was utilized when I was actually teaching my
students in class. Mostly my students were at the novice level, according Benner (1982) a novice
learner was described as the learner have no experience with the situations in which they are
expected to perform tasks. For this reason emphasized for continued verbal and physical support
to these kinds of learners. In order to adequately support my students I arranged for tutorials for
the topics they felt not clear, I could arrange for demonstration in the skills laboratory and my
lessons were designed around learner centered approaches. The learner centered approaches
allowed me learn support and promote learner participation in the course of teaching and
learning.
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6.2.Gibbs Reflective model
Introduction
Reflective practice is a process in which learners consciously reflect and think about their
thought processes and actions, critically evaluating them, in order to improve their future
performances (Chaffey, de Leeuw, & Finnigan, 2012). One of the most popular theories related
to reflective practice is Gibbs‘ reflective cycle. The Gibb‘s reflective cycle consists of six stages:
following clock wise the cycle starts with description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion,
and action plan (Tawanwongsri & Phenwan, 2019). In the description phase the reflector
narrates his or her experience in terms of what he or she did and what happened, while in the
feelings phase, the reflector expresses his emotional state before, during and after the
experience, then feeling phase is followed by an evaluation of experience by the reflector in
terms of what went on well and did not go on well with experience, later the reflector analyses to
make sense of the experience, after analysis of the experience then the reflector comes up
conclusion of the experience and an action plan for how he or she can deal with similar
situation in the future(Norman & Nixon, 2013)
Fig; 1. The Gibbs reflective Model
It is argued that this method of reflection helps learners achieve a higher level in their thought
processes and also enhances their lifelong learning skills(Tawanwongsri & Phenwan, 2019)
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How the model of “from Novice to expert” guided my learning
The Gibbs‘ reflective model played a very important in guiding my learning this teaching
practum. Whenever I had any learning task such as teaching classroom lesson I would find some
time to reflect on the experience following the Gibbs reflective cycle. Through this experience I
would discover the things that I did well, things that I did not do well and finally I would plan
how in the future I would do it differently. This reflection by Gibbs assisted me mainly to
transition from a novice to expert, for instance the first time I taught class using learner centered
experience was not that satisfying; however after reflections of four more similar teaching
experiences I discovered that I was now becoming familiar with the method. In summary the use
of reflection did help me to transition from a novice learner to atleast a competent learner.
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7.0.Actual competencies achieved during the teaching practicum
7.1.Competency of analyzing the Nursing Midwifery Technician (NMT) training
curriculum of St.Johns Institute for Health
Introduction
Curriculum analysis is described as the unpacking of a curriculum into its component parts (e.g.
Learning, teaching, knowledge, society, resources); evaluating how the parts fit together, in
terms of focus and coherence; specifies goals, topics, sequences, instructional activities, and
assessment methods and instruments(Cai & Cirillo, 2014). This process can allow the nurse
educator to effectively deliver curriculum instruction based on what students are to learn and
how learn it. This is because according Moore-Cox (2017) a class has multiple actors that are
involved in the process of teaching and learning, these include teachers, students, student teams,
in-class resources, and good time management. He proposed that these actors must be well
organized in advance before the process of teaching and the curriculum is the only academic
document that provides guidance on how the teacher can plan, organize and implement
instruction.
What I did to achieve this competency
During the first week of the teaching practice I asked the Dean of faculty to provide me the
curriculum document for the Nurse and Technicians programme (NMT) that is being
implemented at the institution
This analysis of the Nurse Midwife Technician (NMT) training curriculum was meant to help me
in understanding the curricular issues such as structural coherence, matching of various
curricular components, design characteristics and theoretical framework. During the time of
curriculum analysis I discovered that I started immersing myself into the NMT programme
structure by understanding the curriculum content that I am supposed to teach. After the
curriculum analysis I felt confident to teach medical surgical nursing 1.On the positive note, I
managed to learn what the curriculum content for the NMT programme is arranged and also the
courses that are available for the programme. This was very important for me as student teacher
because it allowed me to familiarize myself with expected teaching methods that stipulated in the
curriculum.
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7.2.Competency of developing schemes of work and lesson plans
Introduction
The practice of preparing schemes of work and lesson is pointed out as one of the teaching
practices that promotes student learning at a training institution. Jantarach and Soontornwipast
(2018) pointed out that when teachers use of scheme of work and lesson plans to prepare for a
classroom experience it promote active participation of the learners during the teaching process.
This is because these tools give the teacher an opportunity of organizing his teaching such as
they enable the teacher to select relevant teaching and learning resources that are intended to be
used during the class session. Furthermore schemes of work and lesson plans can help the
teacher to plan and link between teaching methods and learning styles of the students. Komba
and Kira (2013) pointed out that when the teacher customize his or her teaching to the learning
styles of his or her students it brings positive results in terms of learning.
What I did to achieve this competency
During the teaching practum period at St. Johns Institute for Health I was tasked to choose one
course that I can confidently teach. So during curriculum analysis I managed to identify trauma
and surgical nursing 1 as course that I will be responsible to teach. After choosing this I managed
to write a scheme of work for period of five weeks and I also managed to develop six lesson
plans that I used during my teaching sessions. Any time I develop a scheme of work and lesson
plan I could show my mentor who could evaluate them and provide some feedback until they are
perfected. Initially when started developing the schemes of work I did not have much guidance
from the mentor, because at the institution they do not develop the schemes of work, for this
reason I felt like I did not have practical direction, but immediately after reviewing the
theoretical module of integrated teaching practum I found it easier. When developing the lesson
plans at first I felt as if will have a lot of challenges however with the support from the mentor
during the process of developing the first lesson plan I gained confidence. After the development
of the lesson plan I felt confident and eager to teach
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7.3.Competency of utilizing innovative teaching strategies in classroom teaching
Introduction
In order maximizing learning experiences in nursing institution it is important that Nurse
educators use innovation in their teaching (Herrman, 2008). Schell as cited in Herman (2008)
defines innovation in education as the use of nontraditional methods in learning settings.
Innovation does not focus only in the teaching strategy, but in the method the individual nurse
educator uses to present it. Innovative strategies provide a foundation from which to design
classroom activities, assignments, approaches to content, new ways to teach previously taught
material, and evaluation methods(Tanner, 1997). There are several innovative teaching strategies
that can be used in nursing education, among these the case study, jig saw, seminar etc. it is
noted according to Johnson and Romanello (2015) that the nursing classrooms today are
commonly composed of millennial students (born after 1982). Johnson and Romanello (2015)
established that Millenials enjoy learning style such as working in groups, teamwork, use
technology whenever possible and experiential activities. For this reason in the current error the
nurse educators need to develop competency of using innovative teaching strategies so as to
accommodate the current student generation.
What I did to achieve this competency
During this teaching practum experience at St. Johns Institute for health I managed to experience
teaching six classroom sessions using the following learner centered methods; group discussions,
problem based learning and case study, however two lesson utilized an innovative teaching
strategy of case study. When using the case study method for example, I would first all develop
present the objectives of the lesson to the learners and divide the learners into groups of four
students per group, then after that I would present the case scenario following by provoking
question that would allow the students to discuss and analyze each question, then later I would
present power points notes. This was in line with recommendation of Downer and Swindells
(2007) who described a process for the teacher to follow when developing and effectively using
a case study. The process is circular approach and has six steps namely: write educational
objectives, Describe the patient and develop sufficient case detail ,Focus the learner on discrete
clinical decision points, Present viable options at decision points, Analyze options and select one
23
course of action, Introduce new information and continue to next clinical decision point. After
the session of teaching I would sit down with my mentor who would give the feedback on how I
handled each the class and the areas where I would need to improve. However my experiences
of using these innovative teaching strategies it was observed that the students actively
participated in each lesson. In situations where encountered the challenges the mentor would
intervene and I would improve on the other sessions of the teaching.
Before attending to each class I would feel nervous as would not be sure if I will teach using
innovative teaching strategy correctly, however when I start teaching and I adhere to my lesson
plan I would feel also that the students are enjoying my class. After the class I could feel nervous
again as I will be waiting for the feedback from my mentor, however commonly my mentor
would structure the feedback very well to extent that I would feel satisfied and note the areas
where I need to improve. Through the use of innovative teaching strategy I could observes that
the lesson could be interesting to learners and there were involved throughout the entire lessons.
However on the negative side at the beginning the student were observed as not knowing to what
is happen as they were used to the traditional lecturer methods, for this reason I could face
challenges but later on they got used to this method of teaching. The weakness that I observed
when teaching using the learner centered approaches was that I was over shooting the allocated
time for the lesson, however my mentor advised me I continue practice more on time
management
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7.4.Competency of conducting formative assessment for the students
Introduction
In addition to teaching, assessment is another important pillar of nursing education. Assessment
in education is defined as the a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information
about teaching and learning in order to make informed decisions that enhance student
achievement and the success of educational programs (Genesee and Upshur, 1996 cited
Jabbarifar, 2009).Weurlander, Söderberg, Scheja, and Hult (2012) described that assessments in
education are also takes two forms, firstly they are used summarize students‘ achievements in
order to award certification or promote the student to a next level and they referred to it as
summative assessment and also assessment are used to give feedback to students in order to
support learning called formative assessments. With formative assessment Vygotsky (2005) cited
in Duers and Brown (2009) argued that it promotes the idea that a student, on his or her own,
can learn a certain amount, thereafter, assistance is required if the student is to develop their
learning further. They stated that the assistance can take form of encouragement or provision of
suitable learning material, for example, feedback on performance, to prompt the student to move
to a higher level of learning, as such formative assessment is ideal for lifelong learning.
What I did to achieve this competency
During this teaching practice at St. Johns Institute for Health, I did conduct formative assessment
for the students that I was teaching. I divided students into groups, and the first formative
assessment was given as group assignment and the students presented, the assignment was
marked the feedback was provided to the learners, the other form of formative assessment that I
administered to the students are the mid-semester test, the test items mainly comprised of
objective test items. Marking of the test items was done in time and feedback was also provided
to the students, the mentor assisted me mostly by checking the quality of objective questions that
I created and she also helped me to refine, however due to time constraint of this teaching
practum allocation I did not manage to assess give the students my summative. Before
administering the formative assessment, I felt the student will not benefit from the assessment,
however after the assessments were given, marked and when feedback was given to the students
I feel that the students really benefited from these assessments. It was further noted that during
25
the mid semester examination students‘ performance was very good as compared to the first
assignment. By the conducting formative assessment positively I learnt that feedback is very
important as it bring about learning; the weakness on the competency of assessment is that I did
not have the opportunity assess the students summative, as such the next teaching practicum I
will need to achieve this competence again.
26
7.5.Competency of performing leadership and administrative roles at St. Johns
Institute for Health
Introduction
Leadership style is defined as a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary
participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organization goals (Nanjundeswaraswamy &
Swamy, 2014). A leadership style is a leader‘s style of providing direction, implementing plans,
and motivating subordinates. There are many different leadership styles established by various
researchers that are exhibited by leaders in an organization. For instance leadership expert James
McGregor Burns introduced the concept of transformational leadership in his 1978 book titled as
―Leadership‖(Korniewicz, 2015).
According to Korniewicz (2015) transformational leaders inspire their employees to go above
and beyond since they act as mentors. Transformational leaders are said to improve their
employee‘s self-esteem, motivation and job satisfaction.
What I did to achieve this competency
In order to achieve this competency I spent a week long experience in various offices that
provide key leadership and administrative roles at St. Johns Institute for Health. St. Johns
Institute for Health is headed by the College Principal who also has his Vice. There four
administrative sections that oversees the daily operations of the college these are; the academic
section which is headed by the Dean Of Faculty, the finance section and it is headed by the
Finance Officer, the a human resource section which headed by the College Registrar and the
student welfare which headed by the Dean Of Students.
During this teaching practum I managed to have an experience in all the key offices that
performs leadership roles in various sections and departments at the institution. Among these
offices includes, the office of the College Principal, The office of Dean of Faculty, The office of
Dean of Students, the office of Head of Clinical. I was also attached with the following officers;
the College Registrar, the Finance Officer, the College Librarian and the College Warden.
During this process of experience I analyzed various management tools such work policy, the
strategic plan, the financial manual, examination policy, the clinical policy, the budget document
and I also participated in the sensitization meeting of newly developed child protection policy.
Furthermore I also gained hand experience of common leadership style being practiced at St.
27
Institute for Health includes, transformational, democratic and autocratic leadership styles, these
leaderships styles are mainly performed by the college principal, who is the head of the
institution.
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Appendix I: The curriculum and syllabus for NMT
programme
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Appendix II: The course outline of surgical nursing 1
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Appendix III: The scheme of work
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Appendix IV: Samples of lesson plans and lesson delivery
evaluation
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Appendix V: Samples of teaching and learning aids
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Appendix VI: Samples of students marked scripts for
formative assessment
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Appendix VII: Teaching timetables
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Appendix VIII: Attendance of meetings/minutes and
management tools
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PRE-TEACHING PRACTICUM
PROPOSAL
41
PORTIFOLIO FOR
BURNETT CHIONA
