Unit 4

Taking account of factors that influence learning in simulations

Orientation to Unit 4

In this Unit, you will be invited to apply the notions acquired throughout this workshop. You will refer to the underpinning principles of experiential learning and learning styles. You will reflect on ways to integrate emotions, motivation and perceived self-efficacy. You will be led to activate trainees’ prior knowledge.

Please answer all of the questions since they will improve your understanding of the workshop content and prepare you for the exam.

Specific objectives

  • Recognize factors that influence learning in a given situation
  • Apply the principles of experiential learning, learning styles, emotions and motivation
  • Propose methods for activating prior knowledge

Alexandra’s situation

 Instructions:

1.  Watch the following animation by clicking on the play button. A new window will open.

2.  To close it, click outside of the video.

3.  Click on icon to turn on the “Subtitles/closed captions (c)” and select your language in the “Settings” icon.

4.  Answer the following questions.

Transcript

play

1. In your opinion, what factors will influence Alexandra’s learning during her placement? How and why?

Feedback

Alexandra is likely to be highly motivated to become a competent respiratory therapist. Having met several respiratory therapists and frequently discussed cases with them, she is well aware of their role and her professional choice is well thought out.

The fact that she is a little older can certainly have a positive impact on her learning. She has a wealth of knowledge that will be useful in problem-solving complex situations.

Alexandra forwarded information in advance, proactively. This lends you to believe that she uses sound planning and cognitive strategies.

2. How could you mobilize Alexandra’s autonomous motivation from the start of the placement?

Feedback

In this workshop, you have seen how important it is to forge a trusting relationship. This relationship begins as soon as Alexandra arrives, when you welcome her. You could compare your perceptions of:

  • Mistakes (can be opportunities for improvement, are an integral part of the learning process)
  • Values and beliefs (either through a list of values or an informal discussion)
  • Support strategies (for example, using a concept map) and learning activities during the placement (an oral presentation to her peers, on a topic that she is passionate about)

You could also discuss her interests. It will help mobilize her intrinsic motivation (for example, suggesting that she perform activities that she finds enjoyable, consistent with her values, allowing her to develop her competencies).

3. At the beginning of the workshop, you indicated that you could mobilize your trainee’s motivation from the onset of the placement, by:

How is this answer different from the answer you gave to question 2?

4. How could you activate Alexandra’s prior knowledge? Could some support strategies help you out in this regard?

Feedback

Documents that Alexandra submitted will be very useful in getting a general overview of the knowledge she gained throughout her academic journey, her placements, her work and personal experience. Along the placement, you should ask her to make connections between this knowledge and what she is learning with you. For example, by asking herself questions such as: what are the similarities and differences? How does this context impact how my knowledge is applied?

You could ask Alexandra to complete the knowledge inventory or the learning contract to know more about her profile. Oral questions and the concept map will help her to further explain the connections she makes.

The more Alexandra’s knowledge is activated, the more it will be memorized and efficiently reorganized.

5. Do the support strategies that you use foster knowledge activation?

 Instructions: Download a Summary of support strategies

Feedback

In fact, all of the support strategies (learning contract, demonstration, oral questions, concept map, observation and documentation grids, knowledge inventory, role play, logbook, ABCDE/SMART objectives, relaxation, videoscopy, and visualization) can serve to activate and transfer knowledge. It will depend on how you use them. Think about the tools that can help the trainee make connections with what he knows and perceive the usefulness of the content in other situations

Catherine’s experiential learning

 Instructions:

1.  Carefully observe the comic strip below.

2.  Answer the following questions.

3.  Click on the validate button to check your answer.

We see a trainee, with a stethoscope, pushing a small cart with medical equipment (bandage, syringe, bottle of sterile water), walking toward the door of hospital room. Two students and her supervisor are following her. We can notice that the trainee is very nervous, sweating profusely, anxious expression and shaking.

Catherine has debrided wounds on several occasions and has mastered this procedure. This morning, her supervisor Isabelle asked her to act as an expert in front of her peers (Flavie and Myriam).

After her intervention, you meet with Catherine, with the purpose of fostering her experiential learning.

1. Associate each of the interventions with the appropriate stage of Kolb’s experiential cycle.

You ask your trainee to list all of the steps she completed.

You ask your trainee to search literature for the most effective techniques in wound debridement.

You ask your trainee how she felt when she was explaining what she was doing to students and to the patient.

You invite your trainee to select the appropriate material for wound care, integrating recommendations from best practices.

You ask your trainee to explain what she will change the next time she teaches, taking into account the research she did on the social constructivist educational principle.

You ask your trainee to explain, based on knowledge she has acquired in her previous placement, why debridement was complex.

You ask your trainee how she experienced her teaching intervention.

You ask your trainee to draw a concept map, summarizing recommendations from best practices in wound care.

2. Based on the theory of perceived self-efficacy (PSE), how could you help Catherine manage her anxiety?

Feedback

In Unit 3, you saw that the trainee uses four learning sources to develop his PSE. You will therefore mobilize these four sources.

  1.  Mastery, active or prior experience:
    Before performing the intervention, you could practice it with her, so she can successfully complete the task at hand.
    You could remind the trainee that she successfully completed this activity previously.
  2.  Vicarious experience or indirect experience:
    Before performing the intervention in front of her colleagues, Catherine could observe another trainee as he provides this type of teaching. Catherine could then discuss her experience with her colleagues.
  3.  Verbal persuasion:
    During the placement, take the time to provide positive feedback to Catherine. You can also encourage her to work with your colleagues who could also give her positive feedback.
  4.  Emotional and physiological states:
    Before the intervention, you can:
    • Help Catherine become aware of her feelings and emotions. Give her time to do so.
    • Encourage Catherine to put in place strategies to manage her emotions.
    • Bring Catherine to recognize past situations where she experienced anxiety and still performed very well.

An anxiety-provoking learning situation

 Instructions:

1.  Watch the following animation by clicking on the play button. A new window will open.

2.  To close it, click outside of the video.

3.  Click on icon to turn on the “Subtitles/closed captions (c)” and select your language in the “Settings” icon.

4.  Answer the following questions.

Transcript

play

1. If you had to formulate a hypothesis about Raphael’s learning style, what would it be?

Pragmatist

Activist

Reflector

Theorist

2. How can you help Raphael adapt to the learning situation?

Feedback

Raphael needs to adapt his learning style to a fast-paced working environment. In such a situation, it is more beneficial to use a style where analysis is done in action and concrete information is grasped quickly. The trainee must learn to develop a more active style.

It will be easier to intervene if the notion of learning styles was addressed during the placement.

You can start by recognizing the challenge of adopting a more active style. Afterward, you can suggest strategies that the trainee can use to quickly and efficiently review a file by targeting essential elements to consider before visiting a patient. You can also propose methods for obtaining the required information during the intervention. You can suggest that Raphael take a few minutes to visualize what he will do when entering the patient’s room.

Subsequently, you can review the learning situation, the notion of learning style and suggest that the trainee develop his abilities to use the right style at the right moment, according to the context.

To continue developing the active style, you can ask the trainee to:

  • Speak first during a team meeting
  • Participate in a brainstorming, during departmental meetings
  • Quickly present his analysis of a situation
  • etc.

Congratulations, you have completed the workshop Addressing factors that impact learning.

At the start of the workshop, you identified the following expectations:

Did the workshop meet your expectations?

We hope that you answer was positive and that you feel more proficient in addressing factors that impact learning. .

If you have any pending questions, please contact the resource person for this workshop.

You can now go the Workshop Evaluation. After this evaluation, you can do the Final Exam if you wish to receive a certificate for this workshop.

Continue to the workshop evaluation Continue to the final exam

Name: Caroline Borris
Professional discipline: Occupational therapist
Employer: Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS) – Volet Université d’Ottawa et Université d’Ottawa
Mailing address: 200, Lees Avenue (room E100-B), Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5
Email address caroline.borris@uOttawa.ca
Telephone number: 613-562-5800, ext. 8521 or 1-877-221-CNFS
Office hours: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday

Member

Professional information: My name is Caroline Borris, Coordinator of training projects at the CNFS – Volet Université d’Ottawa. I hold a master’s degree in education with a focus on training healthcare professionals and a Bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy. Here is a brief overview of my professional experience.

I worked for ten years in hospital centres, providing occupational therapy services to an adult and senior clientele with physical or cognitive disorders. Throughout these years, I supervised several trainees. In addition, I worked for four years as coordinator of interprofessional training in rehabilitation, and as teaching coordinator in the context of a national research project on mobilizing vulnerable seniors in Ontario.

Since 2004, I have been involved in teaching at college and university levels, in the master’s programs in occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

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