LEARNING THEORY JOURNAL

Background

The nursing case study focused on clinical nursing practice on elderly patients with low formal literacy levels to comprehend the implications of diseases or conditions in their lives. The Knowles theory was used to guide and inform the nursing application and experience to equip clients with self-direction skills and to become lifelong learners with an understanding and the ability to use technology.

Preparation for education- learning theories application

A range of theories was used to guide client education to produce the best results on the patients’ use of the Left Ventricle Assist Device. Since both patients were octogenarians, Knowles Andragogy adult learning theory was used which focused on the learning process including physical comfort, mutual trust and respect building, openness, and acceptance rather than the learning content (McEwen, 2014). After realizing that the clients were motivated to learn, it called for the adoption of the cognitive field theory since learning and behavior would be related to perception and experience in the case of both clients. There was also reference to the cognitive development interaction theory since the patients would base their learning on experience on electricity and plumbing in the case of Mr. Banza.

The teaching process- learning styles

Paying attention to the verbal comments, it was concluded that Mr. Banza preferred a visual learning style and seemed to respond better to pictures, demonstrations, and movies with respect to his experience in plumbing and electricity (Olson, 2015). The implant LVAD was visualized as a plumbing item while the LVAD itself was visualized as an electric and electronic installation in line with his experience in electricity and plumbing. Learning materials, therefore, included note-taking paper and pencil, information marking highlighter pens, and picture puzzles to attend to the visual and kinesthetic needs of Mr. Banza.

Mrs. Banza, being a tenth grader, was in a better position to learn using auditory learning style through hearing an audio device, presentation and discussion, and others that were more auditory than visual (Sternberg & Zhang, 2014). This was the best teaching style for Mrs. Banza since women are more auditory, passive, conforming, and authority-oriented learners.

Both learners though could be categorized as global learners as they were more interested in learning the whole lesson and its goal rather than the small connecting parts since they were more interested in learning the LVAD with goals in mind. The teaching strategies, therefore, included giving rooms for intermittent concentration and relaxation periods for soft music in an informal environment with soft lighting. These were complemented by the use of short humorous stories and illustrations to capture and maintain their attention.

Conclusion

Both learners in the case study successfully grasped the taught concepts and procedures and went ahead to teach other peers with the same conditions as they. The learning process was facilitated by the fact that learning information was provided from simple to complex, known to unknown and concrete to abstract and the learning information was personalized and individualized by the learners as they were actively involved in the learning process (Sternberg & Zhang, 2014). The fact that the learning information was relevant and meaningful to their needs and problems and their attention fully captured by the teaching strategy also facilitated the learning process.

References

McEwen, M. (2014).Theoretical Basis for Nursing, 4th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://vsaccess.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781469899992/

Olson, M. H. (2015). Introduction to theories of learning. Routledge.

Sternberg, R. J., & Zhang, L. F. (2014). Perspectives on thinking, learning, and cognitive styles. Routledge.