LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Attempts to learn the mass of scientific information that is part of a nursing education by rote memorization is doomed to failure. There is too much of it. It has to be resorted, combined, and prioritized before it can be used to solve nursing problems. In this course your teachers hope to shape your approach to any college-level reading assignment. Rather than acting as a blank slate to receive information from the text, we ask that you search the reading assignments to answer specific questions that you have asked yourself. Passive reading is a substitute for a sleeping pill. Active reading wakes you up. You create different brain waves when you read actively, physically changing the flow of blood in your brain. You boost your ability to concentrate and discover useful information.

Classes too can be a snooze fest if students are not actively involved. In this course there are group activities in every class that require your use of the class content. Preparation for these activities is explained on each of the Class Assignment pages. The activity is listed again on the Class pages. The quality of your experience in these group activities will relate to your having read the assigned reading for that class. You have more than just yourself to think about here. Peer to peer discussion is a significant learning component in nursing courses. If you do not read before class, your ability to contribute to the learning of other members of your small group will be seriously impaired.

If you have any questions about your role in teaching- learning in this program of study, or you want to argue a different point of view on this subject, set up a meeting time with your teacher. While the course methods and grading are established for this semester's offering of the course, student ideas for change are appreciated and routinely considered when designing the next offering of a course.