I would like to create an online design for a therapeutic relations course in nursing programs. The course focuses on practicing communication and assessing people with mental illness. In nursing programs, students are not adequately trained in their mental health rotation. The constructivism theory guides this simulation-based learning (Ally, 2008). For example, students could play the nurse role via Zoom, and we would have an actor join us presenting with a mental health crisis (e.g., a person actively responding to internal stimuli or becoming agitated). The instructor would let the students know the scenario and watch as they worked on applying and building their knowledge through the simulation experience. A debrief would be held at the end of the session to explore the student’s feelings about the situation and what they would list as their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, visual tools such as videos can be linked in weekly designs so students can see how other professionals handle those situations. Students can also have opportunities to record themselves and upload them for instructors and peers to watch through multimedia tools to further guide their learning. Similarly, connectivism theory can be applied to this design because it focuses on the connection between humans and objects (Siemens, 2005). In the same example, the feedback will be diverse as each student may respond to the same situation differently, which would help the student acquire new communication techniques from their peers. Students would be able to connect the concept to their simulation because what they are practicing to apply is based on what they have learned in theory. Lastly, connectivisms principle on decision-making would apply to this course because how the student responded to the scenario is a decision-making process, which helps teach them in itself.
References
Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In Anderson, T. (Ed.). The theory and practice of online learning (pp.15-44). Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from “http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/01_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf” \h
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International journal of instructional technology and distance learning , 2 (1), 3-10.
