BSN Nurse Educator Conceptions of Teaching: the Science and Art of Nursing Education
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BSN Nurse Educator Conceptions of Teaching: The Science and Art of Nursing Education by Michelle Dianne Penny M.Ed., University of Calgary, 2001 B.N., University of Calgary, 1995 R.N., Foothills School of Nursing, 1991 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Educational Leadership Program Faculty of Education © Michelle Dianne Penny 2019 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2019 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Michelle Dianne Penny Degree: Doctor of Education Title: BSN Nurse Educator Conceptions of Teaching: The Science and Art of Nursing Education Examining Committee: Chair: Charles Bingham Professor Allan MacKinnon Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Cindy Xin Co-Supervisor Adjunct Professor Kris Magnusson Supervisor Professor Ann Chinnery Internal Examiner Associate Professor Anthony Clarke External Examiner Professor Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: November 21, 2019 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This is an interpretive descriptive (ID) qualitative study of the conceptions of teaching held by nurse educators in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is an exploration of a set of twenty interviews conducted with fourteen nurse educators, representing four post- secondary institutions in the Vancouver vicinity. The center of this account begins with the three research questions: How do BSN nurse educators conceive of teaching? How do those conceptions of teaching manifest in their teaching practice? And why might such conceptions form as they do? I have written and presented this study in a narrative voice to depict my own learning journey and self-study as I have researched this question about how nurse educators understand teaching and why it is important. My analyses and interpretations of these interviews are couched in an extensive review of literature in the field of education, spanning disciplines of curriculum theory, adult and post-secondary education, professional education, and nursing education. The findings of the study indicate that participants are not formally prepared to teach and experience a number of significant challenges in their teaching practice. Such challenges include relating to students, managing heavy workloads, integrating theory and practice, adapting to teaching differences, and coping with psychological distress. The participants hold three primary conceptions of teaching: Transmitting Knowledge, Apprenticeship, and Facilitating Ways of Understanding. The majority of participants conceive of teaching as delivering information and directing activities in the classroom and apprenticeship in the clinical setting. The way that participants form conceptions of teaching may be related, in part, to their previous experiences of teaching and learning as nursing students, the nursing discipline’s ideology of a profession, and the present emphasis on the science of teaching in nursing education. The findings and significance of the study are contextualized in a critical review of nursing education as it has evolved over the past decades and the concomitant potential for improving BSN Nursing programs in BC. Keywords: nursing; nurse educator; conceptions of teaching; approaches to teaching; profession; science of teaching; art of teaching; reflection of teaching iv Dedication This work is dedicated to educators who teach in practice disciplines. If you wish to understand why professions develop as they do, study their nurseries, in this case, their forms of professional preparation. – Lee S. Shulman v Acknowledgements It takes a village to grow a new scholar. Naming all of the individuals who have influenced, supported, and contributed to my personal growth and the development of this thesis is not possible, as we are all interconnected in some way. If you ever have taken the time to talk with me about research, teaching, and learning, I thank you. I will now take a moment to recognize several groups of people who have made this learning journey possible. Thank you to the nurse educators who generously gave of their time to talk with me about their teaching experiences. Without you, there would not be a study. You have all enhanced my understanding of teaching and contributed to the collective knowledge of how teaching might be understood. Words are inadequate to express the depth of gratitude I feel towards my supervisory committee: Dr. Allan MacKinnon, Dr. Cindy Xin, and Dr. Kris Magnusson. Their commitment, guidance, and mentorship along this doctoral journey is something for which I will be eternally grateful. Allan, you truly are “The Horse Whisperer.” Your wisdom, patience, and gentleness have brought out more in me than I could ever imagine for myself. Cindy, you exude a quiet eloquence and thoughtfulness that I can only one day hope to emulate. Kris, your ability to see the potential of humans and hear beyond words is a gift that will forever stay with me. I also wish to express my appreciation to Dr. Rebecca Cox who put forth considerable time and energy into enhancing my understanding of qualitative research and teaching me to raise better questions. I am stronger for knowing you. Thank you to my EdD cohort, for your ongoing support and friendship throughout this journey. In particular, I wish to acknowledge Drs. Meaghan Dougherty, Candy Ho, Zul Kanji, Raymond Yu, Natasha Mrkic, Christine Sjolander, and soon to be Drs. Mike Sjoerdsma and Sue Hampton. All of you cheered me on and contributed to helping me succeed in your own way. Together, you have made this experience something more. Bruce Ford, you are one of my dearest friends. Thank you for reading every single word and for helping me edit this thesis more than once. Dr. Larry Luster and Adrianna D’Ilio, my colleagues and friends, thank you for continuously listening to my vi thinking as I worked through the intricacies of this study. Sam Jessa and Sheldon Ralph, thank you for all your ongoing tender loving care and encouragement along the way. I could not wish for better friends! I especially wish to thank my life partner, Asif Bhalesha, who lived this entire experience with me. Thank you for your enduring love and support as I travelled this journey. Nury-mom and Abu-dad Bhalesha, thank you for feeding us and then feeding us some more. We both feel loved and well-nourished because of you! Thank you, mom and dad, Lance and Pam Penny, for loving me as your daughter and for all that you have given of yourselves to your children – Me, Dan, Phil, and Beth. Finally, I wish to remember Elaine Wing Penny, my best friend in nursing school and sister-in-law of nineteen years. I will miss you and love you forever. Your memory lives on in your children, Jacquelyn and Joshua. Our friendship and nursing careers together have largely inspired this work. I hope this study will contribute in some way to the betterment of nursing and professional education. vii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ...............................................................................................................iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ viii List of Figures................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xi List of Samples ................................................................................................................. xi List of Acronyms ...............................................................................................................xii Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Problems of Teaching in Nursing Education ........................................................... 4 1.1.1. Over-Burdened Curriculum ............................................................................. 6 1.1.2. Poor Teacher Preparation ............................................................................... 8 1.1.3. Overemphasis on Technical Rationality .......................................................... 9 1.2. Response to call for Teaching Reform .................................................................. 11 1.3. Conceptions of Teaching ...................................................................................... 15 1.4. Research Questions and Study Design ................................................................ 19 1.5. Overview of Study ................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 2. Literature Review ....................................................................................