Opinion Article:
Innovation in a Mental Health Course Design: Increasing Student Engagement and Interaction Akhtar Ebrahimi Ghassemi, PhD, MHC, MSN, RN
n A bstract This opinion article introduces the author’s teaching practice as a nurse educator with the focus of moving away from the traditional teaching paradigm or “sage on a stage.” It asserts how the author’s teaching philosophy informs her strategies for using class time, choosing assignments to meet learning outcomes, and evaluating the learning. It also discusses the interconnection of these elements in a course called Mental Health Psychiatric Nursing. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology, this opinion article may appeal to all nurse educators interested in the science of learning and regarding the challenge of effective teaching.
Teaching/Working Philosophy The culture of teaching practice has shifted its focus to emphasize diverse teaching methods. The traditional teaching paradigm or “sage on a stage” is increasingly challenged as more theorists and teachers are advocating innovative teaching practices. It has been argued that educators can use knowledge about the brain to enhance pedagogical techniques. For example, a traditional didactic approach (delivering information) tends to employ the back cortex functions, while a discovery approach (proposing and testing ideas) makes use of the front cortex functions; thus, a balanced use of the back and front cortex will generate better learning (Zull, 2011). In other words, innovative teaching practices should be grounded in emerging brain research, using neuroscience to maximize the adaptive functions of the brain by challenging students to
be creative, and providing activities to verify and prolong learning by using action areas of the brain (Zull, 2011). Developing a personal teaching or educational philosophy statement is now an established practice. For example, educators can instill confidence in their students by explaining the course goals and how these will be achieved, because “a well-developed and deeply felt conviction about the importance of one’s teaching is an important element in imbuing students with a perception of one’s credibility” (Brookfield, 2006, p. 259). In addition, instruction has become an active process of constructing rather than acquiring or communicating knowledge. As “problem-posing education involves a constant unveiling of reality” (Freire, 2000, expression xi), teaching and learning are now understood to be participatory or mutual processes. Finally, educators and/or clinicians are expected to support
Dr. Akhtar Ebrahimi Ghassemi is an Assistant Professor and Mental Health Counselor/Educator at Adelphi University, College of Nursing & Public Health, Garden City, NY. 20
Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, Volume 44, Number 2
