Developing curriculum in a new educational world
Abstract
In 2010, the Flinders University School of Nursing & Midwifery decided to develop a new Bachelor of Nursing curriculum that took into account contemporary understandings of educational practice. These include blended learning, inclusion of national health priorities (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] 2011), ANMC competencies for registered nurses, university graduate qualities, and the demands of a complex health care context in which nurses need to practice comprehensively.
This paper describes and explores the development of the virtual learning environment within the new Flinders University's Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. The new BN curriculum was planned over three years and implementation commenced in 2013. The paper describes the process of inductive curriculum development, identifies some of the challenges faced in designing a contemporary curriculum and the strategies used to ensure that the course responds to the ‘changing face’ of higher education, while maintaining the requirements of a practice-based discipline. The curriculum embraces blended learning, an approach implemented with the use of e-learning strategies and resources. Central to the curriculum is the use of unfolding cases that simulate the clinical setting (Page et al. 2010), presenting students with rich contextual information, reflecting multiple disciplinary perspectives (Yousey 2012). Contemporary education literature is discussed in relation to changing technology, student diversity and specific disciplinary requirements. Suggestions are provided for those in the process of developing an accredited nursing baccalaureate program.
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References
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