Evaluating the Student Clinical Learning Environment
Introduction
According to Dunn and Burnett1, the student learning environment consists of all the conditions and forces within an educational setting that impact learning. Shuell2 visualized the student learning environment as a rich psychological soup comprised of cognitive, social, cultural, affective, emotional, motivational and curricular factors, in which teachers and students work together toward learning. Without the correct environmental ingredients, it is very difficult to achieve a satisfactory learning product.
Student learning at the primary and secondary educational levels generally takes place in the traditional classroom environment. In contrast, at the post secondary level, students experience an increasing number of applied learning environments, of which the clinical nursing education experience is a prime example. Clinical (applied learning) components of nursing education are critical to the overall curriculum, as they allow learners to “apply knowledge to practice, to develop problem-solving and decision making skills, and to practice responsibility for their own actions”3. However, the mere passage of time in this environment does not itself ensure clinical competence or a positive clinical experience. Many variables interact in the “soup” of clinical learning to contribute to student learning outcomes. In order to ensure that the interaction of these environmental ingredients supports learning, the factors impacting learning in that context must be identified and evaluated.
One means to identify and evaluate the factors affecting the effectiveness of the teaching-learning experience is to look at the clinical educational environment through the students’ eyes. Student perceptions of the quality of the learning environment can provide educators with valuable information related to student learning in these environments. Thus, this investigation was undertaken to test the accuracy and efficiency of an instrument,
According to Dunn and Burnett1, the student learning environment consists of all the conditions and forces within an educational setting that impact learning. Shuell2 visualized the student learning environment as a rich psychological soup comprised of cognitive, social, cultural, affective, emotional, motivational and curricular factors, in which teachers and students work together toward learning. Without the correct environmental ingredients, it is very difficult to achieve a satisfactory learning product.
Student learning at the primary and secondary educational levels generally takes place in the traditional classroom environment. In contrast, at the post secondary level, students experience an increasing number of applied learning environments, of which the clinical nursing education experience is a prime example. Clinical (applied learning) components of nursing education are critical to the overall curriculum, as they allow learners to “apply knowledge to practice, to develop problem-solving and decision making skills, and to practice responsibility for their own actions”3. However, the mere passage of time in this environment does not itself ensure clinical competence or a positive clinical experience. Many variables interact in the “soup” of clinical learning to contribute to student learning outcomes. In order to ensure that the interaction of these environmental ingredients supports learning, the factors impacting learning in that context must be identified and evaluated.
One means to identify and evaluate the factors affecting the effectiveness of the teaching-learning experience is to look at the clinical educational environment through the students’ eyes. Student perceptions of the quality of the learning environment can provide educators with valuable information related to student learning in these environments. Thus, this investigation was undertaken to test the accuracy and efficiency of an instrument,