Kolb's Simulation-Based Learning Case Study

The simulation environment offers a safe place for students to practice critical scenarios and gain confidence in proscribed settings (Decker, Sportsman, Puetz, & Billings, 2008). Simulation helps faculty to facilitate learning which meets one of the NLN’s core competencies. Simulation also enhances communication through emerging leadership and delegation skills, and builds teamwork through goal and priority setting (Dillon, Noble, & Kaplan, 2009). Therefore, according to Lasater (2007) simulation is highly effective as an adjunct teaching strategy in clinical practice.

-The Institute of Medicine recommends simulation as a method of teaching interventions in high risk situations.

There are many demanding professional adjustments when transitioning from student nurse to graduate nurse and the use of refection during this time is said to be a very important tool in guiding the learning process. It is common in the field of nursing to utilise reflection to critically analyse certain experiences and reflect on how they made them feel and react. This involves looking deeper into a particular experience and deciding what was good, what was bad and what would be a better course of action if they were to re encounter it in the future. However there may be potential barriers when trying to make judgements about a students inner most thoughts and personal experiences. The purpose of this essay is to critically analyse the concept of reflection and to find out if it is an essential component to nursing practise in the transition from student nurse to graduate registered nurse.

Simulation is one kind of reflective tool that widely use in nursing education. National League for Nursing (NLN) described that simulation was a teaching technique that encouraged students to use and apply their theoretical knowledge in clinical scenarios (2015). NLN (2015) also mentioned that “simulation engages learners with diverse perspectives to reflect and reframe the understanding of practice, bringing thinking and doing together” (p. 4). Jones (2009) showed the similar view that reflective simulation was a critical learning process via practiced-based scenario activity that enhanced students to learn and to practice skills before they faced real situations. However, not all processes of simulation use reflection, it is just debriefing process.

Simulation based learning develops skills, knowledge, and attitudes in staff that otherwise cannot be experienced. The staff are put in the client’s position and give them a better understanding of daily struggles. Also puts the focus on the client instead of task completion. 14

Having discussed all of the positive aspects of simulation as a teaching tool we must look at how we link the information presented in lecture with the hands-on skills of simulation. One way to link that information is through the use of pre-briefing. This strategy provides the bridge between theory, simulation and practice. (Page-Cutrara, 2014) I found it helpful to use this technique in my

There remain many questions regarding how and why individuals learn. The optimal methods to train and educate an individual need to be studied, as well as team training for optimal outcomes. Inserting multiple variables into individual training further complicates the issue. The “See One, Do One, Teach One” method has been used in the past, however, with simulation systems, the model should move toward “See Many, Do Many, Teach Many” as it is understood that simulation systems are relevant for novices as well as for experts providing

We hope our project does not encounter any delay. If it is the case, we will have to create a plan to solve that matter. We want to be ready for the upcoming Medical States University September class 2015, to integrate fully simulation education in the curriculum.

My answers were not decisive which reflect my weak critical thinking skill. For example, when it comes to medication administration, in instances where things are not clear, it should always be referred to the doctor which in this case I belatedly remembered. Nurses should also make sure that they knew how to use all the equipment that is used in the nursing care. In a medical emergency situation, every second counts. In the simulation, epinephrine administration was delayed since the nurse did not know how to use the automatic injection. Over-all the simulation had a significant impact to my learning process.

Johnson and Romanello (2005). Each unique generation comes with diverse learning and teaching needs. Therefore, nurse educators must be knowledgeable in a multitude of teaching methods and learning theories.

The simulation posed a unique challenge one to me. It was neither purely an intellectual challenge nor entirely an exercise in teamwork, as with what I was accustomed to in high school. Instead, it tested my abilities under pressure and my ability to think on my feet. In our team’s planning sessions, we planned for the unpredictability of the simulation by acting out

David Kolb developed a learning theory that involves concrete concepts which learners process experience. Kolb’s theory is based on intentions that learning takes place through four linear cycles based on experience and the personal changes that occur throughout that experience. As Kolb (1984) states, “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (p. 38). Similar to other scholarly theories of learning, Kolb has many critics. I will discuss Kolb’s theory and summarize some of the critics to this theory. Also I will use Kolb’s theory and the critic’s comments to improve my approach to teaching.

To return to the learning by doing stage, enter simulations. A simulation is an instructional strategy that offers the opportunity to learn in a

This paper is my personal reflection on teaching and learning that is based on a model developed by Schӧn; reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. An action based on reflection is beneficial for the progression of my career as a nursing educator and for the quality of my teaching. When I reflect in and on action, I engage in a reflection which is targeted not only at appreciating myself as a nurse educator, but also at refining my teaching skill (Serdenciuc, 2015). Schön (as cited in Molloy & Delany, 2009) described reflection-in-action as challenging my own inherent critical thinking, analysis and evaluation of an activity while maintaining a sense of inquisitiveness. Schön (1983, p. 280) also mentioned that reflection-in-action is a process where my thinking and action should harmonize. On the other hand, reflection-on-action is a process where I revisit the action with my retrospective thinking so as to acquire insights for the future (Wieringa, 2011). When reflecting-on-action, I should keep a reflective diary to record details of the action immediately after the action (Mulholland & Turnock, 2012, p. 74).

In the reading Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development by David Kolb (1984), he proposed that learning is a cycle process in which individuals learn through their own experiences in life. This notion of the learning cycle in which he was influenced by the ideas of three other theorists (Piaget, Dewey, and Lewinian) called it Experiential Learning Theory. Kolb’s theory was based on how people learned by imputing information and processing the information. Within this two abilities, there are four steps in which Kolb’s believe the learning process occurs. The first one he calls “concrete experience”, in which one actually does the learning right then and now. The second one is “reflective observation” when the learner thinks about what they did as a reflection of the experience. The next step is the “abstract conceptualization”, where the learner makes a generalization of the experience. The last step is “active experimentation”, where the learner puts to practice his/her understanding and adapts to it. The learner does this by taking all the first three steps of the learning cycle and seeing the results (pg. 30). Learning is a process in which individuals learn through trial and error. This process can then be reused with our prior experience to strengthen the outcome of our first experience. It is shaped as a cycle in the way we process information cognitively. This is how I understood of the reading on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory.