Innovation
The use of a biographical approach in learning.
- The module aim is to enable the learner to establish ‘where they are now’ through a review of their learning, assessment of their current learning needs and to negotiate a learning agreement and programme plan for their studies.
- The module allows the construction of learning biographies which will enable learners to conceptualise their learning and development to date and the development of a comprehensive plan of learning.
What prompted innovation?
A need was identified for the students registered on the AHSCS programme to have the opportunity to stop and think about where they had come from and where they were going to, to learn from their life stories. It builds on previous PhD research by Lioba Howatson-Jones.
What makes innovation different?
This is a different way of looking at learning, it allows the lecturers and students to use the learning biographies and develop the module and programme around them, it allows them the space to explore themselves as a practitioner and a learner.
Changes in practice
- For one student, their learning biography made them realise why they behaved in a certain way in practice.
- For another student who was lacking in confidence and had problems with learning, this approach allowed them to recognise that and increased their confidence with learning and access the right support.
Impact
The students respond well to the module. It has allowed them to consider their learning from a different perspective and put themselves at the centre of their learning to ensure that it has deeper meaning.
Dissemination
Through a paper in the International Practice Development Journal, “Biographical learning: a process for promoting person-centredness in nursing”, Lioba Howatson-Jones, Claire Thurgate, Myriam Graber, Carma M Harnett, Joanne S Thompson, Deborah A Jordan. March 2013
Also it will be the subject of a book chapter “Biographical learning – a process for recovering the soul in nursing”.