Educational Innovations

Developing and Piloting an Online Graduate Nursing Course Focused on Experiential Learning of Qualitative Research Methods

Lorraine F. Holtslander, PhD, RN, CHPCN(C); Louise Racine, PhD, RN; Shari Furniss, MDE; Meridith Burles, PhD; Hollie Turner, BScH

  • Journal of Nursing Education
  • June 2012 - Volume 51 · Issue 6: 345-348
  • DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20120427-03
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Abstract

Despite the turmoil of a worldwide economic crisis, the health sector remains largely understaffed, and the nursing shortage represents a major issue that jeopardizes graduate nursing education. Access to education remains a challenge, particularly in rural and remote areas. This article reports the process of developing an asynchronous online qualitative research course. This online course was piloted among 16 interdisciplinary students. Participants agreed that experiential learning was useful to understand the intricacies of qualitative research. Within this constructivist approach, students were immersed in real-life experiences, which focused on the development of skills applicable to qualitative research. Based on the findings, we suggest that constructivism and the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model (a four-part approach for fostering the development of complex skills) represent valuable ontological and pedagogical approaches that can be used in online courses. Triangulating these two approaches is also congruent with the student-centered philosophy that underpins nursing graduate programs.

AUTHORS

Dr. Holtslander is Associate Professor, Dr. Racine is Associate Professor, and Dr. Burles is Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Nursing, Ms. Furniss is Instructional Designer, Educational Media Access and Production, and Ms. Turner is Research Assistant, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

This research was supported by a TEL grant from the Government of Saskatchewan and by the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan.

The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Address correspondence to Lorraine F. Holtslander, PhD, RN, CHPCN(C), Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Health Sciences Building, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5E5; e-mail: lorraine.holtslander@usask.ca

doi: 10.3928/01484834-20120427-03

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