teaching and learning

Compliance

learner accepts the need to learn AND follows through.

effective teaching

Effective teaching starts with an assessment of the learning need

learning domains

• Cognitive → thinking, knowledge

• Affective → feelings, attitudes

• Psychomotor → physical skills

adult learning theory

Adults learn best when:

• Treated as self-directed

• Their life experience is respected

• They know why they need to learn something

• Learning helps them take care of themselves

• They are internally motivated

behaviorist theory

• Learning happens through reinforcement

• Use positive reinforcement

cognitive theory

Learning = acquiring → processing → using information

constructive theory

• Learning builds on prior experience

• Connect new info to what they already know

social learning theory

• Learning by watching, imitating, modeling

• Show → then have patient repeat demonstration

TEACH acronym

T – Teach
E – Empower
A – Advocate
C – Community
H – Health

ask your healthcare team

• What is my main problem?

• What do I need to do?

• Why is it important?

• Helps patients ask questions and be active in their care.

reliable sources

• .gov, .edu, .org

• CDC, AHA, Mayo Clinic

• Research articles with references

• Authors with credentials, recent dates

unreliable sources

• Wikipedia

• Blogs, personal sites

• Sites with lots of ads

• Sales/marketing pages

health literacy

Ability to read, understand, and apply health info. Low literacy → higher risk of doing meds/procedures incorrectly.

Improve health literacy:

• Avoid medical jargon

• Use 5th–6th grade reading level

high risk groups for low health literacy

• Adults >65

• Refugees, immigrants

• Low education

• Low income

• ESL (English second language

readiness

shows interest ask questions

factors that help learning

• Motivation

• Readiness (shows interest, asks questions)

• Active involvement

• Relevant information

• Positive feedback

• Non-judgmental support

• Teach simple → complex

• Repetition

• Good timing (right after learning)

• Good environment (quiet, comfortable, good lighting)

factors that inhibit learning

• Emotions: anxiety, fear, anger, depression

• Culture/language barriers

• Illness, pain, sensory deficits

• Medications that affect cognition

• Low energy, fatigue

• Poor motor coordination

• Visual/hearing impairment

children

• Teach parent + child

• Use simple words

• Use props, let child handle equipment

• Use pictures/coloring books

adolescents

• Focus on safety, consequences, responsibility

• Use interactive teaching (hands-on)

adults

• Explain why it’s important

• Respect independence

older adults

• Slower processing, memory issues

• Sensory impairments

• Allow extra time

• Repeat info

• Use large print, simple materials

teach back

method involves the nurse teaching a particular topic then asking the patient to describe the main points from teaching