Abstract
Nurse educators are subject matter experts in nursing science and practice, but designing meaningful instruction and assessment that meets the unique needs of a diverse group of learners requires additional knowledge from education and learning science, including educational theory and an understanding of the underlying nature of knowledge, learning, and transfer. While learning theorists have disagreed on the definitions of these foundational concepts over the last century, it is clear that “the assumptions we make about how people learn fundamentally drive the ways we design to support that learning” (Danish & Gresalfi, 2018, p 39). Whether pedagogies and assessment strategies are designed from thoughtful consideration of learning theories or adopted as routine, an educators underlying assumptions about learning will ultimately influence their teaching practice. As nurse educators work to improve consistency and effectiveness in learning design, aligning instruction and assessment practices based on theoretical perspective is essential. The purpose of this presentation is to translate foundational theoretical perspectives from learning sciences to nursing education practice, providing guidance in learning design and supporting instruction-assessment alignment. This presentation will summarize the theoretical assumptions of both the cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on knowledge, learning, and transfer, framing them as alternatives to the traditions of the empiricist perspective. Synthesizing evidence from both learning sciences and nursing education, pedagogies and assessments commonly used in nursing education will be considered, highlighting the theoretical assumptions on which they are founded. To provide clarity and increase pragmatic uptake of theory-based learning design, exemplars will demonstrate key elements of each perspective through a single learning goal: increasing understanding of pediatric asthma management in pre-licensure nursing students. While theoretical perspectives are the subject of this presentation, key takeaways focus on practical considerations for applying these perspectives to meaningful learning design in nursing education.
Sigma Membership
Alpha
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Curriculum Development, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Theory
Recommended Citation
Searles, Krista, "Situating Nursing Education Within Cognitive and Sociocultural Perspectives for Meaningful Learning" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 228.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/228
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Situating Nursing Education Within Cognitive and Sociocultural Perspectives for Meaningful Learning
Seattle, Washington, USA
Nurse educators are subject matter experts in nursing science and practice, but designing meaningful instruction and assessment that meets the unique needs of a diverse group of learners requires additional knowledge from education and learning science, including educational theory and an understanding of the underlying nature of knowledge, learning, and transfer. While learning theorists have disagreed on the definitions of these foundational concepts over the last century, it is clear that “the assumptions we make about how people learn fundamentally drive the ways we design to support that learning” (Danish & Gresalfi, 2018, p 39). Whether pedagogies and assessment strategies are designed from thoughtful consideration of learning theories or adopted as routine, an educators underlying assumptions about learning will ultimately influence their teaching practice. As nurse educators work to improve consistency and effectiveness in learning design, aligning instruction and assessment practices based on theoretical perspective is essential. The purpose of this presentation is to translate foundational theoretical perspectives from learning sciences to nursing education practice, providing guidance in learning design and supporting instruction-assessment alignment. This presentation will summarize the theoretical assumptions of both the cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on knowledge, learning, and transfer, framing them as alternatives to the traditions of the empiricist perspective. Synthesizing evidence from both learning sciences and nursing education, pedagogies and assessments commonly used in nursing education will be considered, highlighting the theoretical assumptions on which they are founded. To provide clarity and increase pragmatic uptake of theory-based learning design, exemplars will demonstrate key elements of each perspective through a single learning goal: increasing understanding of pediatric asthma management in pre-licensure nursing students. While theoretical perspectives are the subject of this presentation, key takeaways focus on practical considerations for applying these perspectives to meaningful learning design in nursing education.
Description
This presentation translates foundational theoretical perspectives from learning sciences to nursing education practice, providing guidance in learning design and supporting instruction-assessment alignment. Foundational theoretical assumptions of commonly used teaching and assessment strategies in nursing education are considered. Key takeaways focus on practical considerations for applying theoretical perspectives to meaningful learning design in nursing education.