Characteristics of the L

earner
Objecives:
1. State the nurse’s role as teacher in the learning pro
cess
2. Identify the three elements included in the “deter
minants of learning ”
3. Describe the steps involved in assessing learning n
eeds
4. Explain methods that are used in assessing learner
needs
Objecives:
5. Identify the four types of readiness to learn
6. Describe what is meant by learning styles
7. Identify the similarities and differences between th
e major learning style types
8. Disccuss ways to assess learning styles
Determinants of Learni
ng
1. learning needs
2. readiness to learn
3. learning styles
1. Learning Needs
• Gaps in knowledge that exist between
a desired level of performance and
the actual level of performance
• what the learner’s need to know
2. Readiness to Learn
•The time when the learner is recepti
ve to learning and is willing and able
to participate in the learning process
•Preparedness and willingness to lear
n
3. Learning Styles
• The manner by which (how) individ
uals percieve and then process infor
mation
• characteristic of style:
 biological in origin
Sociologically developed – result of en
vironmental influences
 A. Assessing Learning Needs
1. Identify the Learner – teaching opportunities, f
ormal or informal, must be based on accurate i
dentification of the learners.
• Who is the audience?
• Are you teaching a group of patients or an individu
al and his / her significant others?
• Are their needs the same or different?
 Assessing Learning Needs:
2. Choose the right setting
• privacy and confidentiality is essential to establishi
ng a trusting relationship
3. Collect dt about the learner
4. Collect dt from the learner
5. Involve members of the healthcare team – coll
aboration colleagues, other professionals, and
health- related organizations.
 Assessing Learning Needs:
6. Prioritize needs
• If basic needs are not attended to first and foremo
st, learning of other information may either be del
ayed or be impossible to achieve.
7. Détermine vilbility of eductionl ressourcés
8. Sses demnds of the Orgniztion
9. Take time-management issues into account
- Lack of time is a major barrier to carry out a proper as
sessment
Time saver tips:
1. Although close observation and active listening
take time, it is much more efficient and effectiv
e to do a good initial assessment than to have t
o waste time going back to discover the obstacl
e to learning that prevented progress in the firs
t place.
2. Learners must be given time to offer their own
thoughts about their learning needs if the nurs
e expects them to take charge and become acti
vely involved in learning.
Time saver tips:
3. Assessment can be made anytime and anywher
e the nurse has contact with patients and famil
y.
4. Informing patients ahead of time that the nurs
e wishes to spend time discussing problems or
needs gives them advance notice to sort out th
eir thoughts and feelings.
Time saver tips:
5. Minimizing interruptions and distractions durin
g planned assessment interviews allows the nu
rse to accomplish in 5 minutes what otherwise
might have taken 15 minutes or more during a
n interview session that is frequently interrupt
ed.
Methods to Assess Learning Needs:
1. Casual / Informal conversation
- When performing patient care
- Nurse must rely on active listening
- Open- ended question is encourage
2. Structured interviews – most common form of
needs assessment to solicit the learner’s point
of view.
• Nurse must establish a trusting environment
• Use direct and open- ended questions
• Choose a setting that is free of distractions
• Allow the patient to state what is believed to be the needs f
or learning
Methods to Assess Learning Needs:
3. Self-administered Questionnaires – patient’s w
ritten responses
Checklists – most common form,
• Easy to administer
• Provide more privacy than interviews
• Make easy to tabulate data
4. Observations
• Actually watching the learner perform a task is an
excellent way of assessing a skill.
5. Patient’s chart
• Documentation in patient charts provides patterns
Methods to Assess Learning Needs:
6. Focus Groups – involve getting together smll
number (four-12 of potential learners
-facilitator leds the discussion by sking open-
ended questions to encouraged detailed disc
ussion
7. Tests – giving pre-test before teaching is plan
ned can help identify the knowledge levels of
potential learner
 B. Readiness to Learn
• Time when the learner expresses or shows inte
rest in learning the information necessary to m
aintain optimal health.
• Occurs when the learner is receptive, willing, a
nd able to participate in the learning process
• If patient is not ready to learn, information will
not be absorbed.
• Timing is very important; A learner who is not r
eceptive to information at one time maybe mo
re receptive to the same information at anothe
r time.
Four Types of Readiness to Learn
(PEEK)
 C. Learning Styles
•Refers to the way individuals process information.
•Each learner is unique and complex
•Characteristics: biological and sociological
•No learning style is either better or worse than an
other
•The more flexible the nurse is in using different ap
proaches to teaching, the greater the likelihood th
at learning will occur.
Six Learning Style Principles
1. Both the styles by which the nurse prefers to teach an
d the style by which the patient prefers to learn can
often be identified.
• Identification of different style offer clues as to the way a pe
rson learns
2. Nurses need to guard against teaching exclusiv
ely by their own preferred learning styles.
• Nurses should realize that just because they like to l
earn a certain way does not mean that everyone el
se can or wants to learn this way.
Six Learning Style Principles
3. Nurses should assist patients to identify their own sty
le preferences.
• Awareness of individual style preferences will help patients
to understand what teaching and learning approaches work
best for them.
4. Patients should have the opportunity to learn t
hrough their preferred style.
• Eg: Visual learners should be given videos, compute
r simulations, illustrations, and models for learning
rather than written materials alone to get the infor
mation they need.
Six Learning Style Principles
5. Nurses should encourage patients to diversify their st
yle preferences.
• The more frequently learners are exposed to different ways
of learning, the more likely their comfort level will increase.
6. Nurses must become aware of various method
s and materials available to address and augm
ent the different learning styles.
• To be effective, teaching should be geared to differ
ent learning styles because using only a limited nu
mber of approaches will exclude many learners.
Learning Styles Theories
1. Right –Brain/ Left -Brain and Whole-Brain Thinking
• Established by Dr. Roger Sperry (1977)
• Brain is composed of 2 hemispheres that have separate and
complementary functions
Left hemisphere – found to be vocal and analytical side; used for
verbalization and for reality-based and logical thinking
Right hemisphere - found to be the emotional, visual-spatial, no
n-verbal side; thinking process are intuitive, subjective, relat
ional, holistic, and time-free.
• Learners are able to use both sides of the brain because of t
he connector between the 2 Hem called corpus callosum
Learning Styles Theories
•There is no correct or wrong side of the brain;
each Hem gathers the same sensory information b
ut handles the informations in different ways
Whole-brain thinking – allows the learner to get the best
of both worlds
- duality of thinking should be
encouraged to help learners reach
their fullest learning potentials
Example of Hemisphere Functions
Left Hemisphere Function Right Hemisphere Function
Thinking is critical and logical Thinking is creative and intuitive
Prefers talking Prefers drawing and manipulating objects
Responds to verbal instructions and explan Responds to written instructions
ations
Recognizes and remembers names Recognizes and remembers pictures and fac
es
Solves problems by logically breaking them i Solves problems by looking at the whole, se
nto parts es patterns and uses hunches
Good organizational skills Loose organizational skills
Likes stability, willing to adhere to rules Likes change, uncertainty

Conscious of time and schedules Frequently loses contact with time and sche
dules
Controls emotions Free with emotions
Learning Styles Theories
2. Dunn and Dunn Learning Style (1978)
• Identified Five basic stimuli that affects a person’s ability
to learn
a. Environmental elements – eg: sound, light, tempera
ture, design, = which are biological in nature
b. Emotional elements - eg: motivation, persistence, r
esponsibility, structure, = which are developmental
and emerge over time as a result of experiences th
at have happened at home, school, and play or wor
k.
Learning Styles Theories
c. Sociological pattern – which indicate the desire
to work alone or in groups.
d. Physical elements – eg: perceptual strength, inta
ke, time of the day, mobility = which are also bio
logical in nature and relate to the way learners f
unction physically.
e. Psychological elements – which indicate the way
learners process and react to information
The Environmental Elements
Sound – individuals react to sound in different ways.
- some need complete silence, others are able to
block out sounds around them, and others require
sound in their environment for learning.
Light – some learners work best under bright lights and o
ther need dim or low lighting.
Temperature – some learners have difficulty thinking or
concentrating if a room is too hot or,
conversely, if it is too cold.
The Emotional Elements
Motivation – or the desires to achieve, increases when
learning success increases.
Responsibility – involves the desire to do what learners
think is expected of them.
The Sociological Elements
Learning Alone – some people learn on their own and,
therefore, self-instruction or one-to-one
interaction is the best approach for learning
- for those who prefer to learn with family
members or friends, group discussion and
role playing are effective to facilitate learning.
Presence of an Authority Figure – some learners feel
more comfortable when someone with
authority or recognized expertise is present
during learning.
- others become timid, are embarrassed to
demonstrate their skills, and often become
too tense to concentrate
The Physical Elements
Perceptual Strength - 4 types of Learners
•Auditory preferences – who learn best while listening to verbal
instruction
•Visual preferences – who learn best by reading or observing
•Tactile preferences – who learn best when they can underline
as they read, take notes when they listen, and
otherwise keep their hands busy
•Kinesthetic preferences – who absorb and retain information
best when allowed to participate in simulated
or real-life experiences
The Physical Elements
Time of Day – some learners perform better at one time
of the day than another
Adults – 55% are “morning people”
- 28% work best in the evening
- low energy in the afternoon
School-Age Children – tend to have high energy
levels in the late morning and early
afternoon
- 13% of HS students work best in the
evening
The Psychological Elements
Global versus Analytic – some learners are global in their
thinking and learn best by first understanding
an issue, problem, or concept from a broad,
overall perspective before focusing on the
specific parts.
- other learners are analytic in their thinking, like
details, and process information best by using a
step-by-step approach to learning.
The Psychological Elements
Impulsive versus Reflective
•Impulsive learners – tend to prefer opportunities to
participate in groups and answer questions sponta
neously
•Reflective learners – are not as likely to volunteer i
nformation unless they are asked to do so, prefer t
o contemplate information, and tend to be less c
omfortable in groups
Learning Styles Theories
3. Jung and Myers-Briggs Typology
- C.G. Jung (9121, 1971), a Swiss psychiatrist, develope
d a theory that explains personality similarities and dif
ferences by identifying the ways people prefer to take i
n and make use of the data from the world around the
m.
- proposed that each individual will tend to develop co
mfortable patterns, which dictate behavior in certain p
redictable ways.
Types of Personality
1. Extraversion-Introversion (EI)
• Reflects an orientation to either the outside world of people
and things or to the inner world of concepts and ideas
• Describes the extend to which our behavior is determined b
y our attitudes toward the world
Extraversion – outward turning; operates comfortable and succe
ssfully by interacting with things external to themselves. Eg:
other people, experiences, situations
Introversion – inward turning; like to clarify thoughts and ideas t
hrough talking and doing; more comfortably in an extraverte
d way think aloud; more interested in the internal world of t
heir minds, hearts, and souls
Types of Personality
2. Sensing -Intuition (SN)
• Describes perception as coming directly through the five se
nses or indirectly by way of the unconscious.
• Explains how people understand what is experienced
• View the world through their senses – vision, hearing, touch
, taste, and smell.
• Observe what is real, what is factual, and what is actually ha
ppening
• Seeing is believing.
• Allows individual to observe carefully, gather facts, and focu
s on practical actions
Types of Personality
—Intuition – tend to read between the lines, focus on meaning,
and attend to what is and what might be.
- they view the world through possibilities and
relationships and are tuned into subtleties of body
language and tones of voice
- leads them to examine problems and issues in
creative and original ways.
3. Thinking-Feeling (TF) – approach used by indivi
duals to arrive at judgements through imperson
al, logical, or subjective processes.
Types of Personality
•Thinkers – analyze information, data, situations, and people
and make decisions based on logic
- they are careful and slow in the analysis of the data
because accuracy and thoroughness are important to
them.
- explore and weigh all alternatives, and the final
decision is reached unemotionally and carefully.
•Feeling – approach to decision making is through a subjective,
perceptive, empathetic, and emotional perspective
-Search for the effect of a decision on themselves an
d others
--consider alternatives and examine evidence to deve
lop a personal and commitment
Types of Personality
Katherine Briggs ans daughter Isabel Briggs Myers
•Discovered another dimension, Judgement-Perception (JP)
Judgement-Perception (JP)
-An individual comes to a conclusion about something or becom
es aware of something
-Each individual; has a preference for either the judging function
or the perceptive function
Judgement – the desire to regulate and bring closure to
circumstances in life
Perception – the desire to be open- minded and understanding
Jung and Myers-Briggs Types: Examples of Learning

Extravert Introvert
Likes group work Likes quiet space

Dislikes slow-paced learning Dislikes interruptions

Likes action and to experience t Likes learning that deals with th

hings so as to learn oughts and ideas
Offers opinions without being as Offers opinions only when asked
ked
Asks questions to check on the expecta Asks questions to allow understanding
tions of nurse of learning activity
Jung and Myers-Briggs Types: Examples of Learning

Sensing Intuition

Practical Alsways likes something ne

w

realistic Imaginative

observation Sees possibilities

Learns from orderly sequence of Prefers the whole concepts vers

details us details
Jung and Myers-Briggs Types: Examples of Learning
Thinking Feeling
Low need for harmony Values harmony

Finds ideas and things more interesting than More interested in people than things or ide
people as
Analytical Sympathetic

Fair Accepting

Judgment Perception
Organized Open-minded

Methodical Flexible

Work-oriented Play-oriented

Controls the environment Adapts to the environment

Myers-Briggs Dichotomous or Preferences

Extraversion (E) Introversion (I)

Sensing (S) Intuition (N)

Thinking (T) Feeling (F)

Judgment (J) Perception (P)

Types of Personality
•The different combinations of the dimensions can
be useful for the nurse to understand the many
different ways in which learners process
information when learning
•These preferences can be reflected in how the
nurse teaches and how the learner learns
•It is the responsibility of the nurse to strive to
adapt teaching to meet the style of the learner
Learning Styles Theories
4. Kolb’s Cycle of Learning (1984)
• Learning is a continuous process
• Acknowledges that the learner is not a blank slate a
nd that every learner approaches a topic to be lear
ned based on past experiences, heredity, and the d
emands of the present environment
• Includes four modes of learning, reflects two major
dimensions: perception and processing
Kolb’s Cycle of Learning:
Dimension of Perception
•Includes 2 opposing viewpoints – learners either perceive throu
gh:
Concrete experience (CE mode) – learning tend to rely more on
feelings than on thinking when dealing with problems and si
tuations; learn best by getting in touch with their feelings.
eg: relating with people, benefit from group experiences,
sensitive to ohers
Actual Conceptualization (AC mode) – rely on logic and ideas r
ather than on feelings to handle problems or situations; l
earn best by thinking.
Kolb’s Cycle of Learning:
Process Dimension
•Includes 2 opposing orientations – learners either process infor
mation through:
Active Experimentation (AE mode) – tend to like to be actively
involved and prefer to experiment with things to
influence or change situations; they are risk takers
and learn best by doing
Reflective Observation (RO mode) – rely on objectivity, careful
judgment, personal thoughts, and feelings to form
opinions; look for meaning of things by viewing them
from different perspective; learn best by watching
and listening
Kolb’s Four Modes of Learning:
1. Diverger combine the modes of CE and RO
2. Assimilator combines the modes of AC an
d RO
3. Converger combines the modes of AC and
AE
4. Accommodator combines the modes of CE
and AE
 Concrete Experience (CE) « F
eeling »

.
Accommodator Diverger
Active Experimen Reflective Obs
tation (AE) « Doin ervation (RO)
g» « Watching »

Converger Assimilator

Abstract Conceptualization
(AC) « Thinking »
 .