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UNB nursing instructor receives teaching innovation award

Author: UNB Newsroom

Posted on Jan 13, 2021

Category: myUNB

Renée Gordon, senior instructor and clinical resource strategist at UNB’s Moncton nursing site, is the recipient of a 2019-2020 teaching innovation award for her creative approach to instruction.

Ms. Gordon received the award in recognition of an innovative teaching solution that combined virtual simulation and concept-based learning activities which encourages the development of clinical reasoning and clinical judgement. The collaborative innovation ensured students could continue clinical learning despite a pause from in-person clinical placements due to the first wave of COVID-19 in early 2020.

“By combining two innovative teaching tools, virtual simulation and concept-based learning activities, we were able to create modules that simulated many elements of a traditional clinical day, and heightened opportunity for critical thinking and reflection – cornerstones to the development of clinical judgment and safe nursing practice,” says Ms. Gordon.

Consistently contextualizing theory with practice and vice-versa helps students understand relevance and application, leading to deeper learning, knowledge synthesis and ultimately praxis. By using this approach to instructing, Ms. Gordon helps learners develop a framework to analyze data, determine its relevance in various contexts, and synthesize an appropriate plan.

Despite COVID-19, this collaborative innovation meant students in the fast-passed BN ASP program remained on track to graduate on time and resulted in fewer clinical hours that had to be made up in person during subsequent terms.

“The success of this innovation was made possible by the collaboration of multiple faculty members who participated in developing clinical learning modules using this framework for their respective clinical specialty areas, including mental health, maternity, community pediatrics and acute care,” says Ms. Gordon.

The feedback from students was globally positive, says Ms. Gordon, with the overwhelming majority feeling this initiative enhanced their learning.

Media contact: Kelsey Pye