Description:
The ability to problem solve is a life skill that many of us employ in varied situations in our daily life. Many schools endeavor to provide students with opportunities to develop this skill. Red Cliffs East Primary School and Red Cliffs Secondary College are working together on an Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM - a federal Government initiative) project called Learning Worth Bottling. The project is providing learning experiences for middle years (Years 5-8) students that require them to draw on their mathematical knowledge and understandings, to solve problems that occur in the local fruit and wine industry. The location for the problem solving and learning is Deakin Estate Winery. This article will provide an outline of the project and what has been achieved so far.
Description:
I have used the name, The Great Leap Forward in relation to my study of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum reform as I have linked economic, political and social developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in China with education developments that have occurred at the same time as the reform has been implemented.
Description:
I have used the name, The Great Leap Forward in relation to my study of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum reform as I have linked economic, political and social developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in China with education developments that have occurred at the same time as the reform has been implemented.
Description:
This opening chapter aims to set the scene for your undergraduate nursing journey. We welcome you to the wonderful, dynamic and diverse profession of nursing and encourage some initial thinking about what nursing is, why you have chosen this career and the sort of nurse you hope to be. We also outline the purpose, structure and features of this book, and introduce you to the key concepts and ideas underpinning your learning journey, many of which will be emphasised and explored further in subsequent chapters.
Description:
Injuries are a major contributor to healthcare costs and individuals' health and disability status. In response to the overall public health burden, injuries were one of the first medical conditions identified as an Australian National Health Priority Area. Our previous epidemiological research has shown that sports injuries, especially those sustained through formal and highly competitive sport, are often associated with considerable pain and dysfunction. They have significant ongoing impact on quality of life and need for medical treatment, including in the hospital setting.They are also a major barrier towards both the uptake and continuance of health-generating physical activity guidance.
Description:
The focus of this book has been on exploring the key concepts, knowledge and skills that are relevant to contemporary nursing practice, with a strong emphasis on 'meaning-making' - what things really mean; how this meaning is established; why particular knowledge is necessary or important; and how all this informs your road to nursing, your ongoing learning, practice and professional identity-formation and your conception of what it really means to be and act as a nurse. This final chapter weaves together some of the key focus areas that have made up this 'journey', using stories from practice that may provide you with some further insights to guide you on your path to becoming a skilled and experienced nurse. The second part of this chapter will focus your attention on the fact that once you enter the profession as a beginning-level nurse, this is not the end of your journey; it is only the first stage of your career. There are many options and learning opportunities that can further your career and assist you to develop into an expert nurse across a range of settings. The last part of this chapter will focus on how you can contribute to the further development of the nursing profession by role-modelling and promoting nursing, mentoring and supporting others, and developing and sharing your skills and knowledge with new generations of nurses.
Description:
The traditional stereotypical image of a nurse is closely linked to that of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, who established a training system for nurses to teach them how to be completely dedicated to the taskes of care regardless of personal needs; dependent on and deferential to authorities such as medical doctors and matron supervisors; and modest and feminine. Of course, contemporary nursing is no longer a profession exclusive to females, and nor does nursing work predominantly involve dependent actions. However, these old ideas remain strong in the minds of the public and are often repeated in popular culture.
Description:
This chapter discusses what it means to be an awake student and how you can be an engaged student to take the maximum advantage of the learning environment. It will explore the interrelationship of being an awake student and an awake nurse. Nursing requires constantly observing the situation, being aware of the context of practice, the situation or event in which you are taking part, and the patient in your care in order to make professional nursing decisions. To be successful in learning and practice, you will need to develop the graduate attributes of a nurse. These including being a professional and ethical decision-maker, politically astute situational leader and citizen, socially and culturally aware agent of change, critically reflective thinker adept in clinical reasoning, creative problem-solver, skilled therapeutic communicator, capable interdisciplinary healthcare team member and competent, caring, safe and professional nurse (Federation University Australia 2015). This chapter also provides ideas for how to overcome difficulties and engage in your learning together with ways that will help you to spend effective time in your learning endearvour. It discusses how you can transition to university learning in a way that makes you an equal partner in the learning process towards becoming an independent learner.
Description:
Commencing a nursing qualification can be an exciting yet daunting prospect. The Road to Nursing empowers nursing students to become effective practitioners by providing an in-depth foundational knowledge of the key concepts and skills that will underpin their entire nursing journey. Written by an expert team of academics and practising nurses, this text emphasises the importance of meaning-making, supporting students to critically engage with key knowledge that informs their ongoing learning, development and professional identity. Each chapter supports learning through pedagogical features including case studies, nursing perspectives, reflections, key terms, review questions and research topics, The additional activities accessed through the VitalSource eBook reaffirm comprehension and encourage critical thinking. The Road to Nursing is written in an accessible narrative style, providing a friendly guiding voice that will support students from the classroom into practice.
Description:
The article reports on additional data collected during interviews for a project investigating the different ways rate may be experience by pre-calculus students. It evaluates the participants' understanding in a specific rate context. Insights into perceptions of rate in several different representations were provided by detailed analysis of the video record of each participant's interview. The article also presents the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) expectations with respect to the concept of rate.
Description:
The focus of the lesson was ordinal number. The students were rotated through three activities in a team teaching environment. These activities were: the construction of towers with building blocks, toy cars in a garage and racing plastic animals. The activity involving the racing of the plastic animals gave an interesting result that sparked discussion between the staff. The following article presents the activity, what happened and a reflection of why we thought this result occurred.
Description:
All regulated health practitioners need to be aware of the standards imposed on them by their regulatory body in order for them to be able to practise. The standards are imposed on nurses and midwives by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), which regulates the Australian workforce through the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The NMBA regulates registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives. This chapter focuses on the professional aspects of nursing. It is intended to assist you to understand your obligations to obtain and retain your nursing or midwifery registration and your legal, regulatory and moral obligations both as a nursing or midwifery professional and as an individual. It also differentiates the scope of practice for the registered nurse, enrolled nurse and midwife, as we have the responsibility to provide safe, quality care to our clients. The first section discusses the general legal and regulatory requirements for nurses. Next, we turn to the Professional Practice Framework that constitutes a key part of nurses' legal and regulatory obligations. The Professional Practice Framework forms the overarching statement of nursing's values contained in the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct, as well as the recently implemented Standards for Practice for Registered and Enrolled Nurses (NMBA 2016a, 2016c). We explain the registration standards first, then examine the new Standards for Practice. These standards replaced the old Competency Standards on 1 July 2016, and were developed to better reflect contemporary practice in nursing. The next section contains information on professional boundaries, including the recently updated Codes of Ethics and Conduct. Finally, we make some brief remarks relation to scope of practice.
Description:
Becoming a safe and contemporary nurse is more than just being able to demonstrate clinical skills or understand disease processes. It is about critical thinking - understanding why we do what we do and how to do it in the most efficient and effective way. Achieving the best outcomes for the patients is always paramount. This chapter explores the foundational principles of contemporary nursing practice: evidence-based practice, person-centred care, and communication. It also introduces the growing role of technology in healthcare and looks at how numerous factors come together to influence health outcomes for the individual patient.
Description:
Critical thinking and problem-solving, clinical reasoning, self-reflection and self-awareness are valued attributes of the contemporary nurse. These skills are essential for the provision of safe and competent person-centred care to patients with ever-increasing acuity and multiple, often complex comorbidities. This chapter focuses on critical thinking, clinical reasoning and reflective practice, and personal documentation using e-portfolios, along with strategies to assist beginning nurses in the development of these specific skills, which should be honed, practised and adapted to everyday clinical practice. The chapter also assists the professional nurse to develop methods to demonstrate their personal and professional development through the use of e-portfolios.
Description:
In this chapter, you will learn how to plan your study around your existing commitments. You will be encouraged to build on your stengths and improve in areas that may hold you back. You will learn how to find time to study and be kind to your future self. This chapter gives you an idea of the different kinds of academic support you may be able to access and provides some hints for using the online study environment to your advantage. Critical reflection in self-directed learning will assist you to develop strategies for lifelong learning. Learning in the university context is self-directed, and the skills developed and employed in your nursing education will ensure you have mastered the graduate attributes needed to continue learning while you practise a s a nurse. Self-directed learning means being active and constructive in your learning process. This entails being clear on what your learning goals are and making a choice about how you will achieve your learning goals. It also involves deciding what strategies you will adopt in your own learning, together with what the teachers require you to do for successful completion of your courses. The section on relection and self-directed learning provides you with strategies for deep learning, which is learning for understanding as opposed to surface learning like cramming to pass tests. If you employ deep learning strategies, this learning will form the basis of your knowledge and skills, and you will be able to build on and apply it in new contexts. You are a partner in the learning endeavours. You will discover that you learn not only from your lecturers, but also from your peers and networks. You will be provided with hints for making both formal and informal peer support and group work function effectively for you. Finally, you will be given suggestions for using social media to help feel connected while simmultaneously avoiding common pitfalls in your journey to become the best nurse you can.
Description:
As a society, we generally expect those working in professional roles to be 'professional', but this term is difficult to define. What does it actually mean to be professional? How can students develop their personal sense of self, and how might this interact with their professional identify and performance? This chapter explains self-awareness and the importance of understanding your own values, beliefs and motivations, which in turn will assist you to better understand the unique experiences and 'world-views' of others, and to develop and nurture the therapeutic and professional relationships that are essential for successful nursing practice.