This Master’s degree course uses storytelling as a method to support academic reflections on the topic of death. The teaching is based on a flipped classroom format, where students prepare for class from home by writing short essays that connect the academic literature with their own experience from nursing practice. In class, they present and discuss these essays in groups, supported by roles and questions for reflection. These discussions create a safe learning environment in which the students can relate academic, theoretical concepts to their own experiences from practice.
Previous course evaluations have shown that students would like to focus more on developing their analytical and theoretical skills. The students are often experienced nurses but lack training in analysing and reflecting from an academic perspective. Because of this, they experience the shift from the professional degree programme to the Master’s degree programme as methodologically challenging. As their teacher, I want to bridge the gap between the students’ practical and academic experiences, so they can talk about their practice in an academically nuanced way.
The learning objective for this activity is that the students should:
be able to reflect methodically and theoretically on the significance of place (hospital, home, hospice) in the care of people at the end of their life and in death.
be able to reflect on the importance of hope and hope work when caring for and talking to people at the end of their life and in death.
be able to apply theoretical concepts to uncover new understandings of their own experience from nursing practice.
THE PROCESS | |||
Before class | |||
Teacher's preperation | Production of videos. The teaching is based on a flipped classroom format, so students learn the theoretical content before class which frees up time for exercises and discussions during class. To support this format, I record a series of videos in which I present the theoretical concepts and further explain them through examples. | ||
Student preparation | Understanding the academic concepts. Before class, the students establish a preliminary understanding of the academic concepts surrounding palliative care by:
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Student preparation | Essay. Based on the articles, the students write a short two-part essay (one page). In the essay, they must:
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In class | |||
In pairs | Initial brainstorming (10 min.). I start the lesson with a think-pair-share exercise, where I write unfinished sentences about the topic of care and death on the blackboard, and the students finish them in pairs.
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In plenum | Teacher presentation (15 min.). I give a short presentation summarising the topic and put the articles into a clinical and societal perspective. | ||
In groups | Storytelling - Round 1 (90 min.). In groups of three, the students work with the first part of their essays.
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In groups | Storytelling - Round 2 (90 min.). In the same groups, the students repeat the exercise with the second part of their essays.
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My experience was that the exercise created a safe learning environment that enabled the students to reflect on their personal experiences in an academic context.
The students said that they appreciated the limited (but challenging) amounts of reading, since it allowed time to both read and reflect on the academic content.
The videos explaining the theoretical content ensured that the students had a good understanding of relevant theory prior to the in-class discussions. The students said that they had watched the videos several times, and seemed genuinely interested in the topic and theories.
Facilitating the group discussions is challenging. It is important not to ‘correct’ the students’ stories or comments but rather guide the discussion forwards if it becomes too banal or unrelated to the curriculum. Consider using a teaching assistant to help facilitate.
Emphasise to the students that the essay should be short and that they should stick to the main points.
How long you spend on your opening presentation and the level of detail you go into will depend on how many students have (or haven’t) read the articles in preparation for class. Make sure to have an open conversation with the students about whether or not they have been able to prepare for class.
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