The Idea Bank
Practical resources for nurse educators that encourage implementing active learning, experimentation, and thoughtful productivity.
Active Learning in Action: Using the Jigsaw Structure in Nursing Education
Learn a simple, easy-to-use active learning teaching technique that promotes student independence and peer teaching 🧩
Three Activities to Practice Retrieval for Nurse Educators
Retrieval practice is an essential skill to bridge the academic-practice gap and allow students to apply what they learn in theory to clinical situations.
Advanced Learning Stations - A “Moving Case Study” as a Tool for Nurse Educators
👟 An advanced technique for using stations in a sequential order as part of a case study.
Learning Stations - Ideas for Nurse Educators in an Active Learning Classroom
Get started using stations as an embodied education practice. 🤸🏾♀️🤸🏾♀️
Energize your Classroom: Three Simple Active Learning Techniques for Nursing Instructors
How embodied education can be used as an active learning tool 👁️
Orchestrating Orientation Day: Two Active Learning Tactics for Nursing Instructors to use at Clinical Orientation
While getting to know the clinical paperwork and doing a walk-through of the unit are important, this article has fresh ideas to invigorate the orientation day.
Unlocking the Feynman Technique as an Active Learning Tool
A study technique developed by a world-renowned physicist who was a keen observer of how humans learned. The Feynman Technique can be used in class or taught to students as an active learning study tool.
An Incident Report Activity that Helps Students Learn about Failure
A mock incident report can be an excellent way to expose students to failure and successfully navigate a mistake.
How to Implement Active Note Taking for Nursing Students
When a lecture is needed, try adding Active Note Taking 📝 to engage students with the content and create an active learning nursing classroom even when using a slide deck.
Transform an Existing Case Study into a Nursing Prioritization Scenario
The Popsicle Stick Prioritization 🍡 activity is excellent for individuals or small groups and allows students to "vote" on their highest priority. And it can be a simple add-on to any case study you already use in class, so it is minimal work to implement.
An Active Learning Syllabus Adds the Thrill of Discovery to the First Day of Class
Infuse the first day of your course with an active learning syllabus review in the form of a syllabus scavenger hunt. 🔎
An Exam Wrapper Uses Reflection to Improve Nursing Exam Scores
Using an Exam Wrapper in the time immediately following an exam is ideal for reflection and improving nursing student exam scores. 📝
Fishbone Analysis Uses Backward Thinking in a Nursing Flipped Classroom
Nurse educators are challenged with connecting knowledge to practice. The Fishbone Analysis is an awesome clinical judgment activity. 🐟
The Six Thinking Hats Explores the Top of Bloom’s Pyramid
To teach nursing clinical judgment, we should explore the highest levels of Bloom's taxonomy in our classrooms. But what activities can we use to have students "create?" 🎨
How to Use a Patient Blog to Teach Empathy in a Nursing Flipped Classroom
When patients share their healthcare journey online, they provide rich opportunities for learning about the emotional, spiritual and psychosocial complications of a disease. 📝 The worksheet Using a Patient Blog gives nursing instructors and students the framework to learn from their experiences.
How to Create a Virtual Nursing Escape Room Using Google Forms
This online activity is versatile and can be used for classroom, clinical, simulation, orientation, or interviews. 🎉 I give you a framework to create a Virtual Escape Room using Google Forms and connect it to the nursing process.
Clinical Decision Cards Promote Clinical Judgment in Nursing Students
Many of the ideas here have focused on active teaching techniques in the classroom. Clinical Decision Cards are a way to promote active learning and clinical judgment for nursing students in clinical! 🏥
Using an Empathy Map to Teach Caring in Nursing Education
Caring is a cornerstone of nursing. So how do we teach it? 💫 Using an Empathy Map brings active learning to the art of caring.
An 80's Game Show Concept to Build Recall Skills in Nursing Students
A twist on the classic 80’s TV show will have students laughing and learning. While the monetary reward is not the same, the learning rewards in One Million Dollar Pyramid are top-notch. 💵💰💵
How to Crowd Source a Study Guide in Nursing Education
Students often ask me for a study guide before an exam. What better way than to have them create one! 📝