Teaching toward contextual instruction in the classroom

Abstract

Background and purpose: As instructors look for ways to incorporate necessary nursing concepts that address a myriad of student learning outcomes, educational practices must shift from decontextualized instruction to teaching toward salience. The purpose of this teaching strategy was to provide context to classroom instruction and integrate clinical practice with theory. As such, a pedagogical approach for contextual instruction in the classroom is presented.

Methods: Contextual instructional strategies that bring clinical experiences into the classroom was presented showing the possibilities for classroom context in education allowing for students to have a deeper understanding of course concepts and topics where context to action was applied.

Results: Using contextual teaching in the classroom allows students to be engaged in active inquiry where actions and decisions regarding care become “the lecture”.

Conclusions: Contextual pedagogical instruction through the use of clinical experiences encourages instructional practices that motivate students and provide relevance for what they are learning.