Lesson Planning: Needs Assessment and Learning Objectives - Essay Example

?[Your full full July 21, Lesson Planning: Needs Assessment and Learning Objectives Purpose of the Paper The purpose of this paper is to develop a lesson plan to teach first semester nursing students. An overview of the knowledge assessment of the students will also be included in order to help teachers plan their lessons in accordance with the results of assessment. Moreover, the paper will also examine a couple of measurable objectives and their significance to the lesson, which will be delivered to the students. Context Identification One of the most important skills, which everyone needs to have, is administering medications in a proper manner. In this paper, we will discuss how nursing students can identify different lung sounds accurately. The following lesson plan is for the first semester nursing students who will take a lecture of three-hour duration on the topic of lung sounds. The teacher will deliver the lecture in a medical university classroom and will utilize a medical lab for making the students learn different lung sounds in a practical way. Knowledge/Skill Level Assessment Learning the acquisition of skills and knowledge is a continuous process, which makes an instructor integrate new experiences into precious ones (Hauer and Quill). It is important for the teachers to understand the knowledge, skills, and characteristics that each learner possesses. Educational needs assessment plays an effective role in identifying format of educational interventions and preferred contents (Brajtman et al.). “When conducting a learning assessment, instructors consider past and present academic performances as well as the student's values, behaviors and attitudes toward learning” (Cyprus). Examining the skills and knowledge of the students is very important in order to deliver the lecture in an appropriate manner. In order to examine the skills and knowledge of the students, short surveys and questionnaires can provide great help to the teachers. The surveys can help teachers know not only the areas in which students take much interest but also the topics that really match the learning goals of the students. Surveys can make the teachers know what and how they need to teach to the students. Being a teacher, I gave the questionnaire to every student of the class in order to know the area of expertise and skills of each of the students. I also spoke with every student personally in order to know what difficulties they face while learning and how much knowledge do they have regarding the topic of lung sounds. Individual interaction with each of the students proved very useful for me as I became able to know all students individually, which helped me design a perfect lesson matching their interests as well as my teaching goals. Both ways, surveys and personal interaction, helped me a lot in developing the lesson plan. Assessment Results The survey, which I used to assess the knowledge of the students, revealed to me that half of the students did not have any knowledge of the lung sounds. Some of the students did not even know whether they could identify all sorts of sounds with a stethoscope or not. Personal interviews with the students revealed to me that previous lessons that they have learned had no close association with the topic of lung sounds. They told me that this topic is a very new topic for them and they need to know all aspects of lung sounds in detail. Interviews revealed that only few of the students were familiar with the lung sounds like Wheeze, Stridor, and Rhonchi but they did not know whether these sounds are expiratory or inspiratory. Surveys and interviews also revealed that the students are deeply interested in the topic of lung sounds and they have a desire to know everything related to the topic. Upon discovering that most of the students do not have any knowledge of this topic, I planned to prepare a lecture, which should include every issue that the students need to know. Therefore, I have designed a lecture, which will reveal every sensitive issue to the students in a detailed manner so that they can get an in-depth knowledge of the topic. Course Contents The general terms to be addressed through this lesson include normal and abnormal lung sounds, display of time amplitude plots of sounds, and importance of correct identification of the lung sounds. Lung sounds can be either normal or abnormal (Hadjileontiadis 2). Some of the most common lung sounds include Wheeze, Ronchi, Coarse Crackles, Fine Crackles, and Stridor. All of these sounds come from lungs due to different reasons. Wheeze is a sound, which lasts for more than 200 milliseconds and is relatively continuous in nature unlike crackles. Wheeze is a musical type of sound and is generally caused by airway narrowing. Ronchi is also a continuous sound but is lower in pitch as compared to Wheeze. Ronchi sound is generally caused due to airway secretions. Fine crackles are discontinuous and explosive sounds and are usually caused due to airway opening. Unlike fine crackles, coarse crackle is a broken sound somewhat similar to the sound of rain. A nursing student needs to recognize these lung sounds in order to diagnose the disease in a proper manner because incorrect identification of lung sounds can create problems for both the doctors and the patients. Type of Proposed Learning “Using a variety of teaching and learning methods is critical to students' learning and success” (McIntosh). I believe that a teacher needs to use the mix of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective types to make the students learn in an appropriate manner. Therefore, the learning type, which I will use, will not be a single type; rather I will use all three types, which come under the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains. A Part of the proposed learning will be cognitive, as it will make the students think critically when deciding to diagnose the type of lung sound. Psychomotor skills will also be used to make the students proficient in proper and safe administration of the medication. The third skill, which is affective learning, will help the students deal effectively with the feelings and attitudes of the patients. Main Objectives of the Lecture The two measurable objectives, which I have designed to reflect central learning of the proposed lesson, will be: 1. To describe and identify the abnormal lung sounds along with explaining the pathophysiology associated with each of the sounds. 2. To know the importance of correct identification of lung sounds as it relates to the concept of safe and effective nursing care. The reason behind inclusion of the first objective in the lesson is to make the students aware of all types of lung sounds. The awareness is necessary for the students because only in this way, they will be able to explain the pathophysiology related to any specific identified sound. The reason behind inclusion of second objective is to train the students in providing safe and appropriate nursing care to the patients by making them identify the sounds correctly. The second objective is somewhat more important for the students because it will make the students proficient in correct identification of the lung sounds, which will help them provide correct medication to the patients. Conclusion While planning a lesson, many important factors need to be considered in order to deliver the lesson to the students properly. Some of the core factors include assessment of skills and knowledge of the students, course contents, and the way the lecture will be delivered. Knowing everything about the learners ahead of time can be beneficial to one’s lesson planning. A teacher needs to be well prepared in order to deliver the lecture properly and to make the students learn effectively and efficiently. Works Cited Brajtman, Susan, et al. "Providing direction for change: assessing Canadian nursing students’ learning needs." International Journal of Palliative Medicine 13.5 (2007): 213-221. Print. Cyprus, Sheri. “What Is a Learning Assessment?.” Wisegeek.com, n.d. Web. 21 Jul. 2011. Hadjileontiadis, Leontios. Lung Sounds: An Advanced Signal Processing Perspective. California: Morgan & Claypool, 2009. Print. Hauer, Julie, and Timothy Quill. "Educational Needs Assessment, Development of Learning Objectives, and Choosing a Teaching Approach." Journal of Palliative Medicine 14.4 (2011): 503-508. Print. McIntosh, Meggin. “Professors - Alternative Assessment of Student Learning - Different Types of Knowledge.” Ezinearticles.com, 07 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Jul. 2011. Read More