Professional Experience Placement

A study about student satisfaction with high fidelty simulation by Fountain  and Alfred (2009) found that experiential learning increased student’s ability to synthesise critical content. They also found that engaging students in learning activities while supporting their learning style can be enhanced with technology. The interesting finding of this study that is useful for clinical supervisors was students with a strong preference for social learning were satisfied with high fidelity simulation. High fidelity simulation is a small group activity that that enables social learners to compare, listen, network and interact with others. Students who have high scores for solitary learning , who prefer to work independently, using this method can also learn by observing the actions of others, use reflection, and complete self paced projects.

Clinical supervisors engage with students during professional experience (PEP) who have a range of learning styles. Students sometimes work in small groups and with other disciplines during work integrated learning or PEP. This article can inform our understanding about how students can learn  while undertaking PEP. It also enables understanding about the solitary learners in PEP who may not appear to be engaged with an activity, but are learning through observation or reflection . As graduates the majority of students will work within multidisciplinary teams and an understanding about preferred learning styles can also assist with the transition into inter professional teams .

After the completion of an educational opportunity, it is important for clinical supervisors to enquire about, and facilitate student learning. It is useful to check student’s understanding of the content and process and their clinical reasoning or learning nursing thinking. This process provides students with opportunities to fill in the gaps, reflect and evaluate. Engaging with students can benefit both the social and solitary learners even though their learning styles may be different.

If you have any comments about learning styles during experiential learning you are welcome to post them here.