Storytelling And Reflective Pedagogy: Transforming Nursing Education Through Faculty Development

Abstract

Nurse educators require pedagogical approaches beyond traditional methods to facilitate student learning of new competencies to practice in complex health care environments. However, little direction is available about how to effectively transform education. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop and implement steps to initiate change in both systems and processes of teaching and learning; to provide an efficient, sustainable method to incorporate transformative pedagogies through innovative faculty development; and, to collect outcomes of an e-Learning course to support teaching, using Kirkpatrick’s 4-level Model. An innovative course using storytelling and reflective pedagogy was developed to guide faculty into a transformative learning experience to challenge assumptions, gather insights, and raise questions about teaching practices. Pre- and post-course surveys captured data across three levels: satisfaction, knowledge and skill acquisition, and change in behavior. Forty-five participants were initially evaluated, while 31 were eligible for evaluation at three months. Follow-up survey results yielded a 42% response rate. Pre- and post-surveys were analyzed using a two-tailed, dependent t-test. Significant gains were recorded across all three areas (p<0.05), with large to medium effect size noted using Cohen’s d. Follow-up surveys revealed a significant change in knowledge (p<0.05), whereas the skill and attitude effect change were not statistically significant (p<0.05). Results suggest storytelling and reflective pedagogy are effective for faculty to confront and resolve actual and desired teaching practices, and that faculty placed value on reflection to facilitate self-awareness, question assumptions, and nurture ideas about personal and professional growth.