Building academic numeracy in a first year nursing course using an evaluative model of program development

Numeracy is a key attribute in nursing. At USQ, a large regional university in Australia, numeracy has been embedded in a course in the first semester nursing program. This chapter identifies the numeracy needs of these nursing students and outlines the model of learning improvement, based on that of Keimig, chosen to target the students' learning within a course. It also describes the method of evaluation and development guiding each of the course design, delivery, and improvement stages. These include both quantitative and qualitative strategies designed to investigate students' and staffs' reflections on curriculum design and assessment. These data collection strategies enabled the design team to incorporate a number of features specifically designed to engage and empower student nurses' numeracy skills in the delivery stage. The program conclusions in the first stage revealed the need for a number of improvements, including more targeted testing and increased flexibility. Three cycles have now been concluded with improvements continuously made as the stages evolve. This chapter includes examples of our evaluation data and it suggests that our approach assists students develop numeracy nursing attributes and allows the design team to respond quickly and effectively to students' needs.

[1]  Marcia Devlin,et al.  Interdisciplinary higher education : implications for teaching and learning , 2007 .

[2]  Susan A Johnson,et al.  The 4 Cs: A Model for Teaching Dosage Calculation , 2002, Nurse educator.

[3]  C. Pamer,et al.  Retrospective analysis of mortalities associated with medication errors. , 2001, American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

[4]  Mark Toleman,et al.  Electronic peer review: a large cohort teaching themselves? , 2005 .

[5]  Linda Galligan,et al.  Reframing e‐assessment: building professional nursing and academic attributes in a first year nursing course , 2008 .

[6]  Janet A Taylor,et al.  Developing study skills in a first year mathematics course , 2003 .

[7]  P. Lyne,et al.  Written drug dosage errors made by students: the threat to clinical effectiveness and the need for a new approach , 2000 .

[8]  Marjorie Bingham Wesche,et al.  Content-Based Second Language Instruction: Michigan Classics Edition , 2003 .

[9]  Kerri Wright,et al.  Student nurses need more than maths to improve their drug calculating skills. , 2007, Nurse education today.

[10]  N. Santamaria,et al.  Drug calculation competencies of graduate nurses. , 1997, Collegian.

[11]  Margaret Maag,et al.  The Effectiveness of an Interactive Multimedia Learning Explanation on Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Mathematical Achievement and Self-Efficacy , 2002 .

[12]  Janet A. Taylor,et al.  Self Test: a flexible self assessment package for distance and other learners , 1998, Comput. Educ..

[13]  Wanty Widjaja,et al.  Understanding Decimal Numbers: A Foundation for Correct Calculations , 2008, International journal of nursing education scholarship.

[14]  Linda Galligan,et al.  Investigating academic numeracy in non-mathematics courses at university , 2005 .

[15]  Jill Lawrence,et al.  Re-conceptualising attrition and retention: integrating thoretical, research and student perspectives , 2005 .

[16]  Joan Mohr,et al.  Mathematics for Math Anxious Students Studying at a Distance. , 2001 .

[17]  Ruth Talbott Keimig.  Raising academic standards : a guide to learning improvement , 1983 .

[18]  Linda Galligan.  Analysing Nursing Students' Drug Calculation Errors , 2001 .

[19]  D E Hilton,et al.  Considering academic qualification in mathematics as an entry requirement for a diploma in nursing programme. , 1999, Nurse education today.

[20]  Cecil Deans.  Medication errors and professional practice of registered nurses. , 2005, Collegian.

[21]  Paul Gruba,et al.  Using a 'Conference Model' to Teach Communication Skills in a Communication Across the Curriculum Program , 2000 .

[22]  Daniel L. Stufflebeam,et al.  Evaluation: The Process of Stimulating, Aiding, and Abetting Insightful Action. , 1970 .

[23]  Gail Elizabeth FitzSimons,et al.  Adult numeracy: Crossing borders of discourse , 2006 .

[24]  Roslyn Gillies,et al.  Numeracy for Nurses : The Case for Traditional Versus Non-traditional Methods for Teaching Drug Calculation , 2006 .