Designing an on-line course on traumatic childbirth: considerations for rural nurse educators

Abstract

Designing educational courses for professional nurses is a complex and in-depth process that requires extensive research and planning. The purpose of this project is to explore the process of course development for an on-line course designed for rural nurses, entitled Traumatic stress and childbirth: Promoting a safe workplace. The aims of this project include making the pedagogical considerations of course design explicit and providing a range of learning activities and strategies that can be adapted for on-line learning. Rural nurses face unique professional and educational challenges related to accessing education that is relevant to isolated settings, having a wider scope of responsibilities than their urban counterparts, and the nature of uncertainty in rural nursing contexts. Theoretical influences that inform the design of this course include Barnett’s (2012) discussion on teaching for an uncertain future wherein he proposes a pedagogy of risk; and Garrison’s (2011) Community of Inquiry framework, which is a constructivist model designed to maximize the benefits of on-line learning. Domains of knowledge, taxonomy, and constructivist alignment are incorporated into the design of learning outcomes, strategies, and assessments in order to involve the affective domain in providing meaningful, complex learning. Particular attention is paid to promoting comfort with uncertainty by engaging learners in such a way that they develop a way of being rather than teaching specific knowledge or skills.