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Abstract This qualitative case study will address the problem nurse educators at a large midwestern university face in preparing prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students to transfer theory or classroom knowledge to practice. I will explore the teaching pedagogical strategies nurse educators use to bridge the theory - practice gap. A major finding from the national nursing education study called for integrating classroom and clinical learning, teaching for a sense of salience, implementing clinical imagination, and fostering professional formation. There is a theory -practice gap due to the rapid societal changes that are driven by the discoveries in science, research and new technologies. The theoretical foundation of adult learning/teaching will form the basis of this qualitative case study using interviews to assess the nurse educators’ perceptions of their teaching strategies. Qualitative analysis will be used to see what themes emerge from the interviews. The findings will guide the project for my doctoral work. Based on the findings, a curriculum plan with tools for nurse educators to use in teaching/learning activities may be developed for the local nursing program. Also, the results of the findings may be used by nurse educators to integrate active teaching/learning activities that foster nursing students’ knowledge acquisition and knowledge use seamlessly between classroom and clinical. The findings could contribute to positive social change when nurse educators at the local university are empowered to implement and assess components of the curricula plan to include teaching strategies that will impact positively nursing students’ ability to reflect and evaluate their learning resulting in the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become a confident, competent, and compassionate nurse.