Lived Experience Of Learning Research Articles

Beyond simulation — Extracurricular volunteering in nursing education: A focus group

BackgroundA reduction in clinical placement hours has seen alternative teaching methods being explored in nursing education in Australia. The use of simulated patients in academic laboratories is highly utilised, however, may still be limiting learning opportunities. ObjectiveThe objective of this research was to describe the learning experiences of nursing students who participated in supervised extracurricular, volunteering opportunities during their nursing studies. DesignA descriptive qualitative design was used to discover and understand learning experiences of a volunteering encounter, described from the nursing student perspective. SettingThe Pit Stop men’s health check program is a collaboration of local health organisations, volunteering their time to provide free health checks at a farming Field Day event in regional Victoria, Australia. ParticipantsTwelve second year undergraduate nursing students volunteered at the 2019 Pit Stop event, over a four day period and outside their normal study requirements. Seven volunteers then participated in post event research, sharing experiences and providing feedback. MethodsOne semi-structured focus group interview was conducted at University campus, using reflective and open ended questioning. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis identified common themes. ResultsStudents unanimously recommended the real life learning experiences and reported an increased confidence and competence in basic communication and clinical skills, not always provided in the simulated environment of the academic laboratory. Their motivation to attend was driven by wanting more real life contact with patients, having time to practice skills and experience diversity within their practice. Students also recommended future volunteering ideas that would potentially provide additional learning opportunities. ConclusionsExperiential learning such as simulation is highly valued in current nursing education, however, students still crave the real life learning experiences from working with human patients. With limited clinical exposure currently offered to students within nursing education programs, additional opportunities such as supervised volunteering may be worth considering when preparing confident and competent nurse graduates.

Embodying unpredictability

This article examines the senses of messiness and unpredictability which I have found within the Cunningham dance technique. It will do this by explicating my lived experience of learning and teaching aspects of a Cunningham-based approach to dance practice. A central question of my research is how a sense of messiness contributes to enable ‘kinaesthetic unpredictability’ in the lived experience of performing Cunningham’s precise and predetermined dance phrases. To define my ‘sense of messiness’ I will use choreological methods and improvisational frames to argue that a somatic sensation of messiness arises in various ways in the body/mind, produced in the act of dancing multiple and fragmented relationalities. The article will question the value of exploring a lived experience of Cunningham’s fixed forms and examine how messiness and unpredictability can free up dancers to find individual innovations. The discussion draws on voices of Cunningham dancers and teachers. I will share my own pedagogic approach to expanding a lived experience, encouraging different ways of knowing and experimentation with potential relationalities. The article aims to extend debates about dance training today including the use of codified forms and somatic approaches, principles of legacy techniques, and synthesising and innovating ways of knowing.

An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners

Fostering a sense of belonging and a personal connection is seen as fundamental by many educational researchers, regardless of the learning environment. Online learning certainly provides flexible learning opportunities but comes with notable issues. For online learners, nurturing a sense of belonging may present a way of improving their experiences and attainment, as well as reducing attrition rates. Research specifically exploring sense of belonging and online learning is limited. This article addresses that gap and reports on a small-scale exploratory study using qualitative data-collection and analysis methods to investigate the importance, or not, of sense of belonging for postgraduates’ online education by exploring the origins and nature of their lived experience of online learning and their sense of belonging therein. Our initial findings emphasise its importance for them as online learners and have identified three significant themes: interaction/engagement, the culture of the learning, and support. These early findings highlight the importance of these three themes in promoting a sense of belonging and in ensuring that there are opportunities for meaningful group and peer interactions; they will be of interest to all engaged in online education.

Lived Experience in Simulation: Student Perspectives of Learning From Two Lenses

BackgroundThis article explores undergraduate nursing students’ lived experience of learning during high-fidelity simulation (HFS). Literature is conflicting regarding the learning experience in different roles. MethodAn interpretive phenomenological qualitative study was completed to gain a better understanding of the lived experience of student learning in HFS. Data collection included both written reflections and semi structures interviews regarding student learning in simulation and factors that affected that learning. Results and ConclusionsA supportive learning environment is a key for learning in HFS. Anxiety and stress can impact student learning, and measures to keep anxiety at optimal levels need to be continual focus in HFS. Observers in this study preferred the observer role and describe it as “pressure off” learning. Doing simulation more often in the program and having an opportunity for a “do-over” in simulation were identified as areas that would enhance student learning.

Motivos da ação do redutor de danos junto ao usuário de drogas: um estudo fenomenológico

To understand the motives behind the actions of harm reducers when working with drug users. Qualitative research conducted in the municipality in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, in May 2017, by means of phenomenological interviews with 17 harm reducers. We analyzed and interpreted the data using the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz. Data analysis led to the following three categories: expectation of changes in the user's sphere of life, motivation at work from the recognition of their actions, and relationship with others as a life-learning experience. The reasons harm reducers work with drug users are related to the family, search for a home, employment, access to health care, rights, and stigma, as well as the positive results of their work, personal satisfaction, and learning with drug users.

Teaching, Learning, and Employing Analytical Frameworks as Performance: Analysis of a Quantitative Literacy Event in Applied Mechanics

Quantitative literacy is the ability to solve problems using mathematical and statistical information that is represented in various forms, including visual, written and mathematical forms. It is central to many of the disciplines within higher education. In this paper, we examine a particular quantitative literacy event within an undergraduate applied mechanics module and, in so doing, argue that teaching and learning are cultural performances of individuals’ relations to, in this case, quantitative literacy. Furthermore, we apply a framework for analysing the quantitative literacy demands present within higher education. By applying this framework in a critically reflexive manner, we demonstrate how the researcher similarly engages in a cultural performance in relation to quantitative literacy. We use this anecdotal example to argue that the application of analytical frameworks is inherently performative in nature, and propose the need for a meta-frame for understanding teaching, learning, and the frameworks through which they are viewed, as performance. This has implications for higher education more broadly in that, we argue, the frameworks used promote particular relations to lived teaching and learning experiences, and position teachers, learners, researchers and curriculum developers in particular ways.

Results of cross-faculty 'capstone' assessments involving nursing and performing arts students.

This article describes how 'capstone' assessments were created to provide two different student groups, nursing and performing arts students, with a lived experience of learning together about their own fields of practice. Capstone assessments combine 'live' human simulation with self-reflection and peer review. A capstone assessment is the integration of a body of relatively fragmented knowledge and learning to form a unified whole and can be used as a transitional assessment and a bridging experience to connect knowledge between modules or courses. The capstone assessments involved two faculties and four modules, three nursing and one performing arts. Case studies were designed to represent real-life situations that students were likely to encounter during their careers, either playing a patient as an actor or performing a caring role as a nurse. Assessments for the capstone simulation were formative, and involved the students engaging in self-reflection and peer review. Videos were available to enhance the self-reflection and peer-review process. Evaluation was undertaken through verbal feedback during debrief, written feedback, video footage and nursing student and acting student peer review. The experience of capstone assessments for two diverse student groups provided valuable learning from their own and from a different group outside their subject area.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON TRANSFORMATIONAL ONLINE LEARNING USING FIVE PRACTICE BASED TENETS: ILLUMINATING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SELF

This practitioner-led research explores the lived subjective experience of undergraduate distance learning (DL). This research is distinct to understanding DL because consideration is given to person-centred understandings as opposed to a technologically driven focus. The emphasis of individual impact is timely and necessary as the academic and professional literature questions the ability of distance learning to develop deep and transformational learning. Using data from qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, 5 practice-based tenets are proposed to develop transformational learning: attention, acceptance, accompaniment, adaptation and action. Together, the tenets show the process of transformation beginning as the participants turn their gaze inwards then embracing new ways of thinking and acting, with the accompaniment of others – especially tutors – providing stability whilst encouraging intellectual risk-taking. This focus on self-discovery presents opportunities to promote and integrate a curiosity-based curricular, content design and assessment that shifts the acceptance of knowledge as authored by others, to learners self-authoring their own understanding; thereby creating a future-facing approach for learning autonomy and more confident dissemination of ideas. The paper concludes by suggesting that new practice-world conversations about the integration of humanistic educational ideals can go hand-in-hand with advancements in technology.

Writing and Dialogue In, and Around, a Senior Secondary Literature Classroom

The tradition of teachers engaging in narrative-based inquiry is now well established, as is its value for creating situated knowledge about teaching. This reflexive autobiographical article weaves together narrative accounts around a senior literature classroom environment. The article features two voices: a teacher (Natalie Bellis) and a Year 12 literature student (Jessica Garcia). Through this process of narrative inquiry, the teacher reflects on her experiences of exploring literary texts with senior students within a landscape of high-stakes assessment. In this way, the teacher engages with Dorothy Smith’s notion of ‘writing the social’, by using narrative to illuminate and critically inquire into the lived experience of teaching and learning. The motif, or thread, that binds these three narrative accounts is the act of letter-writing, which serves as a metaphor for the foregrounding of the personal within a context that is shaped by external forces that can result in conformity and generality. This tension between the ‘local actualities’ of experiences and the institutional structures that govern them is theorised using de Certeau’s metaphor of the city map.

Nonnative English-Speaking Students’ Lived Learning Experiences With MOOCs in a Regular College Classroom

<p class="3">The goal of this study was to gain in-depth understanding about nonnative English-speaking students’ lived experiences with massive open online courses (MOOCs) in a regular college classroom. Phenomenological methodology was used to examine those experiences in 24 Korean college students. Individual interviews, an open-ended online survey, observation notes, online weekly journal entries, and social media constituted the data sources. Findings show that students’ lived experiences included (a) wonder and interest, (b) novel learning and teaching practices, (c) preference for video style, (d) learning strategies, (e) motivation to learn, and (f) need for face-to-face interaction. Implications for integrating a MOOC into a regular college course are also presented.</p>

Patients and families realising their future with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-A qualitative study.

To gain insight into the lived experience of learning about having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for patients and their families. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often progresses for years. Adjustment to declining health is gradual, and the disease may have developed considerably when health care is sought and people are diagnosed. Reaching patients at early stages is necessary to delay progression of the disease. Interpretive phenomenology. Data were collected in four family focus group interviews (N=37) and a subsample of eight family-dyad interviews. Patients were eight men, and 14 women aged 51-68years. Majority of the patients (n=19) were at GOLD grades II and III, with three at grade IV. The family members were eight men, and seven women aged 29-73years. Data were collected between June-November 2012. Five, not mutually exclusive themes, revealed a long and arduous process of learning about and becoming diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and how unaware participants were of the imminent threat that the disease imposes on life. The themes were as follows: burden of shame and self-blame, enclosed in addiction, living in parallel worlds, realising the existence of the disease and a cry for empathy. Learning about and realising the existence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and what it entails at present time and in the future was bleak for the participants. The patients tended to put aside the thought of being a person with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and defer actions that might halter progression of the disease, particularly to quit smoking. Individuals and families need support early in the disease process to realise and accept the existence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and particularly to deal with the challenges that nicotine addiction, shame and self-blame present. Increased public awareness about this enormous, but hidden, health problem is necessary.

Applying role-play in EFL classroom: A case study

This paper illustrates findings from a case study of applying role-play in EFL classroom. Role-play in this paper does not refer to the traditional model; it is the variations of role-play when students are exposed to authentic situations inside and outside class based on the task-based approach. This is a small cohort of around 16 first year students about seven weeks. Qualitative approach is employed. Previous researchers’ theories about applying role-play worldwide have been displayed in the case when students overcome their fears, challenges and put more their efforts in speaking English with their peers in the class accuracy, fluency and confidently. In other words, through role-play application, students prove themselves in dealing with the uncertainty water of context changes when they communicate in English in actual situations as well as in their long life learning experience. Core factors contributing to students’ speaking achievement are students’ effort and motivation being recognized by role-play. The others could rely on their ability of conducting their speaking competence. This case concludes that role-play should be applied in EFL classroom in the context of Vietnam

I Learn, Therefore I am: A Phenomenological Analysis of Meanings of Lifelong Learning for Vulnerable Older Adults.

This study explores the lifelong learning experience of vulnerable older adults to find out (a) what is involved in their activities, (b) what meanings they take from their learning, and (c) how participation in a learning program helps to maintain their well-being and independent living despite their daily challenges. This study employed a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. As part of a larger study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with older learners enrolled in general interest courses at a public continuing education program. In this study, we particularly focused on 10 vulnerable participants (8 women and 2 men, aged from 70 to 90), and analyzed their accounts following van Manen's (2014) guided existential inquiry method. After the inductive thematic analysis, we clustered the overarching themes into five existentials (lived-body, lived-relation, lived-space, lived-time, and lived-material) to explicate the meanings of their lived experience of learning. The meanings of learning found in the five existential aspects included: (a) assurance for the dissonant body and mind; (b) a circle of camaraderie; (c) a balance between physical and mental spaces; (d) integration of past, present, and future; and (e) beyond knowledge and skills. Participants' continuous practice of learning works as a therapeutic self-help mechanism to counterbalance changes in their lifeworlds. The findings contribute to the growing body of evidence of the wider benefits of lifelong learning and its crucial role in well-being and health among aging populations. Governments at all levels should take full advantage of these benefits.

Feeling down and understanding depression

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a perspective on depression and self-help from two experts with lived experience of learning disabilites.Design/methodology/approachThis paper outlines the authors’ presentation and experiences at the recent Learning Disability Today conference.FindingsThe paper shares some things we can do to help our mental wellbeing.Originality/valueThis paper offers the view of two people with learning disabilities lived experience of depression. The paper also offers and insight into some of the strategies they use to manage and encourage positive mental health.

Capsule Commentary on Velez et al., "It's Been an Experience, a Life Learning Experience": A Qualitative Study of Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorders.

Capsule Commentary on Velez et al., "It's Been an Experience, a Life Learning Experience": A Qualitative Study of Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorders.

"It's been an Experience, a Life Learning Experience": A Qualitative Study of Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorders.

Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) have high rates of chronic illness and readmission, yet few are engaged in addiction treatment. Hospitalization may be a reachable moment for initiating and coordinating addiction care, but little is known about motivation for change in the inpatient setting. To explore the experiences of hospitalized adults with SUD and to better understand patient and system level factors impacting readiness for change. We performed a qualitative study using individual interviews. The study was nested within a larger mixed-methods needs assessment. Hospitalized adults admitted to medical or surgical units at an urban academic medical center who reported high-risk alcohol or drug use on AUDIT-C or single-item drug use screener. We conducted a thematic analysis, using an inductive approach at a semantic level. Thirty-two patients participated. The mean age was 43years; 75% were men, and 68% identified as white. Participants reported moderate to high-risk alcohol (39%), amphetamine (46%), and opioid (65%) use. Emergent themes highlight the influence of hospitalization at the patient, provider, and health system levels. Many patients experienced hospitalization as a wake-up call, where mortality was motivation for change and hospitalization disrupted substance use. However, many participants voiced complex narratives of social chaos, trauma, homelessness, and chronic pain. Participants valued providers who understood SUD and the importance of treatment choice. Patient experience suggests the importance of peers in the hospital setting, access to medication-assisted treatment, and coordinated care post-discharge. This study supports that hospitalization offers an opportunity to initiate and coordinate addiction care, and provides insights into patient, provider, and health system factors which can leverage the reachability of this moment.

East Asian Students’ Experiences of Learning Dance/Movement Therapy in the US: A Phenomenological Investigation

This phenomenological study aims to explore the lived learning experiences of international East Asian dance/movement therapy (DMT) students who completed their DMT training in the United States (U.S.) and then returned to their home countries. The researcher sought to explore how participants experienced their Western DMT education. Six participants were recruited from four East Asian countries: Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, and participated in individual interviews. The NVivo10 software program was used as a tool to ensure efficient organization. Peer debriefing and member checking were used in different phases of data analysis to enhance internal validity. Ultimately, data analysis revealed four themes and 15 categories. The four themes that emerged were (a) challenges in DMT training in the U.S.; (b) contrasts between classroom cultures; (c) aspects that helped participants to adjust in class; (d) DMT as a catalyst for personal and professional development and growth. Each theme gave rise to its own unique categories that emerged from the process of data analysis. The findings support previous studies on culturally competent teaching and differences in learning styles. The researcher hopes that this study will contribute to the creation of a meaningful and educational steppingstone between the East and West in the DMT field.

Learning and knowing technology as lived experience in people with Alzheimer's disease: a phenomenological study

ABSTRACTObjectives: Most research on learning in the field of dementia has studied teaching approaches, while little is known about learning as experienced and enacted by the people with dementia. The aim was to explore the lived experience of learning and maintaining knowledge related to technology among people with mild to moderate stage dementia.Method: Seven persons with dementia were interviewed in-depth, and data were analyzed with a phenomenological approach.Results: The participants positioned themselves on a continuum from ‘Updating and expanding is not for me’ to ‘Updating and expanding is really for me’. They used different ways of learning in their everyday life - relying on one's habituated repertoire of actions, on other people or on technology itself, or belonging to a learning context.Conclusions: We have much to gain from better understanding of how people with dementia strive to learn and maintain their skills and knowledge related to technology. This is particularly important as they seem to use other approaches than those employed in current teaching methods. The necessity of learning stands out particularly when it comes to the interaction with the current multitude and ever-changing designs of technologies, including assistive technologies developed specifically to support people with dementia.

Later life learning experiences: listening to the voices of Chinese elders in Hong Kong

Governments’ anxieties about ageing populations are mostly concerned with the costs of welfare, care and health provision which all have to be paid for by an ever dwindling working population. However, research in later life learning indicates the significant role that lifelong learning can play in promoting mental well-being and resilience, and in assisting with maintaining personal self-confidence and self-coping strategies that prevent cognitive decline in an ageing population. This paper draws on the research with a group of Chinese elders in Hong Kong, who provide information about their experiences and views on learning in later life, including the meaning of learning, barriers to participation, learning interests, needs, motivations, and instructional preferences. Both quantitative and qualitative findings are reported to shed light on later life learning experiences, which contribute to the global understanding of later life learning and serve to inform the development of policy and practice geared to the planning and provision of opportunities to keep learning at the later stages of life.

Transient therapeutic communities: the “living-learning experience” trainings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe transient therapeutic communities (TCs) and their value for training. Design/methodology/approach – This is a descriptive account which includes the findings of two field study evaluations, and direct participant feedback. It is an exploration of the application of TC and group analytic theory to transient TCs. Findings – The transient TC format is an excellent training format for creating a powerful and effective environment for learning and personal development in the very short time frame of three days. Practical implications – These courses are a very efficient and effective way of promoting reflective practice, enabling environments, and emotionally safe working practices. The trainings are useful for a wide range of people from mental health professions, those working in human resources, and those in senior positions in industrial, commercial and public sector fields. Social implications – This paper will raise awareness that target-driven training is insufficient to improve quality of services beyond a certain point. A relational focus of training is needed to deal with issues of complexity which cannot be resolved by simple managerial methods. This experiential training can help to meet the need for inculcating compassion, kindness, and empathy in its participants. Originality/value – Although other psychotherapy and group relations courses exist, and are used beyond the mental health field, the focus on generating an experience of belonging, emotional safety and democratic empowerment in the relational field of the course itself – by use of TC methodology – is novel, and could be of considerable value more widely.