Elsevier

Nurse Education Today

Volume 33, Issue 8, August 2013, Pages 785-790
Nurse Education Today

Improving student learning on a midwifery education programme by using a benchmark course portfolio as a means of reflection and peer review

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Summary

The idea of scholarship within disciplines has long been discussed in the relevant literature. The concept of scholarship in teaching and learning has its foundations in Boyer's (1990) seminal work Scholarship Reconsidered. In this, Boyer made the case for teaching to be enhanced and made public and to be credited with equal weight as research activity within academic institutions. The activities of teaching and learning are truly academia's raison d'être however they get obscured in the mists of the importance placed on research activity. To this end it is vital that educators begin to critically examine their teaching to fully inform research and practice. One of the lenses through which this can be done is through the act of reflection. Reflection on action as a process first described by Schön in 1983 (Schön, 2005) necessitates not only the critical examination of what we do but also what are the underlying assumptions about why we do what we do. The paper outlines such reflective portfolio submitted as part requirement for Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. It examines student midwives learning using the reflective lens of the benchmark course portfolio.

Introduction

The aim of the benchmark course portfolio is to identify points of intervention to enhance student learning. Benchmark portfolios use a structured format to examine teaching and ultimately student learning. The use of a critical friend to assist with reflection and to challenge assumptions has also been recommended (Mac Laren, 2005). For this reflective portfolio the Teaching for Understanding framework was used to inform the reflective process (Table 1). Teaching for Understanding as a concept was described by the Project Zero team at Harvard University (Blythe et al., 1998). It uses as its core a format of ‘scaffolded learning’ where the student assimilates knowledge, builds upon it and displays their own learning through live ‘performances of understanding’ whereby they take the individual learning they have accrued and utilise it in a new format.

Benchmark course portfolio guidelines developed by Bernstein, Nelson-Burnett, Goodburn and Savory were chosen to examine the phenomena of teaching and learning (2006). The goals of this chosen module reflect the philosophy of midwifery within the institutions where student learning takes place.

Midwifery is a unique discipline; it holds a distinct body of knowledge fundamental to good midwifery practice. Midwifery has a contribution to make to the health of individuals, groups and communities in many different settings. Midwifery is concerned with promoting and maintaining health. In addition, it is grounded in the belief that women themselves are capable and competent in childbirth and require a facilitative and empowering approach from midwives. Midwifery centres on the care of childbearing women and their families. In order to provide woman centred care the midwife must be sensitive to individual needs and aim for a holistic approach. The midwife is the ideal member of a multidisciplinary team of carers to provide the woman with information which will help her to take control and be able to make decisions about normal pregnancy and her baby's birth. The midwife's role is also a supportive one in which she may act as the woman's advocate. This acquires adaptability and flexibility.

This midwifery philosophy is adapted from the International Confederation of Midwives definition of a midwife and supported by current Irish legislation (An Bord Altranais, 2005). It also reflects the core beliefs about women, birth and motherhood and is summed up by the assertion that midwives have to have a belief in women's ability to birth. Without this belief it will be impossible to convey this to the women in our care and to support them adequately. This is also true for student learning. It is this nebulous concept that is fundamentally at the heart of the portfolio. What is the best way to prepare students for the realities of the midwifery profession? As Shulman (2005) stated in his paper on signature pedagogies the challenge is how prepare a student to be a professional (i.e. midwife).

Section snippets

Methodology

The reason why this particular course was chosen for the portfolio is that it encompasses most of what it means to be a midwife. It provides not only theoretical knowledge to the students about the mother and baby but also importantly it aspires to develop their skills, preparing them for the realities of the discipline of midwifery. It was chosen to examine because it is one of the largest modules on the students' programme and reflects much of the core midwifery knowledge and skills. It was

Peer Discussion

Benchmark course portfolio guidelines developed by Bernstein et al. (2006) were chosen to examine the phenomenon. The benchmark course portfolio has at its heart the philosophy of making teaching and learning visible and what better way to do this safely than by having ones teaching peer reviewed. For the purposes of this assignment I was assisted in the peer review assignment by a colleague who is a Registered Children's Nurse. We began regarding the portfolio by looking at the enactment of

Diversity in Student Learning

The students whose learning was considered are Registered General Nurses undertaking an 18 month Higher Diploma in Midwifery programme enabling them to become Registered Midwives. There are 32 students undertaking this programme and all of the modules on this programme are compulsory. There are no elective modules offered. Childbirth and the Neonate I is a core, 20 credit module on the Higher Diploma in Midwifery programme. The indicative content for this module is controlled by the Requirements

The Nature of Student Understanding

“There is no greater influence on the shaping of society than the parenting that citizens receive” (Nolan, 1998 p14).

Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development (1978) suggests that learning takes place where there is experiential learning for the student. This involves a paradigm shift in which the teacher is no longer the More Knowledgeable Other and the power equation between student and teacher is more balanced. There is reciprocity between both parties and the student learning becomes more

Conclusion

The use of the benchmark course portfolio is valuable to teachers in providing a structure by which to examine their teaching and ultimately their students learning. The aims of reflective enquiry can be achieved by the use of honest self, student and peer review. The methodology requires time and commitment but pays valuable dividends for all concerned including, ultimately the disciplines and the public which they serve.

‘What matters is not just what the disciplines can do for the scholarship

Declaration of competing interests

‘I declare that I have no competing interests’.

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