I see that I have drifted off topic and off blogging to a state of confusion and uncertainty as to where to head. I spent the week reviewing and pondering the syllabus, primer, publications, my comments and peer and instructor comments (plus resurrecting my 93% dead computer- so sorry for the delay!). The syllabus was a bit encouraging (?) in stating that the state of “discomfort, frustration and confusion…is normal, expected – and temporary!” So, here’s striving for timely comfort, peace and clarity!
This week’s homework question was: Where in the course of my inquiry did I move into ethics? I’m not sure that I did, as I bogged down in my blogs. The course moved from teacher identity to epistemology where beliefs and knowledge claims can cause conflicts between students and teacher, and this is where the resolution of this can certainly bring ethics into the mix.
When looking at how to gauge learning in nursing, I looked at the use of defined competencies. Students who are failing sometimes will argue the definition of professionalism when they are informed that their behaviours fall short of expectation. It is when those behaviours are listed that students realize the gauge being used is their performative expression of learning. I have learned through my inquiry that the determination of affective learning is subjective and thus is fertile grounds for ethical dilemmas in teaching.
This is where I took my original posed question “how can the criteria to grow cognitively, performatively and affectively be objectively measured” to “how can it be measured.” The biggest underlying assumption was that the criteria were objective and acceptable. I clearly found that as the criteria could not be rigorously measured, I ended up wavering between whether it was acceptable as it stood or not. I then moved to the thought that “current methods of measurement of learning in nursing might not be adequate”. Frustration set in as I considered that the criteria upon which I based my own competency as a nurse for 2 ½ decades and the pass/fail determination of my students, might be flawed! How then could I ethically make a determination of my students’ (short term) futures [pass/not pass]?
Dr. Ruth Ludwig (1999) voiced a common fear in nursing that if we do not competently regulate our own profession, then we will be dictated to in how we gauge competence. She made an interesting statement that “commonly, professions use external measures for assuring competence…(via) licensing exams… continuing education… orientation programs, and graduation from an accredited program”. She also made a sobering statement that “laws and rules are generally considered to uphold the lowest minimum standard for practice,” meaning that “legal behaviour is not necessarily the highest ethic."
In defining self-reflection, Ludwig ties in experience and job role with an individual’s “spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being.” She encourages nurses to ask when personally assessing their competencies: “are external and (your) internal measures congruent?”
I have progressed to the idea that determining learning in affective, cognitive and performative realms cannot be solely determined by competencies. I agree with Ludwig that self-regulatory behaviour is also necessary.
Reference: Ludwick, R. (1999) Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Silver Spring , MD
Hi Brenda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too. Reflective practice to determine areas of competency as well as areas for self- improvement has also become common in social work during their practicum experience. The mid-term evaluation is a written narrative evaluation completed by the student. It is a hefty piece of self-reflection that focuses on strengths/competencies and areas for further development. Students are encouraged to identify their multiple learning tasks and assess where they believe they are performing in these tasks, along with what they need to do to achieve the level of competence required. The supervisor then comments but this is a relatively small part of the mid-term. The final written evaluation is a combination of student and supervisor assessment.
I smiled when you questioned if the current methods of measurement of learning in nursing are adequate and also when you questioned the implications of the current assessment measures in terms of impact on students over the past 2 and a half decades. I think these are great questions. What if we are wrong in our assessment of students? What if we have passed some who are not competent and failed others who are competent. The seriousness of the implications deserves questioning. What if there are more appropriate measures for determining nursing competency and what if you, as part of your reflective practice, discover what that is?
Beth
Thanks, Beth,
ReplyDeleteI used to really chafe over the questions you posed, but realized that in my gut, if I could say that I would not want this individual to care for my loved one for fear of errors, then I made the right decision. Whew!
Brenda
I really liked your reflection and differentiation on legal and ethical practice. Ludwick's theory of matching the internal and external competencies are deep and transformational. I wonder how these deep truths can be practiced in our roles as teachers. Do we explicitly state the convergences every time are practice it or learn to practice it and ask the students if they can see the convergence.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of how and when it appropriate to sprinkle these thoughts among the students and worry about how the reaction among the students might be. Some my embrace the deep thinking aspect but most are in the wondering how it will be useful in passing an exam. So should it be part of an assessment as Beth suggested or a learning activity or teaching method?
Brenda,
ReplyDeleteFollowing on from Beth's comment - perhaps an ethic to consider is whether the standards we target/teach are expected to be sufficient. So, should we teach to the standard, or should we hold ourselves and our students to a higher standard. My impression is that you hold your students to a very high standard and that you are demanding for good cause. This may link back to the purpose of an education - in this case, is it ethical to produce sufficiently qualified nurses, based on standards determined externally, or should our expectation be higher? Are we expecting mastery performances from nurses or competencies?
It's probably good for all of us to pass through a state of confusion and uncertainty now and then -- to wander in the desert, if you will! It re-orients us, reminds us of our goals, helps us try new things. So let's treat these periods as positive, when they arrive. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, I think you HAVE used this period well. You've made it work for you by returning to your starting point and tracing your own path, observing what you've found along the way.
Ludwig's concerns about nursing probably ring true for those in other professions as well. Certainly I see those concerns in post-secondary education and educational development. In terms of propaganda and strategy, it can be a useful way to control others: the authority uses the fear of external control as a way to push people into controlling themselves and each other. If you're interested in how that works, Foucault and Machiavelli wrote about it in fascinating (and different) ways.
Regulation is also used, often, as a form of gatekeeping, a way of distinguishing "us" from "them" and thus controlling who gets to be "one of us". Sometimes this may be unproblematic and uncontroversially appropriate. Sometimes it's abhorrent. I wonder how we could distinguish appropriate forms of gatekeeping from inappropriate forms of gatekeeping.
The connection between that use of power and what you and Ludwig say about self-regulation intrigues me. You might find it useful to reflect on the ethical concerns that should be borne in mind as one determines how to regulate oneself and one's profession/discipline. Perhaps it's important to take note of where pressures to self-regulate are coming from, what's behind them, in order to determine whether they're appropriate.
Ludwig's last quote here reminds me of what we talked about in class, regarding the difference between law and ethics, and the dangers inherent in approaching ethics legalistically. You probably noticed that already!