Reflective Essay on Structured Interviews

Reflective Essay on Structured Interviews the way you structured the questioningit gave me ideas in my head in how I wanted the interview to go (from interview transcript) Incident: The key point during the interview, I thought, was when J. spoke about how he wanted the interview to go and what questions and information he wanted to find out. For me, J. had reached the point I wanted him to get to, where he realised it is possible to control and change an interview using a structured approach. I suggested to him as further learning to develop in the future, using examples of questions about self harm and suggesting using formal interview tools in informal ways. I did not ask J. what he meant by ideas in my head. I hesitated to ask him what he meant and to encourage him to reflect on this. Reflective observation: Looking over the transcript and analysing it, I think I missed the boat with J. here. I perhaps let an opportunity pass to explore his learning with him in greater depth. We could have discussed how to develop skills in interviewing and what he wanted to learn next. This would have moved the focus away alcohol and withdrawal symptoms towards his skill development. It could also have been a good opportunity to practice critical incident analysis. I think there were two reasons why I was wary of delving deeper at this point with J. and trying to help him reflect on his learning: First, I had not worked with him for two weeks which was unfortunately due to training and holiday schedules. This meant I had no chance to work with him and observe and assess him directly. I had set him guidelines in how to interview and knew he could get support from other staff nurses. However, I had only what he was giving me during the interview to assess and give him feedback. Secondly, I had started the interview with a clear idea that we were going to cover his CAP booklet in some areas. I really felt some pressure inside myself to cover the whole assessment aspect and not risk going off at a tangent. I regarded the purpose of the assessment as giving J. feedback on how he had met his competencies. I knew that most students saw completing their CAP booklets as a priority. Perhaps if I had helped J. explore his learning it may have been more useful for his future. I felt he was interested in the subject and seemed motivated to learn. He reported making several attempts to talk to different patients on the ward about their drinking. He did link what he had learned to his next placement and how he could use it. It is a little ironic that I was not flexible and adaptable in my approach to interviewing. But we were both learning: J. as a student nurse and myself as a student mentor! Related theory: Rowantree (2003) describes six different purposes for assessment: including selection, standards, motivation for students, feedback to students, feedback to teachers, and preparation for life. Selection here can be conceived as both access to a course or profession and passing or completing a course of education. There are number of purposes here which are not necessarily compatible or perhaps easily reconcilable. Selection and maintaining standards can be seen as competitive and even as almost elitist. Feedback is described as the life-blood of learning (Rowantree, 2003: p416), where assessment is meant to teach the student something. Preparation for life can be seen as inspirational which maybe at odds with maintaining standards, in the sense of maintaining a status quo. Jarvis and Gibson (2001) talk about the two common types of assessment current in nursing education: formative and summative assessment. They describe formative assessment as diagnostic to try and find out what the student has learned and still has to learn. Summative assessment is about making a judgement of whether a nurse has learned enough to become competent (Bradshaw, 1989). Duffy and Hardicre (2007) in their first article on failing nursing students describe a three stage process of an initial meeting which is formative; a mid placement meeting which is formative with constructive feedback and a final summative meeting where both the student and mentor should know what to expect. In part 2 on managing failing students they state that feedback should be regular and ongoing (Duffy and Hardicre, 2007). This prescriptive approach to assessment is about meeting standards and ensuring public and patient safety. Even though they are discussing the failing student their approach if used must apply to all students in order to be consistent, fair and balanced. The mentor has to balance the idea of educating and learning with a duty of ensuring that the student is safe to practice. On the one hand the mentor should provide feedback that facilitates the student identifying what they have learned and what they still have to learn. On the other the mentor is accountable for the safety of patients in their care. Beattie (1991) argues that this can make assessment more effective by ensuring consistency to meet the accountability need. This is not easy and involves gathering a lot of information about learning to make a judgement based on this evidence. However, if our aim is to create a profession of reflective practitioners then assessment must perhaps include an open ended formative element as well. Driscoll (Baird and Winter, 2005) makes the point that there is no end-point in learning about practice. Perhaps mentors have to allow their students the freedom to explore their learning. During assessment students should have opportunities to reflect and to broaden their understanding. Students perhaps should be given choice and participation in the learning process. This is in line with teaching nursing students as adults who are internally motivated, self directing and who bring past experience to their learning. (Knowles, 1990) The challenge is to foster this desire and motivation to learn when it occurs. Biggs (1987) discussed the differences between deep and superficial learning. Assessment that encourages anxiety and recall of knowledge can lead to superficial learning. Where deep learning is promoted by motivation to learn and should be more effective in creating professional nurses. One way to foster deep learning could be to use questioning skills. It is possible to ask questions that will broaden learning and develop critical thinking. There are different types of questions: closed; open; questions looking for simple answers; questions that promote discussion. The mentor should form a question at an appropriate cognitive level for the nursing student. The mentor can ask a series of questions aimed at getting a response from the student and encouraging an increasing complexity if appropriate. (Nicholl and Tracey, 2007) In exploring some of the literature on assessment, it seems apparent there are two intertwined elements present: the formative strand is about what has been learned and what still needs to be learned; the summative strand is about making a judgement about meeting a proficiency standard to become professional and safe in practice. The challenge for the mentor is to meet both strands adequately in their assessment of student nurses. Future Action: There are some things I would try and do differently. I would try and structure assessment over the whole placement as suggested in Duffys model (Duffy and Hardicre, 2007). However, I would try and find a place both the formative and summative elements within the assessment process, while trying to clearly have separate interviews for each. I would like to observe my student directly in learning situations, as well as gather information from colleagues and of course from the student. I would now see feedback as having to be based on a sound judgement based on facts in order to be helpful for the nursing student. Even where the student is more senior and capable I would still like to have some element of direct observation to justify my assessment. Another part I would consider is planning my feedback and possibly giving it in writing beforehand. This could remove anxiety on the students part about passing and perhaps allow time to explore formative aspects of the assessment. I think growing as a mentor would involve becoming skilled at encouraging learning during assessment while giving feedback and passing a student or not. If I had another instance like with J. here, I would like to try and ask a few questions to delve a little deeper into what he was saying.

Stoichiomety Lab

Stoichiometric Analysis Formal Lab Report I. Purpose- The purpose of this lab is to show stoiciometric reactions and relationships first hand. It also increases our level of understanding about the complicated relationships in chemical reactions and in stoichiometry. II. Introduction- In chemical reactions and formulas there are various relationships between masses of reactants and products. The study of these relationships is called stoichiometry which is derived from the Greek words stoichein meaning â€Å"element† and metron meaning †measure†.Stoichiometry is helpful in predicting outcomes of reactions or finding out missing parts in reactions. It can also help you determine unknown compounds. III. Methods- Add a small sample of MnO2 to a dry test tube. Find the mass of this by zeroing a beaker on a scale and placing the tube inside. Place about 2. 00 g of KCLOx into the test tube. Record the new mass, and mix the two reactants. Put in test tube clamp at a 45 de gree angle. Heat the mixture for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Record the new mass.Repeat these steps with the KCLOx/KCLO mixture. IV. Results- KCLOx 1. 19. 78 g 2. 21. 88 g 3. 2. 10 g 4. 21. 12 g 5. 1. 34 g KCL 6. .66 g O2 7. .017 mol KCL 8. .041 mol O2 9. KCLO3 10. 2 KCLO3 ( 2 KCL + 3 O2 KCL/ KCLOx 1. 23. 79 g 2. 25. 83 g 3. 2. 04 g 4. 25. 38 g 5. 1. 59 g KCL 6. .45 g O2 7. .014 mol O2 8. .009 mol KCLOx 9. 1. 10 g KCLOx 10. .539 % KCLOx in mixture V. Conclusion- This lab showed us how stoichiometry can be used in a real situation to find something out. I think that the purpose of the lab was reached.It was helpful in strengthening my understanding of stoichiometry by using critical thinking to solve a problem. There was plenty of room for error. The results could be thrown off if the error is too great. Technique was needed in making sure the entire sample was reacted and keeping all of it in the test tube. VI. Questions- 1. The definition of stoichiometry has roots meaning meas ure and element. In the first reaction you are trying to find the number or measure of an element that is present in a unknown quantity. . d 3. Ion charges aren’t a problem in determining mathematical relationships because the anion in the compound will have the same charge regardless of how many O’s are present. 4. The heating process is the same in both reactions because we want the level of decomposition to be consistent. With a different heating method the decomposition could vary and throw off the calculations. 5. The student could be asked to calculate the theoretical yield and compare/ calculate it to the actual yield to find out their error.

Problems Faced By The American System - 1720 Words

Problems in Education The American system has undergone several commendable reforms in the past. However, some factors still remain wanting and in need of more aggressive action to address. The unequal distribution of funds for schools has been a practice thought to be one that suits all schools. To the contrary, this method of fund distribution has raised other pertinent issues that suggest it should be revised. There is also concern over the large student-teacher ratio at these learning institutions, which lead to very large class sizes. Education policies governing states concerning the maximum class size are common in the American K – 12 education system. The introduction of standardized release of funds to schools and the lowering of the teacher student ratios in schools, and therefore consequently reducing the class sizes across states, would greatly improve the education system in America. Class sizes are strongly assumed to influence student learning at institutions of learning. Big classes are associated with less individualized attention to students from the teacher. This is because it becomes difficult for the teacher to get to know each pupil individually, making it hard to identify learning disabilities or even to notice that some students have special needs. Students who struggle with reading and learning do not receive the one-on-one help they require to catch up. The other extreme is also true since those who would surely benefit more with additionalShow MoreRelatedProblems Faced By The American System1720 Words   |  7 PagesProblems in Education The American system has undergone several commendable reforms in the past. However, some factors still remain wanting and in need of more aggressive action to address. The unequal distribution of funds for schools has been a practice thought to be one that suits all schools. 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Slavery did set us back some years, but I have to say it has made us stronger. Most of us had to face great obstacles to get in a good place, but no matter what we keep making it through the adversity. After slavery, we as a culture ha d to make it through the jim crow laws. This sparked the civil right movement that gave blacks a voice to speak out against the injustice that Problems Faced By The American System - 1720 Words Problems in Education The American system has undergone several commendable reforms in the past. However, some factors still remain wanting and in need of more aggressive action to address. The unequal distribution of funds for schools has been a practice thought to be one that suits all schools. To the contrary, this method of fund distribution has raised other pertinent issues that suggest it should be revised. There is also concern over the large student-teacher ratio at these learning institutions, which lead to very large class sizes. Education policies governing states concerning the maximum class size are common in the American K – 12 education system. The introduction of standardized release of funds to schools and the lowering of†¦show more content†¦This introduces a loophole in the education system that allows for wastage of special abilities that remain untapped and underdeveloped. This in turn results in low productivity in students, who don’t feel challenged to put mor e effort, resulting in poor output by the class in general. This lack of motivation to do better by the exceptional students can also be explained by the fact that even without putting much effort, they still lead the class, giving them a sense of contentment and they therefore do not feel the need to work harder. The weak students are not motivated either since the average performance of the class is dismal, and their weakness is not exposed enough for them to notice they need extra assistance from their tutors. This makes for a class that generally has poor outcomes in their academic performance. Big classes are also associated with lower quality instruction. As much as interactive activities are not easy to plan for and carry out in a class, it is worse for bigger classrooms, which prohibit movement from their overcrowding aspect. Classroom management in big-sized classes is usually a problem for the teacher as it is difficult to ascertain the consistency desirable to promote pro per classroom management. This is why a reduction in the class sizes will improve learning at institutions of learning. This might