Chapter 4: Determinants of Learning ▪ Four types of readiness
▪ P = Physical readiness
Educator’s Role in Learning
▪ E = Emotional readiness
▪ Assessing problems or deficits
▪ E = Experiential readiness
▪ Providing information in unique ways
▪ K = Knowledge readiness
▪ Identifying progress being made
▪ Giving feedback and follow-up
PHYSICAL READINESS
▪ Reinforcing learning
▪ Measures of ability, complexity of task, environmental effects,
▪ Determining the effectiveness of education provided
health status, and gender—because
▪ Measures of ability- Ability to perform a task requires fine
Assessment of the Learner
and/or gross motor movements, sensory acuity, adequate
▪ Most important step in instructional design
strength, flexibility, coordination, and endurance.
▪ Validates need for learning
▪ Complexity of task- more complex the task, the more difficult
▪ Informs approaches to be used
it is to achieve.
▪ THREE DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
▪ Environmental effects- helps to hold the learner’s attention
▪ Learning needs—WHAT the learner needs to learn
and stimulate interest in learning.
▪ Readiness to learn—WHEN the learner is
▪ Health status- amounts of energy available and the
receptive to learning
individual’s present comfort level are factors that significantly
▪ Learning style—HOW the learner best learns
influence
▪ Gender- women traditionally have more frequent contacts with
Learning Needs health providers while bearing and raising children.
▪ as gaps in knowledge that exist between a desired level of
EMOTIONAL READINESS
performance and the actual level of performance
▪ Learners must be emotionally ready to learn.
1. Identify the learner.- Who is the audience?
▪ Anxiety level- it affects patients’ ability to concentrate and
2. Choose the right setting.- Establishing a trusting environment
retain information
helps learners feel a sense of security
▪ Support system- Members of the patient’s support system
3. Collect data about the learner.= the educator can determine
must be present to assist
characteristic needs
▪ Motivation- willingness to take action.
4. Collect data from the learner.- Allow patients and/or family
▪ Risk-taking behavior- Taking risks is intrinsic in the activities
members to identify what is important to them,
people perform daily.
5. Involve members of the healthcare team. ▪ Frame of mind- the here and now versus the future
6. Prioritize needs.- the learner’s basic needs are attended to
▪ Developmental stage- Each task associated with human
first and foremost
development produces a peak time for readiness to learn,
7. Provide only need- or want-to-know information.
known as a teachable moment
8. Determine availability of educational resources.- if the
proper educational resources are not available, are unrealistic
EXPERIENTIAL READINESS
to obtain,
▪ learner’s past experiences with learning and includes
9. Assess the demands of the organization.- yields information
FOUR ELEMENTS:
that reflects the climate of the organization.
▪ Level of aspiration- extent to which someone is driven to
10. Take time-management issues into account- major
achieve is related to the type of short- and long-term goals
impediment to the assessment process,
established—not by the educator but by the learner.
▪ Past coping mechanisms- learners have been using to
Methods to Assess Learning Needs
understand how they have dealt with previous problems.
▪ Informal conversations
▪ Cultural background- educator’s knowledge about other
▪ Structured interviews
cultures and sensitivity to behavioral differences
▪ Focus groups ▪ Locus of control- determine whether readiness to learn is
▪ Questionnaires
prompted by internal or external stimuli
▪ Tests
▪ Observations
KNOWLEDGE READINESS
▪ Documentation
▪ the learner’s present knowledge base, the level of cognitive
ability, the existence of any learning disabilities and/or reading
Specific Methods to Assess Learning Needs of Nursing Staff
problems, and the preferred style of learning.
▪ Written job descriptions
▪ Present knowledge base- How much someone already knows
▪ Formal and informal requests
about a specific subject or how proficient that person is at
▪ Quality assurance reports
performing a task
▪ Chart audits
▪ Cognitive ability- which information can be processed is
▪ Rules and regulations indicative of the learner’s capabilities.
▪ Self-assessment
▪ Learning and reading disabilities- accompanied by low-level
▪ Gap analysis and Delphi technique
reading skills, are not necessarily indicative of an individual’s
intellectual abilities, but they do require educators to use
Readiness to Learn
special or innovative approaches
▪ the time when the learner demonstrates an interest in learning
▪ Learning styles- variety of preferred styles of learning exist,
the information necessary to maintain optimal health or to
and assessing how someone learns best and likes to learn
become more skillful in a job.
helps the educator to select appropriate teaching approaches.
▪ Occurs when the learner is receptive, willing, and able to
Learning Style Principles
participate in learning process
▪ Certain learning characteristics are biological; others are
sociologically derived.
▪ Education steps in assessing for readiness:
▪ No learning style is inherently better or worse than another.
▪ Understand what needs to be taught.
▪ Accepting the diversity of learning styles can help educators
▪ Collect and validate information.
encourage every individual to reach his or her full potential.
▪ Assess learning needs.
Determining Learning Styles
▪ P = Physical readiness
Educator’s Role in Learning
▪ E = Emotional readiness
▪ Assessing problems or deficits
▪ E = Experiential readiness
▪ Providing information in unique ways
▪ K = Knowledge readiness
▪ Identifying progress being made
▪ Giving feedback and follow-up
PHYSICAL READINESS
▪ Reinforcing learning
▪ Measures of ability, complexity of task, environmental effects,
▪ Determining the effectiveness of education provided
health status, and gender—because
▪ Measures of ability- Ability to perform a task requires fine
Assessment of the Learner
and/or gross motor movements, sensory acuity, adequate
▪ Most important step in instructional design
strength, flexibility, coordination, and endurance.
▪ Validates need for learning
▪ Complexity of task- more complex the task, the more difficult
▪ Informs approaches to be used
it is to achieve.
▪ THREE DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
▪ Environmental effects- helps to hold the learner’s attention
▪ Learning needs—WHAT the learner needs to learn
and stimulate interest in learning.
▪ Readiness to learn—WHEN the learner is
▪ Health status- amounts of energy available and the
receptive to learning
individual’s present comfort level are factors that significantly
▪ Learning style—HOW the learner best learns
influence
▪ Gender- women traditionally have more frequent contacts with
Learning Needs health providers while bearing and raising children.
▪ as gaps in knowledge that exist between a desired level of
EMOTIONAL READINESS
performance and the actual level of performance
▪ Learners must be emotionally ready to learn.
1. Identify the learner.- Who is the audience?
▪ Anxiety level- it affects patients’ ability to concentrate and
2. Choose the right setting.- Establishing a trusting environment
retain information
helps learners feel a sense of security
▪ Support system- Members of the patient’s support system
3. Collect data about the learner.= the educator can determine
must be present to assist
characteristic needs
▪ Motivation- willingness to take action.
4. Collect data from the learner.- Allow patients and/or family
▪ Risk-taking behavior- Taking risks is intrinsic in the activities
members to identify what is important to them,
people perform daily.
5. Involve members of the healthcare team. ▪ Frame of mind- the here and now versus the future
6. Prioritize needs.- the learner’s basic needs are attended to
▪ Developmental stage- Each task associated with human
first and foremost
development produces a peak time for readiness to learn,
7. Provide only need- or want-to-know information.
known as a teachable moment
8. Determine availability of educational resources.- if the
proper educational resources are not available, are unrealistic
EXPERIENTIAL READINESS
to obtain,
▪ learner’s past experiences with learning and includes
9. Assess the demands of the organization.- yields information
FOUR ELEMENTS:
that reflects the climate of the organization.
▪ Level of aspiration- extent to which someone is driven to
10. Take time-management issues into account- major
achieve is related to the type of short- and long-term goals
impediment to the assessment process,
established—not by the educator but by the learner.
▪ Past coping mechanisms- learners have been using to
Methods to Assess Learning Needs
understand how they have dealt with previous problems.
▪ Informal conversations
▪ Cultural background- educator’s knowledge about other
▪ Structured interviews
cultures and sensitivity to behavioral differences
▪ Focus groups ▪ Locus of control- determine whether readiness to learn is
▪ Questionnaires
prompted by internal or external stimuli
▪ Tests
▪ Observations
KNOWLEDGE READINESS
▪ Documentation
▪ the learner’s present knowledge base, the level of cognitive
ability, the existence of any learning disabilities and/or reading
Specific Methods to Assess Learning Needs of Nursing Staff
problems, and the preferred style of learning.
▪ Written job descriptions
▪ Present knowledge base- How much someone already knows
▪ Formal and informal requests
about a specific subject or how proficient that person is at
▪ Quality assurance reports
performing a task
▪ Chart audits
▪ Cognitive ability- which information can be processed is
▪ Rules and regulations indicative of the learner’s capabilities.
▪ Self-assessment
▪ Learning and reading disabilities- accompanied by low-level
▪ Gap analysis and Delphi technique
reading skills, are not necessarily indicative of an individual’s
intellectual abilities, but they do require educators to use
Readiness to Learn
special or innovative approaches
▪ the time when the learner demonstrates an interest in learning
▪ Learning styles- variety of preferred styles of learning exist,
the information necessary to maintain optimal health or to
and assessing how someone learns best and likes to learn
become more skillful in a job.
helps the educator to select appropriate teaching approaches.
▪ Occurs when the learner is receptive, willing, and able to
Learning Style Principles
participate in learning process
▪ Certain learning characteristics are biological; others are
sociologically derived.
▪ Education steps in assessing for readiness:
▪ No learning style is inherently better or worse than another.
▪ Understand what needs to be taught.
▪ Accepting the diversity of learning styles can help educators
▪ Collect and validate information.
encourage every individual to reach his or her full potential.
▪ Assess learning needs.
Determining Learning Styles
