NURS 764 is the learning theory and teaching methods course in Liberty's PhD in Nursing (nurse educator). Its written work is two forums and one comprehensive teaching project on a topic you choose, submitted in six parts from Week 2 to Week 8 and combined at the end into a teaching portfolio.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 764 Learning Theories and Teaching Methods for Nurse Educators, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS764.
What NURS 764 covers
The catalog description: This course provides an overview of major research based theories of adult learning and knowledge development. Application of theory to the planning and execution of various phases of curriculum across a variety of educational settings is explored. Students will engage in self-reflection to improve teaching practices through strategies such as use of personal attributes, demonstrating enthusiasm for nursing and the teaching-learning process, use of technology, and respect for the learner. Individual learning styles and unique needs of students will be explored, including international, adult, multicultural, educationally disadvantaged, physically challenged, at-risk, and second degree learners. Students will be encouraged to develop an individual teaching style utilizing research based theory and engage in continuous self-evaluation as life-long learners.
The course gives an overview of research-based theories of adult learning and knowledge development and applies them to planning and carrying out curriculum across educational settings. You reflect on your own teaching (personal attributes, enthusiasm, technology, respect for the learner) and study the needs of different learners: international, adult, multicultural, educationally disadvantaged, physically challenged, at-risk and second-degree. The texts are Billings and Halstead, Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, and Bradshaw and Lowenstein, Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing and Related Health Professions.
Almost everything rides on the project (800 of 1,010 points), so the topic you pick in Week 2 has to carry a classroom plan, a clinical plan, online strategies and a service learning or mission trip design.
Textbook named in the published guide: Billings & Halstead, Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty (2015). Bradshaw & Lowenstein, Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing and Related Health Professions (2014). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 764 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 100 | No required word count; graded on course-related knowledge, depth and breadth |
| 2 | Project Topic, Bibliography and Objectives | 100 | 5 to 7 pages |
| 3 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 100 | No required word count; graded on depth and breadth |
| 4 | Project Classroom Teaching Plan | 150 | 6 to 8 pages, plus lecture deliverables and a short video |
| 5 | Project Innovative Strategies | 125 | 5 to 7 pages |
| 6 | Project Clinical Teaching Plan | 150 | 6 to 8 pages |
| 7 | Project Distance Learning Strategies | 125 | 5 to 7 pages |
| 8 | Project Final Submission | 150 | The new service learning or mission trip section plus all earlier parts, revised |
Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
A thread on the provided topic with 2 peer-reviewed journal articles, and a reply to one classmate with a different peer-reviewed article. How to write NURS 764 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 2: Project Topic, Bibliography and Objectives
Choose your teaching topic and submit a 5 to 7-page bibliography of 8 to 10 applicable sources with 4 to 5 measurable objectives. How to write NURS 764 Week 2 Project Topic, Bibliography and Objectives.
Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 2
The second forum: a thread with 2 peer-reviewed journal articles and a reply to one classmate with a different article. How to write NURS 764 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 4: Project Classroom Teaching Plan
A 6 to 8-page classroom teaching plan: a one-semester outline of topics and assessments, theory integration, at least an hour of lecture deliverables, a short video of you teaching, and links to your objectives. How to write NURS 764 Week 4 Project Classroom Teaching Plan.
Week 5: Project Innovative Strategies
A 5 to 7-page paper discussing at least 2 innovative strategies for teaching your topic in the classroom, with 3 to 5 references. How to write NURS 764 Week 5 Project Innovative Strategies.
Week 6: Project Clinical Teaching Plan
A 6 to 8-page plan to teach or reinforce a skill or related concept in the clinical setting, with 3 to 5 references. How to write NURS 764 Week 6 Project Clinical Teaching Plan.
Week 7: Project Distance Learning Strategies
A 5 to 7-page paper on how you could use the Internet to build a greater sense of community in your classroom, with 3 to 5 references. How to write NURS 764 Week 7 Project Distance Learning Strategies.
Week 8: Project Final Submission
Design a service learning project or mission trip that reinforces your topic, then combine it with all previous parts into a comprehensive teaching portfolio. How to write NURS 764 Week 8 Project Final Submission.
How NURS 764 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The project carries 800: topic, bibliography and objectives 100; classroom teaching plan 150; innovative strategies 125; clinical teaching plan 150; distance learning strategies 125; final submission 150. The two forums are 100 each and the checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Project Classroom Teaching Plan | 150 |
| Project Clinical Teaching Plan | 150 |
| Project Final Submission | 150 |
| Project Innovative Strategies | 125 |
| Project Distance Learning Strategies | 125 |
| Project Topic, Bibliography and Objectives | 100 |
| Discussion Board Forums (2) | 200 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach NURS 764
Choose a topic that can be taught in a classroom, in a clinical setting and online, such as heart failure self-management, sepsis recognition or therapeutic communication. A narrow skill (IV insertion) struggles in the classroom parts; a broad subject (medical-surgical nursing) is too big for one plan.
The classroom teaching plan in Week 4 includes a short video of you teaching the topic, so plan time to record it.
Questions students ask
What is the NURS 764 project?
A comprehensive teaching project on your topic of interest, submitted in parts: topic, bibliography and objectives; classroom teaching plan; innovative strategies; clinical teaching plan; distance learning strategies; and a final submission that combines everything into a teaching portfolio.
How many sources do NURS 764 forum posts need?
Each thread must reference 2 peer-reviewed journal articles and each reply 1 different peer-reviewed journal article; threads have no required word count.
Working through NURS 764 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.