I'm a first semester student, and I have a problem. I learn best by listening and my teacher refuses to go through the power points and explain everything. She focuses on group activities and personal examples. Every time I leave the classroom I feel I didn't learn anything!
I already talked to the college's retention specialist and explained my situation, but nothing can be done. Please I need advice!
What can I do to succeed in this class (Fundamentals of nursing) without a teacher? Because I really feel that way. I feel I am teaching myself by reading the textbook. But I'm auditory!!!
Thanks for your words llg. Actually even though I'm the only auditory in the class, some of my classmates have complained too. Not to the teacher of course, but we have talked to each other, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. The reason no one has the courage to tell her is because we are afraid she will develop something against one of us. Childish I know, but some people do not take criticism the right way.
I will do my best to find aural resources, so I can study more efficiently, but I still believe she can do better.
I imagine myself teaching the nursing process, and while being a first semester student, i think i would do a better job explaining it to someone else. She hasn't explained the ADPIE, she just went through the study guide and showed us examples of each. I know there's so much more to the nursing process than a couple of examples. That's exactly my point. Focus on the important stuff and leave your personal stories for when we have extra time to chat during class. But if I don't do good on my first test, I will definitely tell her. Thank you all! :-)
I too prefer to learn from a good lecturer (e. g. I barely opened the book for physiology and got 95% in the class), but as I've learned over the past 2.5 semesters of nursing school:
a.) Most nursing instructors are bad lecturers, or are hooked on the currently popular in nursing education, "Everything is group work, these students won't learn it unless they're applying it!" model.
b.) The ones that are decent lecturers can't possibly cover all the material that they need to be able to test on.
Here's the reality: The learning style thing is fine if you can get, but it's not going to happen here. Suck it up, read the book, then read it 4 more times.
Everyone is a visual learner unless you've got some other kind of impairment. Visual learning is an evolutionary imperative, and anyone can develop and be better at it.
Otherwise, read the book out-loud to yourself and record it. I stopped doing this because it took about 4 hours per chapter.
Wow, nursing school is about being a grown up and teaching yourself, then asking the teacher if you have questions. She can not apply to everyones learning style, use your learning style to teach yourself. Read outloud, work in study groups. This is nursing school, it is tough, just suck it up and do it! We have all had to read ALL of the chapters ourselves, then ask our teacher if we had questions.
She is not a bad teacher, nursing school is different from the other hold your hand classes. You are expected to be an adult, which I am not sure if you are!
I'm 31 years old, so yes I'm an adult. Your comment is rude and uncalled for. I can't believe you are going to be a nurse because your interpersonal skills are non-existent. Please don't comment on a thread if you don't have anything helpful to say. And change that attitude, people have the right to have their own opinion and thoughts about a specific topic. I have the right to have a personal opinion about this teacher because I'm the one attending her lecture 3 times a week. I hope you never talk like that to a patient.
To the other people that posted advice on how to study, thank you. That was the answer I was hoping for. Good luck in school everyone! As for me, no one will ever make me feel less of a person, i will keep working on my dream of having the opportunity to help people in such a positive way. No teacher, classmate, or negative individual will take away the happiness that I feel for being part of this program.
I'm 31 years old, so yes I'm an adult. Your comment is rude and uncalled for. I can't believe you are going to be a nurse because your interpersonal skills are non-existent. Please don't comment on a thread if you don't have anything helpful to say. And change that attitude, people have the right to have their own opinion and thoughts about a specific topic. I have the right to have a personal opinion about this teacher because I'm the one attending her lecture 3 times a week. I hope you never talk like that to a patient.
To the other people that posted advice on how to study, thank you. That was the answer I was hoping for. Good luck in school everyone! As for me, no one will ever make me feel less of a person, i will keep working on my dream of having the opportunity to help people in such a positive way. No teacher, classmate, or negative individual will take away the happiness that I feel for being part of this program.
Exactly. She was just expressing hers - which, according to you, she has every right to do.
I will say to find what works for you quick because as you go further in your nursing education, a large chunk of the instructors will be just like this. Why, too much information to cover in a short period of time. Each semester will build on the last. Some tests were 35 chapters of information when I was in school. Nursing classes are so very different from Math, Bio, A&P, etc..
Triquee, expressing an opinion and criticizing/offending is not the same thing. Being respectful and polite is a virtue, but I understand not everyone possess those qualities. Thanks for your input.
Sun0408, yes I noticed how nursing classes are different from other classes I have taken. But some people failed to understand my point. I don't expect the teacher to go into detail about every single chapter. Just right now my friend texted me saying how they were talking about the teacher at school today during validations. They are all stressed not because of the class, but with her. Imagine that the first day she spent 1.5 hours going through the syllabus, which is something that we can read, follow, and it is not something we are going to be tested on. On the other hand, the nursing process is something that merits to be talked about.
It's just so funny how people like to answer to others' posts in such an unhelpful and sarcastic way when all that I expected was to find someone with similar concerns. I hope I don't have to deal with that kind of people when I become a nurse. Nurses are supposed to be caring, good-hearted and humble. But from what I have noticed, anybody can go into this career without having the minimum interest in helping others. What a shame:-(
Triquee, expressing an opinion and criticizing/offending is not the same thing. Being respectful and polite is a virtue, but I understand not everyone possess those qualities. Thanks for your input.
I'm 31 years old, so yes I'm an adult. Your comment is rude and uncalled for. I can't believe you are going to be a nurse because your interpersonal skills are non-existent. Please don't comment on a thread if you don't have anything helpful to say. And change that attitude, people have the right to have their own opinion and thoughts about a specific topic. I have the right to have a personal opinion about this teacher because I'm the one attending her lecture 3 times a week. I hope you never talk like that to a patient.
Your response wasn't exactly lacking in criticism or offensiveness either. Neither was it a shining example of respect, politeness and virtue.
And you're welcome. :)
Edit: Come to think of it...If the answer you were hoping for was input on how an auditory learner should study, it may have been more fitting to simply ask "What is the best way for an auditory learner to study," rather than launching into a full on criticism of your instructor's teaching methods. Just saying...
It's just so funny how people like to answer to others' posts in such an unhelpful and sarcastic way when all that I expected was to find someone with similar concerns. I hope I don't have to deal with that kind of people when I become a nurse. Nurses are supposed to be caring, good-hearted and humble. But from what I have noticed, anybody can go into this career without having the minimum interest in helping others. What a shame:-(
One could also say, that the work of nursing is about addressing the needs of others - being able to cope with not being catered to for the sake of helping others. Sometimes that means figuring out how to meet your own needs rather than looking to someone else to meet them for you.
Try talking to your instructor because she may well surprise you. My husband is a college professor and will bend over backwards to help students who make an honest effort to learn, but unless students who have specific learning needs tell him what help they require to learn, he can't kick into high gear.
Don't ask her in the midst of a class, but make an appointment to talk or if your hours don't mesh, email her. Ask when would good for her and tell her if her office appointment times aren't good for you because... whatever. I know my husband has met students in the snack bar, empty classrooms, the library etc. and done extra work with them on weekend days, if that were the only possible time.
When you begin your actual nursing classes, it is a change from the prereqs. You will be expected to learn more independently than before. It has nothing to do with being more
grown up, it simply is.
I remember one kid he had as a student. His parents were friends and neighbors. He was the fourth and final child of two MDs. We'd known ___ since was a baby. The other three kids were honor students. ___ would participate in class and seemed to be doing his assignments and keeping up. He always skipped test days, but promptly emailed in any assignments. When my husband and his other professors tried to question him, he'd walk away. By October, he was failing out. My husband accidentally discovered about five years later that ___ could read almost nothing. His mom did his papers after ___ taped them. He (and his highly educated family) were to embarassed to admit that he simply couldn't read.
To this day, my husband feels horrible, because everyone let a student who might well have been helped through alternate methods slip through the cracks. Laws prevent informing parents that their students are failing out so that avenue was blocked.
Again, please speak to her and, at least, give her a chance.
. But from what I have noticed, anybody can go into this career without having the minimum interest in helping others. What a shame:-(
It sounds to me what you are really looking for is people to sympathize with you, not give you advice. If that's the case, I am sure anyone who has gone through school can sympathize with you: we have all struggled with difficult content and less-than-ideal professors for our learning style. We also have successfully made it through The entire program, so our advice might help you. If you don't want it, don't ask for it. Ask for sympathy.
While some faculty members object to having their lectures taped, very few do if it's to help a learning disabled student. His suggestion is to set your taping equipment (whatever type it is) to the instructor or place it close to her so the tape quality will be good.
His other idea was that some books are available to be played aloud on ereaders like some Kindle models, and you could listen to the Kindle while you read the hardcopy text.
dayanara
85 Posts
Thanks for your words llg. Actually even though I'm the only auditory in the class, some of my classmates have complained too. Not to the teacher of course, but we have talked to each other, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. The reason no one has the courage to tell her is because we are afraid she will develop something against one of us. Childish I know, but some people do not take criticism the right way.
I will do my best to find aural resources, so I can study more efficiently, but I still believe she can do better.
I imagine myself teaching the nursing process, and while being a first semester student, i think i would do a better job explaining it to someone else. She hasn't explained the ADPIE, she just went through the study guide and showed us examples of each. I know there's so much more to the nursing process than a couple of examples. That's exactly my point. Focus on the important stuff and leave your personal stories for when we have extra time to chat during class. But if I don't do good on my first test, I will definitely tell her. Thank you all! :-)