Assignment 4: Experience and learning by Molly Burns and Abigail Saunders; Post: Thursday; Comment: Sunday

Experience and Learning  by Molly Burns and Abigail Saunders Week 4 Project

MBurns ASaunders Week 4 Project EDAC 634

Names: Molly Burns and Abigail Saunders

Molly’s Roles: Title, goal, learning objectives, rationale 

Abigail’s Roles: Title, goal, design

Project Title: Preparing to become a Registered Dietitian through Experiential Learning

Goal: The goal of this project is to help dietetic students become more confident when working with patients in order to be successful registered dietitians.

Learning Objectives: 

In this course, there will be 4 modules that reflect Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. The overall course objectives are to teach the dietetic students how to:

1. Read and interpret a case study about a patient that will need nutrition intervention due to a nutrition-related health issue.
2. Make decisions about the patient’s nutrient needs, nutrition diagnosis, and possible nutrition interventions and share ideas with other students.
3. Understand the correct course of action for the patient from the case study using the Nutrition Care Process and scientific evidence with assistance from the Registered Dietitian.
4. Students will be able to apply the information they have learned from completing a case study to an actual patient in the future.

Rationales: 

• For our project, we focused on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle which emphasizes the role that experience plays in the learning cycle. As Dietitians are responsible for the nutritional well-being of patients and clients, having ample experience prior to becoming professionals is crucial. 
• The four stages of experiential learning will frame our project by including the following main ideas:
• 1. Concrete Experience - the learners should be open and willing to try new experiences. The students will read and complete a case study.
• 2. Reflective Observation - the learners will observe the experience and reflect on it. The students will share their findings with the group and write a short report on what was challenging and what they think is best for the patient.
• 3. Abstract Conceptualization - the learners will form new ideas or modify the new theory based on reflection. The students will compare their findings with the findings from the registered dietitian. 
• 4. Active Experimentation - the learners will apply what they have learned and their ideas into practice. The students will be able to use the same process to complete a case study on an actual patient.
• How the main ideas will be used within the project design
• 1. Concrete Experience - the students will learn about heart failure and be given a case study for a patient who is an 85 year old male with heart failure.The students will complete the case study by answering specific questions about the health status of the patient who is suffering from a nutrition-related health issue.
• 2. Reflective observation - The students will share their ideas and conclusions with the group. After sharing their findings and asking questions on the patient, the students will reflect on what they have learned from others and write a short report on what they think is the best course of action for the patient for nutrition. In the report, the students will also reflect and write about what was most challenging for them when reading and completing the case study.
• 3. Abstract conceptualization - The students will learn about the best next steps that need to be taken for this patient by hearing from the dietitian. The students will also discuss the most appropriate nutrition diagnosis, interventions, and nutrient needs for the patient based on scientific evidence. After hearing from the registered dietitian and comparing their findings with the dietitian, the students can modify their nutrition plans for the patient.
• 4. Active experimentation - The students will work alongside a registered dietitian to determine the appropriate nutrition diagnosis, intervention, and other nutrition information for a patient the registered dietitian is currently working with. The students are able to use what they have learned from the process of completing a case study and follow the same steps to determine the best care for an actual patient.

 

                                                                     Design

Modules	Content	Activity	Rationale
Module 1  Concrete  Experience	A registered dietitian will read the case study to the dietetic students. The case study will be about an 85 year old male with heart failure. Students will also learn about heart failure	Dietetic students will start by completing a case study. This case study will be a patient who has a common nutrition-related issue, heart failure, that dietetic students will have to treat in their career.	Stage 1 of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is concrete experience. Students will learn best by implementing the knowledge they have into a real-life example.
Module 2  Reflective Observation	Students will be given time to share their case study findings with their peers. They will be able to ask questions and give feedback.	Students will share their findings, diagnosis, and intervention with classmates. Students will be able to ask each other questions and give feedback. Students will take time to write a short report on what their final thoughts on the case study are and also what parts of the case study were most challenging for them.	Stage 2 of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is reflective observation. Students are able to reflect on the work they have completed and ask questions. In this stage, students will take a step back from the case study they have been working on and receive feedback.
Module 3 Abstract  Conceptualization	A Registered Dietitian (RD) will go over the case study with students. The RD will show where to find evidenced based guidelines for treating patients and give appropriate nutrition diagnosis’ and interventions for the case study.	Students will go over the case study with a Registered Dietitian (RD) who will guide them through the Nutrition Care Process for the specific patient. The RD will give appropriate nutrition diagnosis’ and interventions for the case study using scientific evidence to support. Students will reflect on the case study they completed and be given the opportunity to gain knowledge on how to best treat the patient.	Stage 3 of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is abstract conceptualization. Students are guided by a RD at this stage in order to accurately process and interpret the case study they have been working on. The RD will use scientific evidence to explain the steps that should be taken in order to care for this patient. Students are able to compare the diagnosis’ and interventions they created with the appropriate ones given by the RD.
Module 4 Active Experimentation	Students will be presented with a real-life patient the RD is currently working with in order to put information learned through this project into practice.	Students will be presented with a patient the RD is working with currently. Students will use the knowledge learned from the previous case study to plan what information is needed from the Nutrition Care Process in order to determine appropriate nutrition diagnosis and interventions for an actual patient.	Stage 4 of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is active experimentation. At this stage, students are able to put what has been learned through the previous case study into practice. They are able to learn from previous mistakes made in order to care for a real-life patient. Students are able to plan the information they need to gather in order to make an appropriate  diagnosis and create interventions for the specific patient. This will closely resemble the work the students will do in their career as RDs.

Multimedia: Example Case Study 

Case Study: 

References:

Kolb’s learning cycle. RSS. (n.d.). https://www.structural-learning.com/post/kolbs-learning-cycle 

YouTube. (2017, January 23). Teaching tips | experiential learning model. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDchcHORheM