Contemporary Pedagogy: The Layered Learning Approach for Supporting Innovative Technology

Abstract

Nursing and other health science educators are becoming increasingly interested in the use of educational games, particularly those leveraging multimedia technology such as mobile media platforms. Students enjoy games and often become the driving force for the inclusion of game-based learning within the curriculum (Snider, 2003; Thuma, 2012; Wecker, 2012). Games provide both an evaluative and summative experience for teachers and students through immediate and just-in-time feedback (Bauman 2012). Games evaluate the player as a learner; success is evaluated through performance (Squire, 2006). While multimedia game-based learning approaches are appealing to students and are becoming a sought after tool for educators, understanding the theoretical constructs for their integration within the curriculum can be a daunting task.

This workshop will provide an overview of contemporary game-based learning theory using the layered learning model (Bauman & Ralston-Berg, 2014). This model allows for flexibility in education design to best reach the differing learning styles and abilities of the participants. Increasing in cognitive difficulty, the layers provide a foundation of basic information as it relates to game-based learning, then move on to problem solving and culminate with critical thinking and application to the real-world. The workshop faculty will facilitate an interactive game development exercise using a narrative storyboarding technique. The exercise will allow participants to explore facets of technology integration that address important variables such as solving challenges found within the curriculum, critical clinical thinking, and the paradigm of innovation and curricular fit (Bauman & Ralston-Berg, 2014, Ralston-Berg & Lara, 2012).