Taking a Close Look at Distributed Learning
Assistant Professor Dr. Don Leidl has received funding to evaluate the use of our distributed learning infrastructure.
So, just how do you teach nursing to students living in northern or rural parts of Saskatchewan? This is a question we are asked all the time in the College of Nursing, as our Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students can complete their entire program at not just campuses in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert, but also at distributed sites in La Ronge, Ile-a-la-Crosse and Yorkton. Our answer? Through the use of distributed learning technology. Think videoconferencing and robotics, yes, robotics or Remote Presence Technology.
A significant investment has been made in the infrastructure needed to deliver our distributed undergraduate nursing program throughout Saskatchewan. Since we started offering the BSN program in northern Saskatchewan in 2012 and in Yorkton in 2014, we’ve had a number of students successfully complete the program and pass their licensing exam, which would suggest the distributed learning model is working, but is it? Assistant Professor Dr. Don Leidl, who has taught in the nursing program from a distance, knows first-hand the benefits and shortcomings of the infrastructure and is taking a reflective look back to now evaluate the quality of student learning that takes place in the distributed learning program.
“We know the infrastructure is working, as the students are completing the program and ultimately going on to become Registered Nurses in their communities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve what we’re doing,” said Leidl. “This project will provide the information and options necessary for continuous improvement of teaching and learning to occur in the College of Nursing. At the same time that I am working on this project, the College of Nursing is undertaking a curriculum review, so it’s a great time to embark on this research.”
Assistant Professor Leidl has received funding from the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Innovation Fund, to work on this project over the next two years. “The results from this research will extend beyond the College of Nursing,” said Dr. Leidl. “As a distributed learning strategy is further developed at the University of Saskatchewan, the results of this research will be informative for larger quality enhancement initiatives - a feature expected to have prominence in the upcoming University Plan and teaching and learning guiding documents.”