Using Koolb's Experiential Learning Theory In Nursing Education

Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory in Nursing Education

Introduction

In the 21st century, growing health care needs, development in medical technology, patient safety issues and emerging new diseases are currently areas of concern among healthcare systems worldwide. Taking into consideration these, along with the shortages of nursing personnel, have led to significant shifts into more complex nursing role. As a consequence, nurses are constantly required, by means of academic education, to equip themselves with critical thinking skills in order to deliver high-quality nursing care and achieve better patient outcomes (Scheckel, 2009). Therefore, nursing educational institutions are challenged to prepare and produce high educated nurses to meet those demands. Moreover, nursing students are expected to be able and ready to apply the lesson learned from their education into practice in various clinical settings after graduating.

The Learning Process in Nursing Education

The learning process is closely associated with experience and often referred as experiential learning. This approach has been widely accepted and developed in various fields of study. Among the models developed in this regard, the one proposed by Kolb in 1984, has been used extensively in nursing education. This is also known as Kolb’s experiential

He explains this process with two dimensions. Firstly, the experience is interpreted using two approaches, namely comprehension and apprehension. The former is used for understanding concepts and symbols, whereas the latter is for discerning the actual experience. Secondly, experience is transformed by generating internal reflection which called ‘intention’ and by controlling external environment or ‘extension’. These interpretation and transformation processes are constant and illustrated with a cycle which comprises four