Browsing by Author "Rutherford, Gayle"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Exploring the practice of clinical nurse educators
    (2011) Christiansen, Tara; Rutherford, Gayle
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    Focusing elementary students with active classrooms: exploring teachers’ perceptions of self-initiated practices
    (IEJEE, 2017-10-01) Foran, Christine A; Mannion, Cynthia; Rutherford, Gayle
    The aim of our study was to explore the perceptions of elementary teachers who routinely prioritized physical activity in their classrooms. Researchers are reporting improved student academic test results following physical activity sessions, however, classroom teachers are challenged in balancing curricular and other expectations. Hence, teachers who voluntarily implement physical activity have views that are unique and important for promoting the practice to others. We interviewed seven teachers from grades 1-6, using the qualitative constructivist approach to grounded theory qualitative research. Teachers valued physical activity because it enhanced their students’ focus on classroom activities. Common attributes amongst the teachers were active lifestyles, previous employment experiences using physical activity, and a pedagogical approach prioritizing physical activity throughout the day. Additionally, the teachers perceived that belonging to schools with a culture of movement was important. Teachers view physical activity as a teaching asset when they perceive a positive impact on their students’ ability to focus. Specific teacher attributes and a school environment that embraces physical activity may predispose teachers to these views, and represent areas that should be further explored. Pre-service courses could be one way to provide teachers with experience and a repertoire of easy physical activities.
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    Fostering Deeper Learning through Promoting Reflective Practice and Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Students
    (2015-05-12) Shajani, Zahra; Rutherford, Gayle; Rosenau, Patricia; O'Rae, Amanda
    In this interactive presentation we will engage the audience in discussion of their experiences related to development of reflective practice and critical thinking with their students. In 2010, the Faculty of Nursing implemented a revised undergraduate curriculum that integrated theory and practice in a non-traditional manner, based on a premise that students improve their reflective practice and critical thinking when they explore their learning experiences in facilitated practice-related discussions. The concepts of reflective practice and critical thinking can be ambiguous and may cause educators to feel overwhelmed and thus reluctant to focus on developing these skills with students. Yet, for effective nursing practice, nursing education needs to prepare nurses to address the complexity of the health of the population (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard and Day 2010) including the ability to engage in both reflective practice and critical thinking. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we studied the instructors’ understanding of the meaning of reflective practice and critical thinking and the teaching strategies they used to promote the development of these attributes in their students at both the University of Calgary and at Medicine Hat College. We will present the preliminary findings of this study as a basis for the interactive discussion. The intended learning outcomes of the interactive session are for the audience to consider the meaning of critical thinking and reflective practice along with strategies for fostering these attributes in students and discuss how these thoughts resonate with their own definitions and teaching practice.
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    Health Promotion Through Physical Activity in the Classroom: Exploring Teachers' Perceptions
    (2015-12-22) Foran, Christine; Rutherford, Gayle; Mannion, Cynthia; McCaffrey, Graham
    Children are becoming increasingly sedentary, contributing to increased childhood obesity and negative health outcomes. Schools are ideal environments to target increasing physical activity (PA), because it is important for students’ developing brains and improving their learning. Some teachers routinely incorporate PA into their classrooms, despite challenges meeting curriculum requirements. Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, I interviewed seven teachers to understand their perceptions of the factors and processes instigating and sustaining their use of classroom PA. Teachers used PA because their students demonstrated enhanced focus in classroom activities following PA. Four factors influenced teachers to prioritize PA: 1) culture of movement, 2) comfort with activity, 3) personal responsibility for student learning, and 4) teaching philosophy. These teachers approached PA as an integral and positive influence on their students’ learning. School nurses can facilitate the knowledge translation of peer experiences, empowering other teachers to adopt similar strategies.
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    Nursing Professionalism: The View from the Starting Line
    (2015-09-09) Stewart, Robyn; Rutherford, Gayle
    Professionalism in nursing is about nurses striving to understand what is expected of them as members of a regulated and licensed profession; and moreover, what their work then looks, feels, and sounds like to themselves, and to those they encounter while in practice. A focused ethnography was conducted over a four month period, with the purpose of discovering how nursing students understood and then defined, nursing professionalism. Eight key informants shared their knowledge of professionalism through one to one interviews, shadow observations, and one focus group discussion. Data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously, examining for emerging patterns, descriptions, and relationships that held meaning to these student nurses. The study findings suggest that the experience of professionalism for these informants can be thematically expressed as relationship based: relationships with self, with patients and families, with colleagues, and with the public.
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    Stories of hope: conversations with aboriginal women who have experienced incarceration
    (2012-07-19) Radtke, Janis Leigh; Rutherford, Gayle
    The purpose of this research study was to explore the meaning of hope for Aboriginal women who have experienced incarceration and to offer an opportunity for their voices to emerge. Conversations with six Aboriginal women provided descriptions of how hope influenced their lives before, during, and after incarceration. van Manen’s (1990) phenomenological research design guided this study together with a feminist perspective. The colonization and assimilation of First Nations people by Canada’s early settlers changed the fabric of their lives and created an inherent burden that is distressingly evident to this day. Aboriginal women, once respected and valued, struggle daily to meet the demands of a society that has oppressed them for decades. Yet, somehow, these brave women have found the strength, resilience, and survival skills to meet another day. This thesis presents their stories and discusses the underlying themes as well as the implications for nursing and future research.
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    Stories of hope: conversations with aboriginal women who have experienced incarceration
    (2012) Radtke, Janis Leigh; Rutherford, Gayle
    The purpose of this research study was to explore the meaning of hope for Aboriginal women who have experienced incarceration and to offer an opportunity for their voices to emerge. Conversations with six Aboriginal women provided descriptions of how hope influenced their lives before, during, and after incarceration. van Manen's (1990) phenomenological research design guided this study together with a feminist perspective. The colonization and assimilation of First Nations people by Canada's early settlers changed the fabric of their lives and created an inherent burden that is distressingly evident to this day. Aboriginal women, once respected and valued, struggle daily to meet the demands of a society that has oppressed them for decades. Yet, somehow, these brave women have found the strength, resilience, and survival skills to meet another day. This thesis presents their stories and discusses the underlying themes as well as the implications for nursing and future research.
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    Transforming Ways of Knowing about Interprofessional Education: A Single Exploratory Case Study with Nursing Educators
    (2013-04-12) George, Marian; Rutherford, Gayle
    Teaching and learning in nursing are changing in response to increased complexity and societal issues in client care (CASN, 2010; Institute of Medicine, 2000). A call for innovation in nursing education is imminent and interprofessional education (IPE) may be the innovative teaching process needed to address a change in nursing education. Change is difficult in a traditional and bounded profession, such as nursing education. The purpose of this single exploratory case study was to explore how 15 nurse educators teaching in undergraduate nursing programs in Alberta, Canada understood and used IPE within nursing education. The intent was to identify the perspectives and meanings of IPE as seen through the knowledge lens of nurse educators, using the theoretical framework of social constructivism, underpinned by adult learning theory. Data collected from semi-structured interviews, field notes, and document review allowed interpretation of how the ways of knowing in nursing education guided the nurse educators to understand and use IPE. Transformative learning theory gave clarity to the meaning of the dissonance experienced by the nurse educators. The nurse educators’ exploration of ways of knowing evolved into new ways of knowing about IPE in nursing education. The findings gleaned from this exploratory case study may assist with ongoing development of healthcare policy and education programs.