Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
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First year Nursing students access and use of biological
sciences e-learning materials
Audrey Adams, Paul Costello, Gabrielle McKee & † Michael Porter
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, 24 D’Olier
Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
†
Division of Biomedical Science, University of Bradford, Bradford,
BD7 1DP, UK
Introduction
Mature students have always made up a significant proportion of
students entering nursing courses. The students study biology on
the B.Sc degree course over four years. Most of the biology is
studied in years one and two, with less in years three and four.
Biology lecturers on the nursing degree course attempted to meet
the learning needs of these students by developing a self-directed
e-learning component. The online material supplements year one
and also provides a foundation for study in year two. The aim of the
course is to establish or revise basic scientific knowledge to ensure
the students have an equal foundation level of knowledge before
commencing on the formal course.
The course title is “Introduction to the Life Sciences”. The
course is not graded, there are no formal teaching sessions or time
limits, but it is recommended that the students complete the
relevant section before the associated class lectures and tutorials.
The students can access the course outside the college using their
student login and password.
Structure of the course
The course is multi-author. As would happen in the classroom,
different teachers have adopted different styles of presenting their
material. The learning material is hosted on webCT, an online virtual
learning environment. The content is divided into the “cell as a unit
of life” and “the multicellular organism”. The cell biology section
covers the chemical organisation of the cell, the cell membrane, and
basic energy processes in the cell. The multicellular organism
section illustrates how the cells of the body are grouped into tissues
and organs. This organisation produces the systems of the body :
respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, urinary, reproductive,
nervous, immune, blood, reproductive. The course material contains
text, images, rollover buttons, animations, quizzes, and links to
relevant Internet sites.
Each subject area is divided into learning objectives, the content
itself, and a self assessment quiz at the end. The quiz format
includes multiple choice questions and fill in the blanks. The self
assessment MCQ quizzes follow the same format as the end of year
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