A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Nursing and midwifery
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nursing and midwifery curriculum. Service users could take a greater lead in the
design and direction of future online discussions. In addition, the anonymity and
distance afforded by the online nature of interactions revealed a therapeutic
potential for service users that could be further explored.
(Alan Simpson, Lisa Reynolds, Ian Light and Julie Attenborough,
St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, City University London)
Flexible approaches to learning
As noted earlier, flexible approaches to learning such as e-learning and work-based
learning are increasingly sought by students across a range of programmes so that they
may more often study when and wherever they find convenient. This does not obviate
the need for traditional face-to-face encounters during which contact with new people can
forge new links and new ways of seeing things. Instead it means that programme
developers need to think more critically about making the best possible use of more
limited face-to-face course elements and what will work equally well (or even better) via
online or downloaded workbooks, web links to additional materials, discussion boards
and individual support via e-mail or telephone. Some tutors will need to learn new skills
and it will be necessary to provide guidelines for reasonable expectations – when students
can access learning materials and assessment tasks or guidelines at any time on any day,
they sometimes forget that tutors cannot reasonably be expected to answer queries
immediately at any time on any day! Nevertheless flexible learning will only work well
if technical and academic support is available without undue delay and not always
confined to traditional office hours.
Pre-registration students can find e-learning resources particularly helpful when they
are on placement and cannot visit the university campus so easily. Web-based discussion
boards help them to maintain contact with their peers and the learning of the group may
be enhanced if tutors encourage students to share experiences of their varied practice
placements. Web resources also help students to follow up learning needs that arise in the
course of their placements. They will also want a means of contacting tutors to ask
questions or seek advice in relation to issues that arise during placements.
Flexible work-based learning has increased in popularity with students undertaking
continuing professional development. Learners and their managers value the opportunity
for study and assessment that focuses on a project to enhance practice within their
workplace with timing that suits individuals and practice.
Large and heterogeneous student cohorts
In addition to providing a wide ranger of smaller CPD programmes, some schools of
nursing and midwifery have very large student cohorts on their main programmes,
perhaps admitting over 200 pre-registration students per year, each requiring large and