Nursing education is changing. What worked ten years ago—mainly lectures and memorization—does not always prepare students for the realities of modern healthcare. Today’s nursing students need more than theory. They need to build clinical reasoning, decision-making skills and the ability to think on their feet. That is where active learning and strong assessment strategies come in.

The course NURS FPX 6105: Teaching and Active Learning Strategies is all about how educators can utilize interactive methods to help nursing students apply what they learn along the way. Instead of delivering lectures just for memorization, the goal is to help students apply their knowledge in real clinical situations.

In this sample, we will explore proven assessment strategies used in nursing education and explain how active learning can be built into everyday teaching. You will also learn how to design a course that combines both, ensuring students are engaged, supported, and ready for the challenges of clinical practice.

What This Sample Covers

This sample walks through practical teaching and assessment strategies that nurse educators can use in the classroom or clinical setting. The goal is to show how to move beyond lectures and help students build real clinical skills.

To keep it grounded, we’ll use a teaching example focused on early signs of sepsis — a topic covered in many adult health nursing rotations. The strategies discussed here will help you understand how an instructor might help students notice the changes in patient condition through different teaching and learning approaches. 

Assessment Strategies in Nursing Education

In nursing, assessment is more than just a grade. It’s how we figure out whether a student can think, respond, and act like a nurse in real situations. In our case scenario — teaching BSN students about early signs of sepsis — the educator needs to know if her students can notice red flags and explain their decisions. That kind of learning needs a mix of assessment tools, used throughout the course.

Formative Assessment

The instructor starts with a quick case. Students list signs they will then watch for in a septic patient. It’s not graded. Just a check to see what they know and where they need support.

Summative Assessment

At the end of the topic, students go through a full scenario. They explain their thinking and plan of care. The result is then graded and shows their level of understanding of the material.

Authentic Assessment

Students do tasks that feel real. One example, write a short shift report or respond to abnormal labs. This is based on actual clinical thinking, not just recall. 

Peer and Self-Assessment

In this type of assessment, students work in a group. Each student reflects on their role and gives feedback to others based on their thinking and role. By doing so, it builds awareness and helps them learn from one another.

OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam)

The instructor sets up skill stations. Students rotate through, spotting symptoms or deciding on next steps. Each action is observed and scored.

Portfolio Assessment

Each student keeps a folder with notes, reflections and case responses. It shows progress across the rotation, not just performance on one day.

Using a mix of these strategies helps educators understand where each student stands, what they’ve learned, how they think, and how they’re likely to apply it in a real setting.. And more importantly, students get more chances to reflect, adjust, and grow before they face these decisions in real clinical settings.

Active Learning Strategies in Practice

Students go through a short video or reading before class. In class, they work in small groups on a patient case. Vitals are changing. They talk through what’s happening and decide what steps they would take.

Next, they review lab results and notes from another case. They note the signs they may have missed. The point is to think through the situation, not just recall facts. The instructor asks questions during class. Not as a formal quiz, but just to check who’s following and who is not. 

Some sessions use a basic simulator. Students respond to changes on the screen and get feedback right after. At the end, students write what made sense and what didn’t. It’s a quick way to reflect and stay aware of their progress.

Blended Learning and Tech Tools

The course uses a mix of online and classroom teaching. Before class, students might get a video or a short reading. This is helpful for students to come up with a basic idea of the topic. 

In class, the instructor focuses on activities. Sometimes it’s a case discussion. Other times, a short quiz or group task. Outside of class, students might do a quick assignment online or respond to a post in a discussion space.

For clinical content, they also use simple digital tools. That could be a patient simulator on a screen or a recorded skills demo. It gives students a way to practice without needing a live setting. This approach shows more flexibility, it helps students learn in a way that best fit their learning style. 

Constructive Alignment

The goal here is to keep everything pointing in the same direction. if you’re teaching something, the activity and the way you check it should match. if they don’t, the students end up confused or just memorising random stuff

If you want them to catch early signs of sepsis, you should probably give them a case to work on instead of reading a slide. And if you’re testing them later, don’t give a written quiz. Make them talk through it or do it in a small station setup. The task has to match the outcome

This is not about making it perfect. It’s just about not sending mixed signals. if the lesson, the task, and the goal are all aligned, they learn better and don’t waste time guessing what the teacher wants

Self-Regulated Learning

A teacher cannot always be next to their students; they need to be independent sometimes, to learn things on their own, and not always to sit and wait for instructions. 

In this course, the instructor gives small moments for that. After an activity, students might write a short note about what clicked and what didn’t. This is not for grading purposes. just reflection. Some use a checklist to track their own progress. Others talk it out with a peer and give feedback;

This is not something formal, but it works. They start noticing how they think, where they get stuck, and what they need to review. That’s what helps long-term. not just passing a test, but knowing how to improve without being told every step

Conclusion

Overall, the goal is not to teach more chapters or deliver more to students. It is to teach in a way that turns out tangible results in practical scenarios. When students are active and the assessments actually match the learning, they get more out of it. They don’t just remember things for a test. Instead, they think like a real nurse who practices in a clinical scenario. 

This course shows how to keep things simple but focused. The main focus is that you’re not only building knowledge, but you’re preparing real nurses for later. So, small changes in how you teach or check progress can make a big difference.

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