"Gestalt theory introduces the idea of regrouping and restructuring the whole problem, or idea to solve it or make sense of it" (What is Gestalt, n.d.)
I am a nursing instructor at a local ADN program where I teach senior level nursing students. In past semesters, students have reported being overwhelmed by the complexity of the congestive heart failure (CHF) content, which is reflected in low test scores. Although students may be able to recite facts about CHF medications and describe symptoms of poor cardiovascular health, they struggle to understand the interrelatedness of patient data and apply what they know to developing a plan of care. In en effort to improve student understanding of the entire picture of the patient with CHF , Gestalt principles were applied to the teaching strategy of concept mapping.
Prior to class, students were assigned readings and instructed to review powerpoints posted in Blackboard. At the beginning of the class time students were broken into small groups of 3 and were given a case study about a CHF patient, a large piece of paper, and a pad of sticky notes. Keeping to the Gestalt Principle of seeing the whole event (What is Gestalt, n.d.), an example concept map was shown to the class first then suggestions for formatting and creating a concept map were presented in an ordered fashion. 3 hours was allotted for groups to build the concept map with one hour for presenting the maps to the class.
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Prior to class, students were assigned readings and instructed to review powerpoints posted in Blackboard. At the beginning of the class time students were broken into small groups of 3 and were given a case study about a CHF patient, a large piece of paper, and a pad of sticky notes. Keeping to the Gestalt Principle of seeing the whole event (What is Gestalt, n.d.), an example concept map was shown to the class first then suggestions for formatting and creating a concept map were presented in an ordered fashion. 3 hours was allotted for groups to build the concept map with one hour for presenting the maps to the class.
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