Essay - Chapter One Introduction During the Last Thirty Years, There Has...

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

***** the last thirty years, there has been a growing recognition of the ch*****nging educational needs of college students, particularly those attending community colleges. In response to this awareness, reform efforts have been implemented in order to meet ***** needs ***** *****. As reform ***** have been considered, ********** attention ***** ***** directed toward assessing the influence of learning styles on academic performance. The term '***** styles' has been used to refer ***** the ways in which individuals display preferences in receiving, processing and presenting informati***** and ideas when engaged in learn*****g activities. In ongoing efforts to further establish the knowledge base on learning styles, evidence suggests that a number of f*****c*****rs have been identified as influencing learning styles. Some ***** suggested that the individual's personality, life experiences and the purposes associated with specific learning situations strongly determines one's learning style (e.g., Briggs-Myers, 1989; Kolb, 1984). Others have indicated ***** learning ***** are primarily associated ***** the learning environment, including expectations of teachers (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997). Further documentation has suggested that regardless of the factors that influence learning *****, mismatches that exist between the ***** environment ***** ***** student's learning style operate to impact academic performance, student achievement and ultimately, attrition (UWA, 1996; Felder, 1996).

Overall, evidence has suggested that one of the more promising means for determining effective teaching is research ***** which pays attention to the importance ***** learning styles (McCarthy, 1996). There has been a growing interest in ex*****mining the influence of and factors ***** with learning ***** of students enrolled in college programs in the health sciences, medic*****e and nursing (e.g., Blagg, 1985; Rahr, Schmalz, Blessing & Allen, 1991; Vittetoe, 1983; Sutcliffe, 1993; Cross & Tillson, 1997; Highfield, 1988; West, 1982; Fox, 1984; Piane, Rydman, & Rubens, *****; Haislett, Hughes, Atkinson, & Williams, 1993; Lynch, Woelfl, Steele, ***** Hanssen, 1998; Joyce-Nagata, 1996; Rakoczy, & Money, 1995; Cavanagh, Hogan, & Ramgopal, ***** Jambunathan, 1995). ***** the field of ***** represents a sector in ***** there is a critical shortage and imbalance between the needs of society for professionals to fill nursing roles and educated persons available to fill that role, it appears important for ***** educators to continue with efforts to ***** fully underst***** ***** learning needs of nursing students in order to attract and reta***** students ***** the field. During the last two decades, ***** has been a continuing decline in the choice of ***** ********** a career. Without efforts to reverse this trend, ***** Registered Nurse (RN) workforce will continue to age, decrease and eventually, will not meet the projected long-term workforce requirements (Buerhaus, Staiger & Auerbach, 2000). In order ***** fur*****r help meet the nursing supply problem, it remains critical to further understand and implement teaching ***** learning strategies ***** will aid in further building the ***** workforce.

The proposed study will use the ***** LSI to ***** examine ***** learning styles of nursing ***** in a baccalaureate and associate degree program. A comparison ***** be conducted of ***** scores