Using seminars as a teaching method in undergraduate nurse education

In nurse education, a variety of teaching styles are used, ranging from didactic lectures given to large numbers of people to teaching in small groups. Nurse educators are often challenged to find methods that engage students with enthusiasm to understand concepts (Aruna et al, 2014). Mills and Alexander (2013) identified that, in small group teaching, dialogue and collaboration between participants are fundamental to learning. Hughes and Quinn (2013) postulate that one way to achieve these is by encouraging students to participate in group discussions during their learning. This paper will examine the benefits of using seminars as a teaching method in undergraduate nurse education.

Students need to understand and learn. One way to achieve this is to use active teaching methods such as seminars. There are many benefits to using these in undergraduate nursing programmes. Quinn (2000) suggested that a key aim of seminars is to encourage students to develop a level of critical thinking skills. He argued that one way of achieving this is to encourage them to contribute actively to debate and dialogue. Spruijt et al (2013) maintained that seminars allow students to participate in discussions under the guidance of an expert, and thereby become active participants in their own learning. Worth (2013) states that seminars provide a variety of learning opportunities.