Helping students to understand abstract concepts is challenging. My teaching with the School of Nursing includes facilitating students’ understanding of concepts that are philosophical and theoretical. Examples are globalization, ethics, postmodernism, and numerous theoretical bases for health-related research. Presenting concrete concepts, i.e., those that usually can be observed, pictured, touched, and often manipulated, is easier. We use a skeleton to teach about bone anatomy, or the human-like figures in our simulation lab to demonstrate nursing procedures. But talking about the philosophy or the world view known as postmodernism or the phenomenon of globalization is more difficult.
With experience, I have developed a technique of holding students’ attention to the matter at hand, and helping them to grasp the concept. To accomplish this, I first provide them with a written definition and a brief explanation. Then, through interactive questioning and provision of examples from daily life, I draw them into thinking first about how “real” the abstract concept is, and then what role it plays in their own daily lives.
Let’s take the notion of “theory” as an example. Students need to know what “theory” is. After briefly introducing a few scholarly definitions, we quickly turn to everyday life. I ask the students if anyone likes to cook; then I ask those who respond about what they like to make; finally, I inquire as to what ingredients and methods bring about the best tasting dish. By this time everyone is wide awake, hungry, and wondering where the dialogue is headed.
We then work together to articulate a particular student’s theory about how to make the best hummus or vegetable soup or chili. The ingredients are the “concepts” (or independent variables) and the taste is the outcome (or dependent variable). The example from everyday life feels comfortable and familiar. Sometimes we discuss several informal theories that guide us in everyday life, such as child rearing or proper maintenance of an automobile, before we turn our attention to more formal and scholarly definitions of theory. This teaching technique accesses students’ personal practical realities to introduce and begin to clarify difficult-to-understand abstract concepts. The familiarity and comfort that evolve from the student-teacher interaction prepare students to more effectively learn about the academic applications of the concept and its use in the student’s own discipline.
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