Integrating technology and traditional teaching methods to stimulate different cognitive styles in a critical care...

This article describes a method of instruction designed to stimulate many different cognitive styles in an RN critical care course. The class met on Friday evenings after many of the participants had just completed their workweek. Developing a stimulating classroom experience was imperative to counter the effects of fatigue felt by many of the nurses. A combination of technology and traditional teaching methods was used to facilitate as many different cognitive styles as possible in a single class period. The PowerPoint computer program was used to provide vivid visual representation of the class content as it was presented through a combination of lecture, concept mapping, and case study.