Learner contracts in nurse education: interaction within the practice context

Learner needs in clinical practice can be identified by working within a framework where the focus is around learner strengths and learner weaknesses. By using their academic and experiential expertise, faculty can identify, for learners, individual strengths and weaknesses within the practice context. Once identified, the learner and faculty can work together to meet the learner's individualized learning needs. The learner and the faculty can interact so as to create a meaningful and effective teaching-learning partnership. This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of nursing practice learner contracts (NPLC's) in a diploma nursing program and discusses how the contracts used learner strengths and weaknesses to mobilize learner needs.