| Course | NUR 671 Teaching in Nursing and Health-Related Settings |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post and reply |
| Length | About 424 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | MS in Nursing |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 671 Module 1
Assumptions Discussion: Four Things I Believed About Teaching Before I Had to Teach Nurses
Telling Is Not Teaching: Four Assumptions About Learning a New Staff Educator Had to Unlearn
Initial Post
When I moved from bedside nursing into a staff educator role on our mother-baby unit, I assumed teaching would be the easy part. I knew the content. Looking back over my first year of orienting new hires, I can name four assumptions that shaped how I taught, and none held up well.
Assumption 1: Telling is teaching. My first orientation sessions were slide decks. Nurses nodded, signed the attendance sheet and then asked me the same questions on the unit a week later. Our course text treats learning as something the learner constructs, which means the educator's job is to arrange experiences, not only to deliver information (De Gagne & Oermann, 2025). I now plan sessions around practice and questions, with explanation in short pieces.
Assumption 2: Everyone has a learning style. I used to ask new hires whether they were visual or hands-on learners and adjust accordingly. A review of the evidence found almost no support for matching instruction to a preferred style, because studies rarely showed that learners taught in their style learned more (Pashler et al., 2008). What matters more is choosing a method that fits the content: a skill like hand expression needs hands-on practice for everyone.
Assumption 3: A signed checklist proves competence. Our skills checklists are signed after one observed attempt, often in a quiet room with a model. That shows a nurse can perform once under ideal conditions, not that she can teach a tired, anxious mother at 3 a.m. Competence needs evaluation in context, which I will take up in my portfolio.
Assumption 4: Adults always direct their own learning. Andragogy describes adults as self-directed and motivated by relevance (Knowles et al., 2015), and that is often true. But a new graduate in her first week may not know what she needs to learn. Self-direction grows with orientation; it is not there on day one. I now give more structure early and more choice later.
What ties these together is that each assumption made teaching easier for me, not learning easier for the nurses. Naming them is the first step in planning instruction around the learner.
Reply to a Classmate (On Simulation)
Jordan, you assumed that simulation always transfers to practice. I had the same belief until I watched a nurse who performed perfectly in our lab freeze with a real mother. Do you build any step where learners practice in the clinical setting itself before being signed off?
References
De Gagne, J. C., & Oermann, M. H. (Eds.). (2025). Teaching in nursing and role of the educator: The complete guide to best practice in teaching, evaluation, and curriculum development (4th ed.). Springer Publishing.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). Routledge.
Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
Reading the NUR 671 Module 1 assignment instructions
Module 1 of the posted syllabus, Centering on the Learner and Expected Learning Outcomes, runs over the first two weeks and lists the Assumptions Discussion among its assignments. One of the module's expected outcomes is to describe common assumptions about learning, teaching and education, and the board asks for exactly that. The syllabus sets general expectations for every board: post a message that adds to the discussion with relevant research, theory or examples, protect the privacy of anyone you describe, cite others' ideas in APA 7 and write replies that extend the group's understanding. Half the points go to the initial post and half to responses. Choose a few assumptions you have actually held or observed and examine each one rather than listing many.
Inside the NUR 671 Module 1 example
An admission sets the tone: the writer thought teaching would be the easy part of a new educator role. Four numbered assumptions follow, each in its own paragraph with the same pattern: the assumption, what happened when she acted on it, what a source or experience shows and what she now does instead. Sources support three of them: the course text on learning as construction, a review of learning styles research and a classic text on andragogy. The fourth rests on her own observation of how checklists are signed, which the syllabus allows without citation. A closing paragraph finds the common thread, that each assumption served the teacher rather than the learner. A brief reply to a classmate questions whether simulation always transfers.
Reading the NUR 671 Module 1 grading rubric
The syllabus splits each board's 5 points evenly between the initial post and responses to others. For the post, faculty look for content that addresses the prompt and draws on research, theory or specific examples, in professional language with APA citations. Posts that examine assumptions critically, rather than defining them, show the depth the module's outcome calls for. Evidence matters most where an assumption is popular, such as learning styles, because the research contradicts common practice. For responses, the syllabus is explicit: go beyond support to add examples, connections to theory or clarifications. Answering any question a classmate asks of your post also counts. Privacy protection and accurate attribution are part of the expectations.
NUR 671 Module 1 help from the desk
Weak posts tend to name assumptions without examining them, for instance "adults are self-directed" stated as fact. Test each one against a source or an experience. Another is choosing assumptions so broad they say nothing, such as "everyone learns differently"; pick ones that changed how you or someone else taught. Keep patient and colleague details anonymous, as the syllabus requires. If you describe the setting where you teach or hope to teach, the desk can help draft a post around assumptions you have seen there. Check that every idea from a reading carries a citation. Write replies that add something, an example or a question, so they earn their half of the points.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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NUR 671 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 671 Module 1 sample paper?
This page carries a full NUR 671 Assumptions Discussion sample with four assumptions about teaching, the evidence against each and a reply to a classmate.
What does the NUR 671 Assumptions Discussion ask?
It asks students to describe common assumptions about learning, teaching and education, as part of Module 1 on centering on the learner.
How are NUR 671 discussion boards graded?
Each of the three boards is worth 5 points, with half for the initial post and half for responses that extend classmates' thinking.
Are learning styles supported by evidence?
Pashler and colleagues found almost no well-designed studies showing that teaching to a learner's preferred style improves results.
What is andragogy?
Knowles's model of adult learning, which describes adults as self-directed, experienced and motivated by relevance and problem-centered learning.