Innovating nursing education: interrelating narrative, conceptual learning, reflection, and complexity science

Abstract

This paper addresses innovations in nursing education that build on ideas from various educational theorists as well as principles of conceptual and narrative pedagogy. Authors inter-relate principles and theory from complexity science within a planned and actual nursing program to demonstrate how narrative, conceptual learning, reflection, and complexity science can come to life in nursing education. Specific processes informing the new nursing pedagogy are described: emergence with diversity, recursion/patterning, and transformative insights. Examples from a planned undergraduate curriculum and a graduate qualitative research course are provided. The complexity-inspired curriculum supports a teaching-learning environment that is student-centred, critical, generative, and inclusive.