Learning Strategy
All activities within the college are framed within a social participatory model of learning that reflects emerging descriptions of Communities of Practice (CoP). The educational experiences facilitated by membership of the virtual college relate to practice development building on the practice expertise of individual members and collective knowledge.
CoP practitioner members journey together through a transformational learning experience that focuses on pooling and creation of knowledge to solve practice based problems directly relevant to the agreed purpose of each CoP. The purpose will normally be associated with the development, update, or implementation of a BPS or an evidence based protocol approved by NHSQIS. The learning experience is designed to support the practitioner through the following stages:
- Empowerment-building confidence, gaining status and positive identity
- Values reconciliation-reflecting on current practice and beliefs about practice
- Energising and motivating- prioritisation, setting learning for practice development goals
- Promoting ownership-developing competencies to use or create evidence based guidance
- Developing-practitioner learning, localising practice development and leading change
- Demonstration-engaging with demonstration sites, evaluating progress and demonstrating local implementation of evidence based change in own practice / practice area
The experience maybe depicted as an on going practice development journey, in which achievement can include accredited CPD outcomes as well as those benefits seen in terms of care outcomes.
The principal mode of learning support is through e.learning activities. There is an explicit minimum participation requirement for college members to take part in scheduled on line activities. Emphasis is placed on maximising situated learning within the practitioner’s own place of work and through engagement with demonstration sites where evidence based practice is fast tracked.