Abilities Based Learning: Highlights from Alverno & Recent Literature

As Janice Thompson describes in her overview, the UNB Faculty of Nursing has been engaged in thoughtful discussions about renewal in nursing education. A primary aim of the exercise has been to increase accountability to various stakeholder groups including our students. The focus of this short article is to provide examples which address an "abilities-based outcomes" approach in assessment and learning and to highlight recent nursing literature which addresses ability-based learning. In June 2006 a contingent of educators from UNB, including two nursing instructors, attended a weeklong workshop at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The initiative was spearheaded by faculty seeking to strengthen teaching and learning at UNB while introducing the value of outcomes at the levels of curriculum, teaching and assessment. Alverno College is a small liberal-arts college for women, which offers numerous undergraduate degree programs including nursing. They have been offering and refining their ability-based learning programs since the early 1970's. Their work has been published and they regularly offer higher education workshops and education sessions which attract international audiences.