Nursing approach to lifespan development
pregnancy focus on sings of pregnancy
Second about feeding focus on breast feeding.
Nursing approach to the lifespan
Learning Journal
For this assignment you are required to submit a Learning Journal of 1500 words (+/- 10%),
A Learning Journal is an important learning tool for you as a student. It will not only be a record of your
experience but also facilitate your learning. The process of constructing your journal will focus your learning,
clarify your thinking, develop your ability to think critically and improve your writing and presentation skills.
This is a creative piece of work where you have the opportunity to express your individual learning style.
You are required to consider two of the topics presented in class and document your analysis, synthesis and
evaluation of the topics.
You should present your work typed in A4 format, and any hand-drawn illustrations, such as mind maps, should be
scanned and pasted in with the text – then photocopy the page. This is an opportunity to develop your word
processing and presentation skills. Careful thought should be given to presentation and arrangement of the journal.
You should provide a brief introduction to the topics and then provide a conclusion describing your learning
process and what you have learned.
Choose ONE reflection method for each topic chosen (2 topics in total).The method you choose is to become the
talking pointand is not counted in the word count – it is a starting point from which you will develop your
reflective piece. For example: developing a mind map about a topic – this is the talking point from where you start
– why did you choose this method? How did it help you to learn about the topic? What did you learn about the topic?
What evidence did you find in the literature?
Use one method per topic:
Construct a concept or mind map of the topic.
Select one sentence from the reading that interests you and reflect on its meaning
Write a haiku poem on the topic, and reflect on why you have chosen those words to express your feelings
Identify and explore an area of confusion you have in the topic
Identify and explore how your prior knowledge has influenced the way in which you received the information
presented to you for this topic
Select an image (photo, picture, diagram) and discuss how it informs your understanding of this topic
I recommend that you submit the journal, run a report and then read through the whole similarity report, revise if
needed and then resubmit..
This assessment is as much about the topic as how you have chosen to learn about it – why did you choose that
method to learn about it? Remember to reflect on your own learning processes.In order to assist your development of
this work you may wish to consult further reading on the subjects of reflective journaling, reflective practice in
nursing and the use of portfolios in nursing.
Reference material
Moon, JA (2006)Learning Journals. Hoboken: Routledge.
Timmins, F (2008), Making Sense of Nursing Portfolios: A Guide for Students.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Savishinsky, JS (2007).Lighting the Match: Using Haiku to teach about Aging.
Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 27 (4) pp55-68.
Wilding, PM (2008) Reflective practice: a learning tool for student nurses. British
Journal of Nursing, Jun 12-25; 17 (11), 720-724.
Zubizarreta, J (2009)The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving
Student Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
