Teaching is at the heart of everything Dr. Fernanda dos Santos does. In a recent episode of the Office of Research Services’ Research Recast(ed) podcast, she discusses her research into innovative approaches to learning and professional development for instructors.
The assistant professor of Professional Nursing and Allied Health developed a love for helping people learn well before she was doing any research into the topic. During her nursing undergraduate studies in Brazil, she was part of a group of students helping parents of preterm babies learn self-care techniques to ensure they were present for their families.
“It was the first time that I had the opportunity to teach something,” says Dr. dos Santos. “That was the moment I realized that, through education, I could make a difference.”
She has been a MacEwan faculty member since July, but worked in the university’s Centre for Teaching and Learning for three years prior to that. In both positions, she researches ways to present information in ways that help students retain it.
Last year, Dr. dos Santos worked with Kealey Dube in social work and Dr. Natalia Rohatyn-Martin in the Department of Human Services and Early Learning to help a student who was struggling with their practicum, developing three scenarios to run with the student to make them feel better prepared for their on-site work.
“We focused on communication – how to communicate with a client, how to communicate with your supervisor, how to deal with difficult conversations,” explains Dr. dos Santos. “I asked about the student last month and the instructor told me that he did awesome in the practicum. So we could see how it really supported the student.”
While she’s currently working to publish those findings, she’s also looking at ways to implement the scenarios more broadly to help other students build confidence ahead of their practicum placements.
Dr. dos Santos adds that people often assume innovative teaching requires inventive new tech and programs, but it’s really about getting students to use their existing knowledge in different ways.
“Creating innovative ways of teaching and learning would be giving students opportunities for critical thinking, decision making, implementing some strategies, some activities in a hospital, in a community centre, in any place that will help them to apply their knowledge,” she explains.
That application doesn’t always require a new setting. In a content-heavy human anatomy class, for example, Dr. dos Santos provided a way for her students to understand the tangible, physical workings of their nervous system right in their nursing classroom. Students took time to relax through meditation or listening to calming music, and then noted the ways that their bodies reacted at that state of rest as opposed to when they were scared or agitated.
In their feedback, students reported that it was helpful to see the symptoms in their own bodies so they could know what to look for in patients.
But implementing those different approaches isn’t always easy. Dr. dos Santos’ time with the Centre for Teaching and Learning has helped her contribute to some of the offerings here on campus, and to share them with a wider audience.
“MacEwan has a very good support system for faculty who want to implement something in their teaching,” says Dr. dos Santos. “I found awesome support with many different people across MacEwan, and so don't ever think you are alone. There are many people that can help you.”