Poetry as an engagement strategy: A novice teacher experience of its use within lectures

Abstract

It has been acknowledged the traditional lecture format is a familiar teaching methodology and that there is still much to be learnt from using this in class room based lectures. Whilst the first author was a postgraduate student undertaking a programme in Nurse Education at a University in the Republic of Ireland, poetry was used to challenge undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards older persons in a large group format. The students were in Year 3 of a Bachelor of Nursing Science General and Intellectual Disability Programmes. Feedback was obtained from the students that comprised of three main themes; Aids Recall of Information; Enriched Learning Experiences, Challenges Attitudes to Person Centred Care. Thus, the paper aims to evaluate using poetry as an engaging teaching strategy within a lecture format for the first time as a novice teacher when drawing out nursing students' attitudes towards older persons with a focus on supporting them in embracing key care skills in the clinical setting. This paper should provide other student educationalists the opportunity to see the value of poetry as a teaching strategy and provide practical tips on its use within the classroom.

Keywords: Attitude; Engagement; Lecture; Older person; Poetry; Teaching strategy.