Assignment Task

Watch the documentary series on Dementia.

As a Nurse using the DEAL model reflect on your learning experience watching the series. You may use the guiding question in Week 6 lecture to help you craft your assignment.

Types of assessment

• Individual reflective written assignment

Requirement

Based on what you have learned in class thus far. You are to write a 1,500-word essay to answer the given problem statement using the DEAL Model. You are expected to consult outside sources, that is, to go beyond what has been presented in class.

Learning Objectives (LO)

• LO1: To create integration of course work on. Deepening your learning through relating theory with experience.

• LO2: To develop deeper knowledge on the aging trends, available resources and infrastructure set up to alleviate the aging problem.

• LO3: To experience an eye-opening reality, both positive and negative, of long-term impacts of an aging population.

Overview Deal Model

Step 1: Deal Describe

This first step is to allow the student to provide an overview of their experience i.e. the big picture. The reflection should be described objectively and in some detail. Students can note significant or reflection-worthy experiences.

You may use these guiding questions to assist in the reflection:

• How was the experience watching the videos related to your GCN module?
• When & did the experience take place?
• What was your emotion and feeling going through the process?

Step 2: Deal Examine

2A. Academic perspective

This section is to identify the experience from the student’s perspective based on the academic learnings and materials taught in the module Gerontology & Community Nursing in order to help facilitate the experience.  You may use these guiding questions to assist in your reflection:

• What specific academic GCN knowledge is relevant to this experience?
  o Explain the concept, theory, etc. clearly and concisely so that someone unfamiliar with the material can understand it

• How did the GCN knowledge emerge in the experience?
  o When did I see it or note it?
  o How is it relatable to the learning experience?

• How does this experience enhance your knowledge of a specific reading, theory, or concept of the module?

2B. Personal Growth

This section is to identify the experience from the student’s personal perspective, particularly personal growth. You may use these guiding questions to assist in your reflection:

• Do you have a different picture of the elderly community than you had before you began your project?
• How did this experience make me feel towards the elderly community (positively and/or negatively)?
• What might I do differently next time when I engage the elderly community/caregivers?

2c. Civic engagement perspective

This section is to identify the experience from the student’s perspective based on how the community acts as part of a larger process to generate change in the world around them, how this impacted the student, and what they might be able to do/not do to facilitate this change. You may use these guiding questions to assist in your reflection:

• What did you learn about the disease process?
• What are the challenges that the elderly suffering from Dementia living in Singapore faces?
• What are some of the pressing needs/issues in the community? How does the community/government address those needs?

Step 3: Deal Articulate Learning

Students are to use their reflection exercise to respond to the following questions where they should articulate what was learned from the experience as a whole. You may use these guiding questions to assist in the reflection:

• Describe what you have learned about yourself as a result of your learning experience.
• In what ways will I use this learning experience and what goals shall I set in accordance with what I have learned in order to improve myself and/or the quality of my learning and/or the quality of my community’s future?

References

• Clayton, P. H., & Sarah, L. A. (2009). Generating, Deepening, and Documenting Learning: The Power of Critical Reflection in Applied Learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25–48. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/4579/ash-2009-generating.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
• Fisher, J. R., & Mittelman, M. (2013). Applied Learning in Online Education: A Comparative Study Employing DEAL Critical Reflection. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 5, 3–14. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1188638.pdf