Design Education Backward—from Practice to Classroom

Daybook Janurary 21

Effective nursing education begins with imagining real-world application and designing backward to ensure learners are prepared to act, not just recall.

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Many educational programs begin with content.
But great education begins with a different question:
What will the learner actually do?

If we imagine a nurse safely using a new technique,
we can design backward to include every essential component—
knowledge, practice, judgment, and context.

When education skips this step,
learners are left knowing but not doing.
And that gap becomes frustration, blame, and burnout.

Backward design protects learners by honoring the reality of practice.

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One Line for Nurses & Student Nurses Today:
Education succeeds when practice is possible.