Using Unfolding Case Studies in a Subject-Centered Classroom

The recently published report of the Carnegie Foundation’s National Study of Nursing Education points out significant problems with classroom teaching in schools of nursing. This article suggests Palmer’s idea of the subject-centered classroom as a way to transform nursing school classrooms into collaborative learning communities. For Palmer, the subject is the big idea of nursing practice—the nurse–patient/client/family/community relationship—that should take the lead in stimulating inquiry and discussion. The article goes on to describe how teachers can develop and use unfolding case studies to bring the subject to the center of the classroom. By doing so, the classroom becomes a place where students learn a sense of salience, develop their clinical imagination, and begin their formation as professional nurses.