Okay! So, let’s talk about Core Tenet #2 of the Core Content Mastery Method. This involves Linchpins and Connections. This brings in our big goal of helping to make the content click and helping to reduce content overwhelm.

First, I want to make sure you understand what we mean when we say “Linchpins”. A linchpin is this one little piece of metal or wood that sticks into the end of an axle and literally keeps the entire wheel from falling off. So…when we look at teaching and learning – the linchpin is that one piece of information that holds the whole concept together. It’s the ONE THING they MUST understand. If they don’t understand it, the whole topic will fall apart.

So, the goal in using linchpins is that learners would gain a true understanding of the concept and really retain the information. SO…before you start to develop a lesson or any content, you need to determine what the linchpin is! What’s the ONE thing that they MUST know in order to keep the whole thing from falling apart. So, let’s think about heart failure. I want you to pause this video and think of the ONE thing that students have to understand about heart failure in order to get the rest of it. Okay – got it? So…the linchpin for heart failure would be that the heart is a pump, therefore heart failure equals pump failure, meaning blood can’t get forward where it’s supposed to go and starts to back up like a clogged pipe. If they can get this concept, the rest of the concepts will fall into place. On the other hand – if they DON’T get this concept – there’s NO way they can understand the pathophysiology, the symptoms and presentation, the meds. None of it will make sense without this key concept. So – identify the linchpin and then build the rest of your lesson around it!

We also want to make connections within the content – Watkins & Mortimore said “Unless learners are building up their understanding of situations – through understanding the variations between them – knowledge learned in one context is unlikely to pass to any other.” In other words – if learners can’t make connections and see relationships between the different concepts, they are not likely to be able to recall any of it later. So we want to help the material make sense in a way that they will be able to retain it and recall it later!

But not just recall – recall alone isn’t enough for competent and confident practice. We also want them to truly understand it, be able to explain it back to us or to a peer, and to be able to apply it in a real clinical environment.

So make those connections! Between the disease process and its pathophysiology, between the patho and symptoms, the meds and the patho, meds and symptoms, and between all of these things and what you’ve actually seen in a real life patient! All of these things can help students see the big picture and truly understand what this disease process or topic means to a patient.

So, let’s recap – First, find the linchpin – the one thing they MUST understand to understand the topic. Build your lesson around that, like spokes on a wagon wheel. Make connections between the different concepts and put the situation in context, especially if it can be applied in multiple contexts. And remember that the whole goal is to make everything click so learners can recall it, understand it, explain it, and apply it!

Be sure to check out the mnemonic attached to this lesson to help you know how to identify the Linchpins and the most important information. And keep progressing through this module to learn about Core Tenet #3 and #4. With that said, go out and be your best self today. Happy nursing!