Many nurse educators hired from the clinical workplace typically have minimal background experience supporting teaching skills in a concept-based curriculum. Experienced educators can help novice educators bridge this gap between practice and academia by assisting them to understand the underpinnings of teaching conceptually. These underpinnings include that vast amounts of information are instantly available, providing the impetus for implementing a concept-based curriculum that can make sense of this information in a complex and changing health care system. One way to do so is through the use of concepts. Giddens1 defines a concept as "a cognitive representation of an idea." A set of concepts is easier to understand, apply, and remember than a list of facts. Educators help learners build concepts using exemplars, organizing information while storing it in their long-term memories for future use.2 The acronym ABCDE represents the steps involved in mentoring novice nurse educators in concept-based teaching and learning.

A: Authentic Learning

One aspect of mentoring novice nurse educators in concept-based education is teaching them to focus on "A," authentic learning. Nurse educators should prepare students for what they will most likely encounter in the workplace by providing authentic or real-life learning experiences. Authentic learning occurs when students engage in simulations, clinical practice, lab skills and unfolding case studies or problem-solving questions in class or online settings. Educators should first recognize specific knowledge and skills that prepare students for the workplace, guiding student learning to this end goal. Next, the educators develop authentic learning experiences to achieve the end goal. When educators begin with the end in mind, this strategy reflects the Backward Design.3

B: Background Information

Nurse educators and students spend limited time in the learning environment together. As a result, when nurse educators and students come together, the time should reflect an environment where students can practice critical thinking in preparation for the workplace. Before students come to the learning environment to practice thinking, educators need to prepare students with background knowledge-the second step, "B." Students acquire background knowledge through assigned preclass and in-class activities. This preparation allows students to be equally successful in their knowledge attainment, preparing them for authentic learning experiences in the classroom or online. Educators can use the flipped classroom approach or similar models to help students become equipped with background knowledge.4 This approach allows students to take responsibility for their learning by participating in readings and assessments before attending class or engaging in online activities.

C: Concepts

Traditional and conceptual teaching each involves a different focus. A traditional teaching method may use body systems or diagnoses as the focus of teaching, such as the circulatory system or atrial fibrillation. This focus often leads to curriculum content overload, with student learning lacking depth. Conceptual teaching uses concepts, such as perfusion, to focus on student understanding, allowing for deep learning and memory retrieval.2

Typically, nursing programs adopt and define their concepts-step 3, "C," reflecting their program outcomes. For example, a concept list may be classified into domains, such as individual, nursing, and health care. Individual domain concepts reflect patient issues and may include tissue integrity, cognition, and mood disorders. However, the nursing domain concepts focus on nurses' actions and can consist of collaboration, patient-centered care, and safety. Health care domain concepts, more extensive in scope, may reflect advocacy, ethics, and health policy. Teaching concepts effectively requires the inclusion of exemplars.

D and E: Development of Exemplars

Developing exemplars, "D and E," in collaboration with faculty and health care partners remains essential. Exemplars reflect the examples whereby the students learn the concepts.2 These exemplars differ in complexity based on the students' level in a program. For example, varying exemplar levels exist to help students learn about perfusion, ranging from blood pressure monitoring by prelicensure students to managing blood pressure clinics by graduate students. Educators need to develop exemplars collaboratively aligning with the course and program outcomes, reflecting authentic learning. When students learn concepts using exemplars, they can apply the concepts and exemplars to new situations. However, faculty should use caution to avoid selecting too many concepts and exemplars to prevent content overload. Limited use of concepts and exemplars promotes deep understanding and allows students to make connections between learned concepts and new exemplars.2

Implementing the ABCDEs

Novice nurse educators can become proficient at teaching conceptually by using the ABCDE approach. First, when developing authentic learning reflective of workplace experience, start with the end in mind. Second, prepare students before class with background knowledge using the flipped classroom or other approaches, allowing them to practice thinking in the classroom or online environment. Third, use concepts reflective of the end goal and authentic learning experiences. Fourth, develop exemplars that align with the concepts at the required learning level. Nursing students can become competent graduates by practicing thinking using concepts and exemplars while solving problems they encounter in the workplace. Similarly, novice nurse educators can become competent in teaching conceptually by practicing the ABCDE approach.

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