Benefits & Opportunities of Multimodal Teaching and GenAI

Attribution

Original work: "Educators' guide to multimodal learning and Generative AI" — Tünde Varga-Atkins, Samuel Saunders, et al. (2024/25) — CC BY-NC 4.0
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
Last Updated: December 2025

Integrating multimodal teaching strategies and GenAI into nursing education presents significant opportunities for enhancing learning and fostering creativity. Based on extensive data-gathering from educators, the following compelling benefits have been identified— both pedagogical and practical.

1. Enhancing Pedagogy Through Diverse Modalities 🎨

Multimodal teaching can expand pedagogical possibilities by moving beyond traditional, text-centric formats. Introducing varied media—such as video, podcasts, infographics, interactive simulations, and performance-based tasks—can make learning more inclusive and engaging.

Why This Matters for Nursing:

Different learning preferences — Visual learners see diagrams, auditory learners hear explanations, kinesthetic learners interact with simulations
Real-world relevance — Clinical practice itself is multimodal (verbal handovers, written charts, visual assessments)
Deeper engagement — Students respond positively to tasks that feel authentic

Gen AI can amplify these possibilities by enabling faster content transposition—summarizing texts into visual formats or adapting materials into different media. This allows educators to more easily offer diverse entry points for learning.

Nursing Example:

Convert a diabetes management lecture into a podcast for students to listen during commute
Transform pathophysiology notes into animated explainer videos
Create interactive care planning simulations
Generate visual care pathways from NICE guideline text

2. Lowering Barriers to Multimodal Creation 🚀

While utilizing multimodal learning resources can be exciting, they often require skills in design, media production, or communication that educators or students may lack. GenAI can help level this playing field.

How GenAI Helps:

Educators without graphic design experience can generate professional imagery
No need for costly software or specialist knowledge
Can prototype materials or experiment with new formats quickly
Allows wider range of educators to participate confidently in rich, multimodal tasks

Nursing Example:

"I'm not a graphic designer, but I used DALL-E to create anatomical diagrams showing the stages of pressure ulcer development. My students said they were clearer than the textbook images!" — Nursing lecturer

Before GenAI:

Hire graphic designer (cost + time)
Use stock images (copyright issues, may not fit context)
Spend hours learning Photoshop/Illustrator

With GenAI:

Write detailed prompt
Generate image in minutes
Iterate and refine quickly
Focus energy on pedagogical design

3. Boosting Creativity & Idea Generation 💡

One of the most consistently praised aspects of GenAI is its role as a creative partner. Whether brainstorming potential patient personas for a case study or offering variations of a visual care pathway, AI can prompt new directions that may not have occurred otherwise.

How This Works in Nursing:

For Educators:

-Brainstorming clinical scenario variations

Generating different ways to explain complex topics
Creating diverse patient case studies representing different demographics
Developing alternative assessment formats

For Students:

Exploring different care planning approaches
Visualizing pathophysiology in multiple ways
Generating practice questions for self-study
Creating presentation materials

Example Prompt for Creative Brainstorming:

I'm teaching Year 2 nursing students about respiratory assessment. Generate 5 
creative ways to help them remember the components of inspection, palpation, 
percussion, and auscultation. Include visual metaphors, mnemonics, and 
interactive activities.

4. Increasing Efficiency to Enable Human-Centred Teaching ⏱️

Time is an endless constraint for educators. GenAI can offer tangible efficiencies in planning, content creation, and feedback preparation.

Where GenAI Saves Time:

Generating quiz questions — Create practice MCQs aligned with learning outcomes
Reformatting content — Convert lecture notes into different media
Producing draft scripts — For videos, podcasts, or narrated presentations
Creating case studies — Generate patient scenarios for discussion

The Real Benefit: These efficiencies free up educator time for more personalized interactions—mentoring, formative coaching, or supporting struggling students. GenAI creates space for what one participant called "relationship-rich pedagogy" where educators invest more in the human dimensions of teaching and learning.

Nursing Example Time Savings:

Task	Traditional Time	With GenAI	Time Saved
Creating 20 MCQ quiz questions	60 min	15 min	75%
Designing anatomical diagram	45 min	10 min	78%
Converting lecture to podcast script	90 min	20 min	78%
Generating patient case studies (×5)	120 min	25 min	79%

That's 4-5 hours per week saved = More time for:

Student support and pastoral care
Research and scholarship
Professional development
Work-life balance

5. Enhancing Student Interest & Engagement 🎯

Multimodal tasks, especially those involving creative output, often spark student interest and engagement. Alternative formats energize classroom participation.

What Nursing Educators Observed:

✅ Increased participation in activities using visual or interactive formats
✅ Greater sense of empowerment when students use GenAI to enhance their outputs
✅ More enthusiasm for assignments allowing creative expression
✅ Better attendance at sessions with hands-on, multimodal components

Student Quotes (adapted from focus groups):

"I finally understood the cardiac cycle when I created an animated diagram using AI. Seeing it move helped me grasp the sequence." — Year 1 student

"Using ChatGPT to generate practice scenarios helped me prepare for OSCEs. I could practice anytime, anywhere." — Year 3 student

"The visual care pathway we created as a group was so much more meaningful than just writing an essay." — Year 2 student

Important Note:

Engagement must be scaffolded—not all students immediately embrace novel media. Success requires:

Clear instructions and expectations
Visibility of value (how it helps their learning)
Choice and autonomy where possible
Support for those less confident with technology

6. Preparing Students for AI-Augmented Healthcare 🏥

By incorporating Generative AI into multimodal learning, nursing educators better position students with crucial skills for their future professional practice.

Skills Students Develop:

Prompt engineering — Crafting precise requests for information or content
Critical evaluation — Assessing AI outputs for accuracy and bias
Ethical decision-making — Understanding appropriate vs inappropriate AI use
Reflective practice — Documenting and questioning their own AI use

Why This Matters:

Future of Nursing

Healthcare is rapidly adopting AI technologies:

AI-assisted diagnostics
Predictive patient monitoring
Automated documentation systems
Clinical decision support tools

Nurses who understand AI will be better equipped to:

Work safely alongside AI systems
Advocate for patients when AI fails
Contribute to AI implementation decisions
Lead digital transformation in healthcare

Example NHS AI Applications Nurses Encounter:

AI-powered early warning scores (NEWS2 automation)
Predictive algorithms for sepsis detection
AI-assisted wound assessment tools
Natural language processing for clinical notes

By exposing students to GenAI in educational settings, they learn to explore and question AI's role in a safe, guided environment before encountering it in high-stakes clinical practice.

Summary: The Case for Multimodal GenAI in Nursing Education

Benefit	Impact on Teaching	Impact on Learning
🎨 Diverse Modalities	More creative teaching approaches	Matches diverse learning preferences
🚀 Lower Barriers	More educators can create rich resources	Students build multimedia skills
💡 Boost Creativity	Fresh pedagogical ideas	Divergent thinking and innovation
⏱️ Save Time	Focus on human-centred teaching	More personalized support
🎯 Engagement	Energized classroom participation	Greater sense of ownership
🏥 Future Skills	Prepare for AI-augmented practice	Professional readiness

Balanced Perspective: Challenges Exist

While these benefits are compelling, it's important to acknowledge that challenges also exist. For a full discussion of the challenges of using GenAI in multimodal teaching, learning, and assessment, see the Challenges section.

Key challenges include:

Risk of over-reliance on AI
Potential for inaccuracies in clinical content
Ethical concerns around bias and representation
Environmental cost of AI generation
Student anxiety about AI replacing human judgment

The key is thoughtful, critical adoption—not uncritical enthusiasm.

Next: Explore Practical Tips to learn how to implement these benefits effectively!

1. Enhancing Pedagogy Through Diverse Modalities 🎨​

Why This Matters for Nursing:​

2. Lowering Barriers to Multimodal Creation 🚀​

How GenAI Helps:​

3. Boosting Creativity & Idea Generation 💡​

For Educators:​

For Students:​

4. Increasing Efficiency to Enable Human-Centred Teaching ⏱️​

Where GenAI Saves Time:​

5. Enhancing Student Interest & Engagement 🎯​

What Nursing Educators Observed:​

Important Note:​

6. Preparing Students for AI-Augmented Healthcare 🏥​

Skills Students Develop:​

Why This Matters:​

Summary: The Case for Multimodal GenAI in Nursing Education​

Balanced Perspective: Challenges Exist​