Utilizing Collaborative Testing to Engage Nursing Students, Improve Academic Achievement, and Decrease Attrition

Abstract

Background: Research indicates that approximately 20% to 42% of students leave nursing programs after the first year. To address this issue, it has been recommended that nurse educators utilize new approaches to engage students in the classroom. However, studies show nursing lacks evidence that one method of teaching is more effective than another or that there is a relationship between learning outcomes and teaching strategies. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine if students who participate in a collaborative teaching process in the classroom have decreased attrition and increased levels of academic achievement and engagement than do students who do not participate in a collaborative teaching process. Theoretical Framework: The educational theory used to guide this investigation was Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which combines both behavioral and cognitive orientations. Method: A quasi-experimental, after-only, nonequivalent control group design was used. The sample size consisted of 153 students. Students in both the control and experimental groups were enrolled in either a fundamental or a behavioral-health nursing course. Health Education Systems Incorporated–Specialty Exams were utilized to measure academic achievement. A Survey of Student Engagement was used to measure student engagement. Results: No statistical significance was found for any of the three research questions. Odds ratios indicated traditional students in the experimental group were five times more likely to pass the fundamentals Health Education Systems Incorporated–Specialty Exam (HESI-SE) than traditional students in the control group. Non-traditional students in either the control or experimental groups were thirteen times more likely to pass the HESI-SE with a score of 850 or higher. Seven students passed the fundamentals nursing course because of points obtained during the collaborative testing process. The literature indicates nursing students, who pass nursing courses because of points awarded in the collaborative testing process, complete the nursing program and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)-RN on their first attempt. Findings indicated, when controlling for the seven students that passed the fundamentals nursing course because of the collaborative testing process, the passage rate of traditional age students increased by10% and non-traditional students by 24%. The Survey of Student Engagement results remained flat. Conclusions: Further research, using larger sample sizes, is needed to determine the effect of collaborative testing and its impact on student engagement in both the traditional and non-traditional nursing students. A tool that measures student engagement specific to the classroom also needs to be developed. A study is being developed to determine the outcome of the seven students that passed the fundamentals course because of the use of the collaborative testing process.