Critical Thinking Instruction and Technology-Enhanced Learning From the Student Perspective

A mixed methods research study examining critical thinking development within technology-enhanced learning environments was implemented with undergraduate nursing students. Critical thinking and informational and communication technology literacy are important assets for students graduating from today’s educational settings to competently and efficiently perform in the professional arena (Roschelle, Bakia, Toyama, & Patton, 2011). The capability to think critically is essential in the complex, fast-paced health care settings where patient situations are diverse, complicated and rapidly changing (Romeo, 2013). A blended learning approach, encompassing two technology-enhanced learning environments, was structured on the Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison, 2011) to support the development of critical thinking: a classroom response system face-to-face in-class and an online discussion forum out-of-class.  The Community of Inquiry framework incorporates constructive collaborative inquiry to facilitate the establishment of a supportive environment for critical thinking development (Garrison, 2011).

To gather data from the students’ perspectives, they were surveyed with closed and open-ended questions to ascertain engagement in critical thinking development and preferences of learning methods as supported through the technology-enhanced settings. Qualitative content analysis was implemented to assess for critical thinking demonstration through the online discussion forum exchanges. Pre-and posttesting was also included to assess for changes in students’ critical thinking. The use of various data sources and analyses aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of nursing student critical thinking development and engagement with technology-enhanced learning environments.

The study findings revealed students’ appreciation for critical thinking instruction intentionally integrated into the course and aligned with subject-specific content. Inquiry and application of course material to professional practice engendered relevance for student learning. Students identified questions they deemed helpful to their development of critical thinking, facilitating their capability to connect course material to their practice settings. Notably, the findings are limited to the nursing students who participated in the research study, however the instructional strategies and technology-enhanced learning acknowledged as beneficial can provide basis for course design and implementation for the development of critical thinking.