Paper
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Nursing Education: Critical Thinking in an Online World
Patricia A. Schafer, RN, PhD, College of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Explore differences between critical thinking outcomes of online classroom students versus traditional classroom students |
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss how learning theory in an online classroom versus a traditional classroom effects clinical reasoning in the practice setting |
This study compared critical thinking abilities of senior baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a gerontology course. Students (N = 50) in group A (n = 29) completed the course in the traditional classroom setting while students in group B (n = 21) completed the course online. The method included quantitative and qualitative measures. Critical thinking abilities within the classroom were based on theoretical concepts and measured with testing items related to areas of the nursing process. Significance between groups was reported using the two-tailed t-test. Group B, online students, demonstrated significantly higher scores in the areas of assessment of clients and planning patient care than group A, traditional classroom students. In the clinical setting, the Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric was used to assign (HCTSR) a level to each student (B group n = 9; A group n = 10) for comparison of clinical critical thinking skills between the groups (N = 19). The Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric (HCTSR) was used in the clinical setting where results indicated group B students obtained higher overall levels of critical thinking than students in group A. In addition, students offered their perceptions of what they believed critical thinking meant and how they used critical thinking skills to meet course objectives during the clinical rotation.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004