Taking critical thinking, creativity and grit online

Assessing perceptions about critical thinking, motivation learning strategies in online psychiatric and mental health nursing education among Egyptian and Saudi undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

The pandemic context prompts nursing students to be involved in online learning. Researchers indicated that critical thinking develops through the learning process, but the link between critical thinking and online learning in nursing does not have sufficient evidence.

AIM OF STUDY

This research examines student perceptions about critical thinking, motivation, and learning strategies in online psychiatric nursing education among nursing students at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University in Saudi Arabia and Alexandria University in Egypt.

SUBJECT AND METHODS

An online survey was designed to collect data anonymously. A total of 75 Saudi undergraduates and 105 Egyptian nursing students who met the inclusion criteria participated. The online survey assessed three parts: socio-demographic data, critical thinking motivational, and cognitive processing strategy scales.

RESULTS

The current study found that using a motivating method for online learning inspired students to engage in critical thinking and cognitive processing strategies in a psychiatric and mental health nursing course, even in two different contexts.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that using motivational methods for online learning encourages students to engage in critical thinking and cognitive processing strategies in psychiatry and mental health care courses, even in two different settings.

An extended hedonic motivation adoption model of TikTok in higher education

As information technologies develop, social networking services have gradually gained attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, little is known about the technology adoption of social networking from the perspective of hedonic motivation. For this purpose, this study applied the hedonic motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) to TikTok and incorporated two innovative factors, i.e., perceived boredom and personal innovativeness. Via structural equation modeling (SEM), this study used SmartPLS 4.0.8 to analyze 246 valid responses from Chinese university students via an online survey. The results showed that the research model was adequate for the adoption of TikTok. Curiosity and perceived boredom significantly mediated the positive relationships between perceived ease of use and behavioral intention. Additionally, the educational level moderated the relationship between joy and focused immersion. The results of this study provided insights for future researchers and innovative teaching.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10639-023-11749-x.

The Role of Classroom Contexts on Learners' Grit and Foreign Language Anxiety: Online vs. Traditional Learning Environment

This review aimed at exploring the related investigations on the effects of online and traditional learning contexts on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ grit and foreign language anxiety (FLA). Studies have verified the relationship between learners’ grit and academic performance in online learning contexts. However, there is a need for studying the effect of face-to-face learning and face-to-screen learning on learners’ grit. On the other hand, studies have shown that classroom context is a mediating variable in the relationship between grit and FLA. Furthermore, few studies have been done on the effect of traditional classroom contexts and online learning contexts on learners’ FLA. Most studies showed that online learning contexts create more FLA. There are some reasons such as ambiguity of contexts, lack of feedback, lack of opportunities for communication, type of employed applications, cognitive load, technophobia, and reduction in enthusiasm which arouse learners’ anxiety in an online learning environment. In the end, the pedagogical implications are expounded to promote the learners’ grit and diminish anxiety for better performance. This review also provides some suggestions for further research to clarify our perspective on positive and negative emotional variables.

Initial Development and Psychometric Evidence of Physical Education Grit Scale (PE-Grit)

Background

Grit is a key concept in positive psychology and educational science. The construct measures two related constructs that are interest and effort. Several instruments have been developed to measure this construct in professional and educational contexts, but no tools have been developed considering specific contexts such as physical education and sport.

Objectives

The objective of this study is to develop and test a measurement scale to assess Grit in the context of physical education and sport.

Methods

Two exploratory (Phase 1) and confirmatory (Phase 2) samples were administered the 16-item PE-Grit scale in Arabic. In addition, the confirmatory sample also was administered the R-SPQ-2F two-factor learning approaches scale. The factor structure was examined first by exploratory factor analysis on the first sample and then by confirmatory factor analysis on the second sample. Reliability testing was performed by checking internal consistency simultaneously by the three indices: McDonald's ω, Cronbach's α and Gutmann's λ6. Concurrent validity was checked by Pearson's correlation between the PE-Grit and the two dimensions of the SPQ-2F.

Results

After the exploratory factor analysis, which identified the factors and gave a preliminary validation of the designed instrument, confirmatory factor analysis was performed on three hierarchical models to be able to identify the best fitting model. A third-order hierarchical model with two physical and academic components each formed by interest and effort presented the best fit indices: chi X2 = 192.95 (p < 0.01), and the X2/DF = 1.36; GFI = 0.99; AGFI = 0.99; CFI and TLI close to 1; RMSEA = 0.025. In addition, McDonald's ω, internal consistency, and Gutmann's λ6 ranged from 0.78 to 0.86 for all four scale dimensions.

Conclusion

The PE-Grit scale displays adequate factor structure, good reliability, and acceptable concurrent validity and can be administered to assess Grit in physical education and sport students.