Learning to learn self-regulation in practice: A 2 cohort evaluation

Exploring nursing students' learning experiences and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using self-regulated online enquiry-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities adopted online teaching as the primary teaching and learning method. Most of the online teaching, however, has been limited to the broadcasting of asynchronous lectures and sharing of teaching materials.

OBJECTIVES

To explore undergraduate nursing students' self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using online self-regulated enquiry-based learning (EBL) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods design was adopted.

SETTING

A university in Hong Kong providing pre-registration nursing programmes.

PARTICIPANTS

155 students studying in the fourth year in a five-year Bachelor of Nursing programme participated in the quantitative study in which 18 joined the focus groups (4 groups with group size of 4-5).

METHODS

Five video-based scenarios along with two interactive online workshops, a mind-map development exercise, gamified assessments, reading materials, group discussions, and presentations were adopted in a gerontological nursing course offered in 2019-2020 to enhance the students' learning, driven by a process of enquiry. Attitudes toward older people were measured at baseline and one week after the course (post-test). Information on self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and confidence were collected at post-test only. Paired t-tests and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Focus groups were conducted through semi-structured interviews and transcribed verbatim for inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

A significant improvement was demonstrated in the students' attitude toward older people. The students appreciated the opportunities provided by the online EBL to apply key concepts of gerontology in the teaching and learning activities and to enhance their critical thinking skills. Three major themes were revealed from the focus group: Perception of the teaching pedagogy, Improvement of cognitive skills, and Positive and negative aspects of the learning experience.

CONCLUSIONS

The online self-regulated EBL improved the students' online learning experience in a gerontological nursing course during the pandemic and improved their attitudes toward older people.

Re-imaging Clinical Education: The Interdependence of the Self-Regulated Clinical Teacher and Nursing Student

The interdependence of student learning strategies and teacher's pedagogical practices is critical to clinical practice learning. While research demonstrates that formative assessment feedback is important for student learning, clinical teachers do not necessarily have the competencies to provide effective feedback to support students' self-regulated learning (SRL). An examination of clinical education through SRL lenses articulates two roles for clinical teachers in nursing clinical education: self-regulated learner and self-regulated teacher. Teachers as self-regulated learners are practice-content experts and must also learn how to explicitly help students become self-regulated learners. The latter is the self-regulated teacher role, and a self-regulated teacher is an effective clinical teacher. Minimal research addresses the ways in which clinical teachers' effectiveness could be improved if they took on a self-regulated teacher role. A model of SRL and teaching in clinical practice education is presented and its potential to enhance clinical teacher effectiveness and student SRL articulated.

Development of the Self-Regulated Learning Scale in Clinical Nursing Practice for nursing students: Consideration of its reliability and validity

AIM

This study aimed to develop the Self-Regulated Learning Scale in Clinical Nursing Practice (SRLS-CNP) for the assessment of nursing students and to validate it.

METHODS

Questionnaires, including the SRLS-CNP item pool, were sent to 766 students in the second-to-fourth grades of nursing universities in Japan. The analysis involved an exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's α, confirmatory factor analysis, and calculation of the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. In order to confirm stability, 198 students underwent test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 437 students (return rate: 57.0%); the data of 376 students (valid response rate: 86.0%) were analyzed. Following the factor analysis, the SRLS-CNP was divided into the motivation subscale (two factors, seven items) and learning strategies subscale (three factors, nine items). The motivation subscale items were termed "intrinsic motivation" and "achievement motivation." The learning strategies subscale items were termed "synthesized knowledge and nursing skills," "multidimensional thinking," and "effort control." The Cronbach's α for the SRLS-CNP was 0.853. The verification model in the confirmatory factor analysis showed good conformance; a strong positive correlation was evident between the motivation subscale and the learning strategy subscale. The correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.77.

CONCLUSION

As shown by its Cronbach's α coefficient, test-retest reliability results, and content, criterion-related, and construct validity, the SRLS-CNP was found to have good reliability and validity.

Nursing students' motivation regulation and its relationship with engagement and burnout

Motivation regulation, study engagement, and students' wellbeing are critical components of skillful self-regulated learning. However, few studies have focused on these factors and their relationship in nursing education and as there is an increased usage of blended learning in nursing education, measuring students' learning in this setting is increasingly important. This person-oriented, quantitative study explored first-year nursing students' ( N = 90) motivation regulation related to study engagement and study burnout in blended and traditional learning environments in two undergraduate nursing programs. Regardless of the learning environment, the majority of the nursing students (65.6%) had a highly developed motivation regulation profile. They performed highly on motivation regulation, showed strong engagement, and exibhited reduced exposure for study burnout compared to those with less-developed motivation regulation profiles. It is suggested that motivation regulation, study engagement, and experienced burnout influence nursing students' learning. These components should be emphasized in developing nursing education and facilitating nursing students' learning.