The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Improving the Critical Thinking Skills of Undergraduate Nursing Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62338/qjcaw229Keywords:
Critical Thinking, Problem-Based Learning, Nursing EducationAbstract
Critical thinking is an essential skill in nursing practice to enhance patient safety and outcomes. Traditional lecture-based teaching methods are usually insufficient to acquire these skills, whereas Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is mean to develop these skills as it consists of student-centered learning and problem solving. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of teaching strategy, PBL on critical thinking of undergraduate nursing students in The Maldives National University (MNU). This study used an experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group structure and 54 second year undergraduate nursing students were compared (control/traditional lecture-based group, n=28 and experimental group/PBL, n=26). PBL scenarios were made on different childhood disease conditions. Pre and post-test critical thinking scores were measured by using The Short Form Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The paired t-test showed that there was no improvement of critical thinking skills in the control group, with identical pretest and posttest mean scores (69.07) and a decrease in the standard deviation (SD) from 6.58 to 6.63. In contrast, the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase of mean score of critical thinking (from 62.46 (SD = 6.13) to 74.42 (SD = 5.84, p <0.001). The independent t-test also showed that posttest scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (t = -4.373, p < 0.001). These results emphasize the marked benefit of PBL in nursing students’ critical thinking skills in comparison with the traditional teaching methods. The results of this study showed that PBL significantly enhances the critical thinking of nursing students, and support the integration of PBL into nursing curriculums to help bridge the gap between theory and practice.
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