The findings suggest that concept mapping may be an effective learner-centered teaching strategy for strengthening critical thinking among undergraduate nursing students.
Abstract
Background: Critical thinking is an essential competency for nurses working in increasingly complex healthcare environments. Traditional teaching approaches often emphasize rote memorization and may not adequately promote higher-order critical thinking skills. The concept mapping approach has proven to be an effective tool for fostering meaningful learning through linking theory with practice. Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of concept mapping in educational settings as a learning method for enhancing the development of critical thinking among third-year B.Sc. nursing students at Sikkim Manipal College of Nursing, India. Methods: A quantitative randomized controlled pretest–posttest study was conducted among third-year B.Sc. nursing students. Sixty students were selected using simple random sampling from a total population of 90 eligible students and randomly allocated to either the intervention group (n = 30) or the control group (n = 30) using a lottery method. The experimental group underwent a concept mapping intervention for 12 weeks, while the control group engaged in conventional nursing care plans. Assessment of critical thinking skills was done using a Critical Thinking Questionnaire (CThQ), which is linked to the six cognitive domains of Bloom’s. Analysis of data used both descriptive and inferential statistics such as t-tests, independent t-tests, chi-square, or Fisher’s exact test. Results: Critical thinking scores increased significantly in the experimental group following concept mapping (81.67 ± 9.01 vs. 99.97 ± 9.43; t = 8.722, p < 0.001), compared with a smaller improvement in the control group (77.73 ± 10.53 vs. 82.26 ± 10.23; t = 4.871, p < 0.001). Post-test scores were significantly higher in the experimental group across all cognitive domains (p < 0.05), with large within-group and between-group effect sizes. Conclusion: Students who received concept mapping demonstrated significantly higher critical thinking scores than those who received conventional nursing care planning. These findings suggest that concept mapping may be an effective learner-centered teaching strategy for strengthening critical thinking among undergraduate nursing students.
BACKGROUND
Equipping nursing students with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, lifelong learning, and innovativeness is vital for safe and high-quality patient care. Although 21st-century competencies are increasingly emphasized as essential outcomes of nursing education, project planning courses remain insufficiently integrated into nursing curricula. Furthermore, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding its effects on individual innovativeness, critical thinking motivation, and lifelong learning among nursing students.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine the effect of a structured project planning course on nursing students' critical thinking motivation, individual innovativeness, and lifelong learning levels.
METHODS
This quasi-experimental study was conducted with second-year nursing students (intervention group: n = 19; control group: n = 19). The intervention group participated in a 14-week structured project planning course. Pre- and post-intervention measurements were conducted using the Critical Thinking Motivation Scale, Individual Innovativeness Scale, and Lifelong Learning Scale. Data were analyzed using paired and independent t-tests as well as repeated measures ANOVA.
RESULTS
Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group's total IIS scores (η2 = 0.024, p = 0.032), particularly in the subdimensions of opinion leadership (p = 0.012) and risk-taking (η2 = 0.082, p = 0.021). The qualitative shift in innovation profiles, supported by graphical analysis, showed a transition from passive adopter categories to "Innovators" and "Early Adopters" by the end of the course.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a structured project planning course in enhancing nursing students' individual innovativeness, especially in areas such as opinion leadership and risk-taking. While the impact on critical thinking motivation and lifelong learning was limited, emerging trends point to the potential for improvement with broader and more sustained application. These findings support the integration of structured project planning course into nursing education, emphasizing the value of combining theoretical instruction with practical research experiences.
M. Tunçer, Nurten Özen· Nurse Education Today· 0 citations
Introduction: The integration of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) into nursing education faces challenges in linking theory to clinical application in complex family health contexts. Students struggle with efficiently accessing, appraising, and applying evidence influenced by sociocultural factors. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers transformative potential but requires pedagogical design to foster critical thinking and ethical use beyond technical skills.Method: An action research with mixed methods was conducted with 100 nursing students. The intervention had four phases: participatory family diagnosis, AI-assisted evidence retrieval and validation, community educational workshops design and execution, and multi-level evaluation.Results: A significant shift in AI use from basic to strategic, with a 40% reduction in literature search time. Qualitative data revealed enhanced critical awareness and ethical reasoning, while quantitative results indicated 90% of students improved critical appraisal skills and 70% felt more confident in evidence-based decisions. The project impacted 100 families, with 90% trusting evidence-based recommendations.Conclusions: Integrating AI in experiential pedagogies like Design Thinking and Service-Learning effectively develops nursing competencies, ensuring technology adoption supports context-sensitive family health learning outcomes.
Maria Graciela Villalba-Condori, Carla Cuya-Zevallos· Publicaciones· 0 citations
Findings revealed that nursing students demonstrated high levels of simulation-based learning, critical thinking skills, and clinical judgment, and significant positive relationships were found between simulation-based learning and clinical judgment, and between critical thinking skills and clinical judgment.
Maebil Marie B. Go, Charry Jo P. Lian· International journal of res...· 0 citations
The dual role of GenAI in HOTS development indicates that nursing education should integrate GenAI judiciously, and efforts should focus on improving the quality of human-AI collaboration, with particular attention to humanistic care, thereby helping students positively reshape their professional perceptions.
Yan Ning, Shanshan Sun, Yingkun Lu et al.· Nurse Education in Practice· 0 citations
Comparing critical thinking abilities among students in the Diploma III, Bachelor of Nursing, and Professional Nursing programs at Institut Kesehatan Payung Negeri Pekanbaru suggests that the three programs had similar critical thinking profiles at the time of measurement.
Gita Adelia, Esperanza Zuriguel Pérez, Imelda Rahmayunia Kartika et al.· An Idea Health Journal· 0 citations
The paper investigates the impact of various active learning strategies on college students' critical thinking and writing skills within the context of a Purposive Communication course. The study addresses the significant global concern that students entering higher education are inadequately prepared with essential critical thinking skills. The main objective was to determine the effectiveness of active learning strategies to enhance the critical thinking and writing skills of college students. The research employed a factorial experimental design. Students were divided into three different treatment groups, each utilizing a unique combination of active learning strategies: gamification paired with concept mapping, gamification paired with one-minute papers, and gamification paired with reflection papers. Critical thinking ability was measured using the Critical Thinking Questionnaire (CThQ) by Kobylarek et al. (2022). A content test on Purposive Communication was also administered. The tests were conducted both before (pretest) and after (posttest) the interventions. The findings showed that all combinations of the active learning strategies (Gamification paired with concept mapping, one-minute papers, or reflection papers) resulted in statistically significant improvements when comparing the students' pretest and posttest scores on critical thinking. The study concludes that the integration of interactive and reflective activities successfully transforms the classroom into an environment that promotes active knowledge construction
Marvin A. Ciriaco, E. R. G. Nachon· International journal of res...· 0 citations