Journal of Nursing and Health Studies

Comparison of the effects of concept mapping and problembased learning on critical thinking skills of nursing students

27^th Edition of World Congress on Nursing Education & Research
April 23-25, 2018 Rome, Italy

Mohammad Gholami, Amir Hossein Hossein Pour and Mandana Saki

Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Nurs Health Stud

DOI: 10.21767/2574-2825-C1-002

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Concept Mapping (CM) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methods are constructivist teaching strategy used to develop problem solving abilities and meaning learning in nursing students. However, studies on the effects of CM and PBL on critical thinking have shown mixed results. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of CM and PBL on critical thinking skills in nursing student in an orthopedic nursing course.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A single-group quasiexperimental study with a pretest and posttest design was used. A convenience sample of second-year undergraduate students (n=44) enrolled in an orthopedic nursing course in an Iranian university of medical sciences (in Khorramabad, the administrative town of Lorestan Province in the west of Iran) were included. The CM method was used in one group over the first eight weeks of the first semester and PBL was adopted in the second eight weeks. Standardized self-administered questionnaire including the California Critical Thinking Skill Test-B (CCTST-B) administrated before and after the use of each of the approach methods. Data were analyzed in SPSS using the paired t-test.
Findings: Both groups showed significant improvement in overall and some subscales of the critical thinking skills from pretest to posttest (P<0.01), but findings demonstrated that improvement in students critical thinking skills (subscales of deduction, analysis, and inference) in the PBL group was significantly greater than in the CM group (P<0.05).
Conclusion & Significance: The PBL has greater potential in foster the growth of critical thinking skills in nursing students. Further studies are also recommended to compare the effects of PBL and other teaching methods

Biography

Mohammad Gholami has work experience in emergency, critical cardiac care and neurosurgery care for 5-6 years. His PhD dissertation is focused on: process of health information seeking in patients with cardiovascular disease: design of model via grounded theory and Walker-Avant strategy. Currently, he supervises MScN theses, which concentrate on acute-chronic management diseases, cardiac care and evidence based nursing. He has been employed as a Faculty Member in the Nursing and Midwifery School of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences.

Email:mohammad13565@yahoo.com