An information communication technology based approach for the acquisition of critical thinking skills

Abstract

Background: Both academics and practitioners agree that critical thinking skills are necessary to provide safe and comprehensive nursing care. In order to promote the development of critical thinking, nurse educators need to keep the teaching/learning process captivating and interesting using active learning environments. These can be implemented by using modern information and communication technologies that are simple, fun, and time and cost effective.

Objectives: The goal of our study was to design and test an approach, which allows individual and fast acquisition of critical thinking skills with the use of information and communication technology.

Design: A combination of qualitative and quantitative research design was implemented. The study consisted of a quasi-experiment (phases 1-3): (1) pre-test discussion board, (2) use of e-contents based on the presented approach, and (3) post-test discussion board. The participants' opinion about the presented approach was identified in phase 4.

Settings: The study was performed in May 2012 during the course "Ethics and Philosophy in Nursing" at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Slovenia.

Participants: Forty first-year undergraduate nursing students.

Methods: Qualitative analysis of the discussion boards (phases 1, 3) and an anonymous survey with open- and closed-ended questions (phase 4).

Results: Qualitative analysis of the discussion boards showed a significant (p<0.001) improvement in the percentage of posts (12.2%) for which the opinions and conclusions of the participants were justified with valid arguments. The survey results indicated that participants perceived the e-contents based on the presented approach as useful, and that they improved their critical thinking skills.

Conclusions: Repeated confirmation of the validity of the presented approach through methodological triangulation represents a strong indication that the presented approach is a valuable tool to develop nursing students' critical thinking skills.

Keywords: Critical thinking; E-learning; Education; Interactive; Learner-centred; Nursing; Skill.