| The implementation of constructivist teaching strategies has vast professional benefits in nursing education through the promotion of critical thinking skills, as students must demonstrate success on the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses and ultimately perform competently within the nursing profession. While literature has suggested support for this ideology, interventions that reflect the empirical process of nontraditional pedagogy should be identified at the local level. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the effects of constructivist-based teaching strategies on the perception and achievement of critical thinking skills in associate degree nursing students. A sequential, explanatory control-group design that included 136 4 th semester students from 2 different classes examined the integration of case scenarios and Socratic inquiry (independent variables) into traditional lecture content during one semester, as compared to a previous semester. Seven mean module exam scores, along with pre and posttest scores generated from the HESI Critical Thinking Specialty Exam (dependent variables) were analyzed using t-tests for independent samples, paired samples, and the Mann-Whitney test. Statistical significance was determined between the pre and posttest scores (p = 0.003), as well as in 3 out of the 7 module exam scores (p < 0.001). Eight interviews ascertained 100% positive perceptions of the interventions. Recommendations included further study of critical thinking and nursing pedagogy in attempts to affect student outcomes. This study may lead to social change by motivating faculty to explore nursing education best-practice methods for aligning teaching methodologies and measurement tools, ultimately changing the focus of nursing education in the preparation of tomorrow's graduates. |
