The evidences of innovative teaching the critical and creative thinking, integrated and problem-solving abilities in RN-BSN students

Abstract

Background: The principal investigator has integrated the teaching strategies and activities of critical and creative thinking with integration and problem-solving abilities in the process of guiding nursing students in the course of Nursing Practicum Project Production (NPPP) for seven years. Although the course has developed a set of indicators for evaluating the products; however, there is a lack of indicators of evaluating the critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities of the nursing students. In the 2018 year, the professional growth program for the teachers through the expert meeting and faculties discussion has developed the indicators of evaluating the critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities for the nursing students completing the course of NPPP. The purpose of this study was to explore the evidences of the innovative teaching among the critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities of nursing students before and after the course of NPPP.

Methods: The mixed methods including the quasi-experimental and four factor designs were used in this study and the samples were the two-year program nursing students of the AB classes with the majority of them who have had the clinical working experiences. A class was the experimental group, integrating the teaching strategies and activities of critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities. B class was used the traditional teaching. The two classes of nursing students were conducted self-assessment of the critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities before and after the 2019 course of NPPP to understand the effectiveness of innovative teaching in the critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities of RN-BSN students.

Results: The critical and creative thinking, integration and problem-solving abilities of RN-BSN students in A class not only has improved significantly after conducting the innovative teaching, but also has the higher scores than the comparison B class. Additionally, no matter the principal investigator or other two faculties instructed the A group of RN-BSN students, the critical and creative thinking as well as the integration and problem solving abilities of RN-BSN students have improved before and after the NPPP course although there is the tendency of decreasing four abilities from group 1 to 4, but did not approach in the significant level.

Conclusions: It is the evidences of the innovative teaching of critical and creative thinking, the integration and problem solving abilities for RN-BSN students in the first five weeks of the NPPP course. Additionally, the principal investigator instructed the group 1 and 2 that performed better than group 3 and 4 by the other two instructors that might be interesting to further study the group 1 and 2 dynamics as beneficence of teaching those thinking and abilities by the principal investigator.