Comparison of the traditional and block mode of delivery on undergraduate nursing students' perceived levels of preparedness to use evidence-based practice: a two-group experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine how delivery time impacted on undergraduate nursing students' preparedness for evidence-based practice (EBP) by comparing the traditional semester mode and block mode of delivery models. METHODS: This two-group experimental study compared the traditional semester and block modes of delivery using a self-reported questionnaire. The factor of time was the variable in relation to learning with the block mode delivery being in a compressed timeframe. RESULTS: From a purposive sample, 219 students participated in the self-reported questionnaire. There were only two significant differences were the block mode of delivery students responded less positively to the statements 'the unit of study prepared them for knowledge and skills for EBP' and 'EBP should be discussed and shared in practice'. CONCLUSIONS: The transition from the traditional semester mode to the block mode delivery has had minimal impact on undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of EBP and its application to clinical practice.

Promoting student-centered active learning in lectures with a personal response system.

We investigated whether an active learning approach, facilitated by a personal response system, would lead to improved student engagement and learning outcomes in large-group physiology lectures for undergraduate science students. We focused on encouraging students' active learning in lectures, whereas previous studies have made more use of audience response technology during lectures for formative or summative assessment. Students voluntarily answered questions posed during lectures with their personal response system (clickers), with individual answers automatically collated for immediate histogram display. This feedback then dictated the focus of followup discussions in the lecture. Student and instructor attitudes were surveyed through voluntary interviews with student responses correlated with their degree of clicker participation and individual exam results. Active lectures were found to increase both student motivation and engagement. Students who participated in answering questions achieved better results than students who chose not to. Students with the lowest scores in a prerequisite course (previous semester physiology exam marks of < 60%) showed significantly better outcomes from the use of clickers than both middle-achieving (60-75%) and high-achieving (>75%) entry students. Significant improvement was evident in both mid- and end-semester exam results compared with student cohorts from preceding years, although this could also be influenced by many other factors. Increased student engagement and the immediate feedback obtained during lectures were advantages commonly noted by lecturing staff.