The effectiveness of self-regulated learning strategies taught in the basic nursing practicum course in enhancing self-regulated learning abilities in baccalaureate nursing students: An interventional study

Background: Clinical practica integrate theory and practice. Understanding the process by which students develop self-regulated learning abilities within the context of a fast-changing medical environment is important. Purpose: This study was designed to assess the effectiveness in practice of self-regulated learning strategies taught to baccalaureate nursing students in a course entitled, Basic Nursing Practicum. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study that employed an unequal pre/post test design. Participants included 75 students who were currently taking "Basic Nursing Practicum" for the first time. The control group comprised students who had not taken any such intervention course. Data analysis was done using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics in terms of distribution frequencies, percentages, mean values, and standard deviations. Inferential statistics were conducted using an independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney Test, Wil-coxan sign Ranks Test, McNemar Test and Pearson's correlation. Results: Results found that the experimental group acquired self-regulated learning abilities faster than the control group (χ2 = 15.21, p < .05). Comparison of pre- and post-test results indicated a significant difference in the self-regulated learning abilities of the experimental group (t = -2.235, p < .05), but not in that of the control group (t = 0.355, p > .05). Conclusions / Implications for Practice: Key findings included: (1) Teaching baccalaureate nursing students self-regulated learning strategies is helpful in enhancing students' self-regulated learning abilities. (2) Self-regulated learning ability affects academic performance. In the future, self-regulated learning strategies should continue to be applied in nursing courses and practica, as part of a diverse range of teaching strategies designed to enhance student self-regulated learning ability. In addition, future studies should seek to further construct the validity of scales developed in this research in order to provide a more comprehensive measuring tool. Future studies should involve a larger number of participants. Lastly, a longitudinal study may be conducted to assess the results achieved through the actual implementation of self-regulated learning strategies.