Studying physiology within a flipped classroom: The importance of on‐campus activities for nursing students’ experiences of mastery

Abstract

Aims and objectives:To explore the on-campus activities of the flipped classroom and their role in nursing students' experiences of mastering physiology.Background: A nurse must be confident in their knowledge of physiology to feel confident as a nurse. However, many nursing students do not believe in their ability to master physiology. The flipped classroom design could facilitate active learning and promote students' confidence and competence in physiology. Design: A design-based research design was employed. Methods: Twenty-three nursing students enrolled in an anatomy and physiology course participated in two focus group interviews and wrote two individual reflective notes. The data were analysed by means of systematic text condensation and activity theory. Reporting was guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ). Results: The study findings underscore the importance of careful design of oncampus activities within the flipped classroom to support students' experiences of mastery in physiology. Four themes were identified: (a) preparation which builds a foundation for learning; (b) the use of digital tools; (c) learning through dialogue with peers; and (d) experience of the expected learning outcomes.Conclusions: On-campus learning activities within a flipped classroom design could support students' experiences of confidence in and mastery of physiology. However, the study participants found learner-centred activities challenging and described feeling doubtful of their ability to master physiology. A didactic framework could take into account the circumstance that students perceive educational technology differently. When designing on-campus activities, emphasis should be placed on collaboration rather than competition to help students develop confidence in their knowledge of physiology.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic on Undergraduate Nursing Students' Study of Anatomy and Physiology

“…The option to study online for A&P scored last (19.77%, n = 17). These findings are consistent with the literature that demonstrates students prefer active learning sessions to consolidate their learning of A&P 11,12,14–16 . For example, literature suggests that the majority of students prefer practical sessions as the most efficient way of learning A&P for first year nursing 12,16 .…”

“…The importance of active learning sessions in engaging students particularly in the learning process is highlighted in the literature, which demonstrates that introducing activities into the traditional lecture promoted student engagement, improvement in recall of information, and remembering more of the content 11–13 . When students actively engage with the content, the learning is more effective as it encourages higher order thinking 11,12,14–16 . Therefore, this mode of blended delivery, combining online content with active learning sessions, is not in dispute as students prefer kinesthetic learning modes 11,12 .…”

Postgraduate Students’ Experience of Using a Learning Management System to Support Their Learning: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

“…LMS tools, such as quizzes, seemed to have supported our participants’ learning by making it more fun to learn and helping them to prepare before on-campus lectures. However, students may believe that it is not sufficient that digital tools are fun and innovative to be perceived as useful ( Bingen et al, 2020 ). In our study, the quizzes provided direction for what the participants would learn on-campus and thereby started a reflective process in advance.…”

Impact of a Heutagogical, Multimedia-Based Teaching Concept to Promote Self-Determined, Cooperative Student Learning in Clinical Radiology

“…The heutagogical BL concept of teaching was implemented and tested under real-world conditions with a full cohort of fourthyear medical students applying a design-based research approach [18][19][20][21]. The central goal was to enable interactive and cooperative learning in the lecture room.…”

“…The heutagogical BL concept of teaching was implemented and tested under real-world conditions with a full cohort of fourthyear medical students applying a design-based research approach [18][19][20][21] ment behavior of students that outlines four levels of activity, predicting that as students become more engaged with the learning content, from passive to active to constructive to interactive, the learning effect will increase (ICAP framework) [22]. The advantage of our approach is that we go far beyond the factual knowledge transfer of a traditional lecture because an interactive ▶ Fig.…”