Assessment of psychometric properties of the modified experiences of teaching–learning questionnaire in Iranian nursing students

BACKGROUND: Universities are in charge of training, educating, and preparing students for their future. Teaching and learning methods have a profound role in fulfilling this responsibility by universities. Examining teaching–learning experiences needs a proper tool to collect the information needed. The aim of this study was to collect validity evidence of the modified experiences of teaching–learning questionnaire (ETLQ) in Iranian nursing students. METHODS: The validation process was started by securing the required permissions from the designer of the tool. Then the tool was translated into Farsi using forward–backward method. After preparing a Farsi version of the tool, the content, response process, and internal structure assessment were checked and supported using qualified methods. To examine internal structure, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted for three sections of the scale with the participation of 278 nursing students. To examine the reliability of the tool, test–retest method was used and internal correlation was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. RESULTS: The EFA and CFA results confirmed the tool with three domains, seven factors and 33 items. The R(2)-index of the model was obtained equal to 0.99, which indicates that 99% of the changes in teaching–learning experiences are explained by the tool (33 items). The main indices in CFA were higher than 0.9, which indicates the goodness of fit of the model. Pearson correlation between the items and the subscales was significantly and directly related to the whole scale. Moreover, with Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.944 and test–retest result equal to 0.88, reliability of the Farsi version of modified ETLQ was supported. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the Farsi version of modified ETLQ had acceptable and applied indices to measure teaching–learning experiences in nursing students. The tool can be used as a valid tool in different fields of education in medical sciences. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03365-z.