A Competition-Based Problem-Posing Approach for Nursing Training

Conventional nursing teaching usually adopts one-way teaching approaches. As such, students cannot think deeply and engage in learning, which results in lower learning motivation and learning achievement. Several studies have indicated that problem-posing is a learning process that has students think about problems and actively construct knowledge, which helps their in-depth thinking and promotes their learning achievement. However, problem-posing is a task with a higher difficulty level; in particular, with insufficient learning motivation, it is not easy for students to pose in-depth questions. Therefore, the present study introduced competition to a problem-posing activity to facilitate students’ motivation. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design and conducted an experiment in the unit of Care of Critically Ill Patients. The results showed that the proposed competition-based problem-posing mobile learning approach could significantly enhance students’ learning achievement and learning motivation and would not cause an excessive cognitive load. Moreover, competition increased students’ learning motivation, and fostered them to actively reflect on and revise their questions, thereby increasing their problem-posing quality and learning achievement. This study can serve as a reference for future clinical practice to enhance the quality and sustainability of apprenticeships.