Effects of peer learning on nursing students' learning outcomes in electrocardiogram education

Background: Nurses should have the ability to interpret electrocardiograms (ECGs) quickly and accurately, but their ECG interpretation skills may be suboptimal. The best evidence for effective teaching methods is lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of peer and self-directed individual learning methods on nursing students' learning flow, interpretation skills, and self-confidence in web-based ECG education. Design: This study employed a nonequivalent control group with a pretest-posttest design. Settings. This study was conducted at two colleges of nursing in the Republic of Korea. Participants: Nursing students were conveniently assigned to either a peer learning group (n = 45) or a selfdirected individual learning group (n = 51). Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the nursing students' learning flow and selfconfidence in ECG rhythm interpretation. ECG interpretation skills were measured using a web-based interpretation skills test. Data were analyzed using a paired t-test and a two-sample t-test. Results: Nursing students in both groups showed improved learning flow, interpretation skills, and selfconfidence after ECG education compared with before learning. However, there were no significant pretestposttest differences in learning flow, interpretation skills, or self-confidence between the two groups. Conclusions: Peer learning was as effective as self-directed individual learning in improving nursing students' learning flow, interpretations skills, and self-confidence in web-based education. Nurse educators should educate nursing students to have optimal ECG interpretation abilities, and web-based peer or individual learning are effective education methods.