Impact of flipped classroom approach on undergraduate nursing student's critical thinking skills

Background: Enriching the undergraduate nursing main courses innovative approaches such as flipped classroom method, which may aid improving students' metacognitive learning strategies, are regarded to be very important in terms of enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills in nursing care. Aim: This study aimed to determine if there were significant differences in performance and critical thinking skills of nursing students who were taught using the flipped classroom method versus those who were taught using the online traditional learning approach. Another aim was for students to describe their opinions of using the flipped classroom method. Methods: This study adopted a quasi-experimental study design. A total of 63 nursing students participated in the study. The experimental group followed the flipped classroom learning approach, while the control group followed the online traditional learning approach. The study involved a pre- and post-test assessment to examine the students' learning achievements and critical thinking skills. Results: The results indicate that the flipped classroom approach has no significantly different effect on students' academic achievement and critical thinking, compared to online traditional lecturing. However, in contrast to the analysis of the results, students generally stated that learning with a flipped classroom approach was more helpful and efficient, and that the method provided a dynamic learning session during lectures. Conclusions: Flipped classroom approach planned for a part of the pediatric nursing education did not show significant difference compared to online traditional lecturing.