Learning Styles: Impact on Knowledge and Confidence in Nursing Students in Simulation and Classroom

Abstract

Nurse Educators must develop nursing curriculum with engaging learning strategies that promote the knowledge and confidence needed for safe, effective nursing practice. Faculty should explore new methods of teaching that consider how students learn. Studies have shown mixed results regarding student learning styles, academic achievement, and development of confidence in nursing practice. An experimental study using Felder and Soloman's (2004). Index of learning styles instrument was conducted to examine nursing student learning styles and their impact on confidence and knowledge in traditional and high fidelity simulation settings. Findings revealed students were more likely to have active, visual, sensing, and sequential learning styles. Student confidence or knowledge did not significantly differ among the learning styles in either simulation or traditional classroom methods. Awareness of learning styles may aid faculty in adapting engaging teaching strategies. Further research is needed with larger samples to identify best approaches to enhance student learning within the context of learning styles.

Learning Style Preferences of Practicing Nurses

“…Various tools that assess learning styles were identified with the support of medical librarians; the tools varied widely in relation to reliability, validity, length, and cost. The team chose the ILS (Felder & Spurlin, 2005) because of this tool’s reliability and validity, cost, ease of self-administration, and recent use in nursing (Brannan, White, & Long, 2016; McCrow et al, 2014). Another important consideration is that scoring of the ILS for each dimension is along a continuum, showing the range of responses and not locking learners or groups into one type.…”

Purposeful Simulation Role Assignment

“…While confidence levels and knowledge scores improved after the education, no statistically significant differences between the learning styles were found. The lack of statistical significance could mean the participants' learning style needs were sufficiently met through the educational method used (Brannan et al, 2016). This study supported the use of simulation to appeal to a variety of learning styles; however, it did not address the ability to use the information learned to make clinical decisions.…”

“…Some research exists that explores the relationship between learning styles and learning that occurs during simulation. This research focuses on identifying which students achieved better learning outcomes during simulation experiences based on their preferred learning style (Brannan, White, & Long, 2016;Hallin, Haggstrom, Backstrom, & Kristiansen, 2015;Shinnick & Woo, 2015;Tutticci, Coyer, Lewis, & Ryan, 2016). No research was found that used preferred learning styles as method for assigning simulation roles.…”

Virtual ER, a Serious Game for Interprofessional Education to Enhance Teamwork in Medical and Nursing Undergraduates: Development and Evaluation Study

“…Kolb's learning cycle identified 4 learning styles: reflectors, theorists, activists, and pragmatists [16]. It has also been noted that face-to-face simulation-based activities are most effective for students who have a balanced learning style, including those who are theorists; in other words, they are effective for students who learn through abstract thinking, reflection, and carefully looking into problems from multiple perspectives [17]. On the other hand, game-based activities are most effective in activists and reflectors, who prefer concrete experience and reflective observation [18].…”