Visual Arts in Nursing Education: An Inventive Interprofessional Initiative to Cultivate Metacognitive Awareness in Beginning Nursing Students

Abstract

Purpose To test an interdisciplinary art-based educational program for beginning baccalaureate traditional and accelerated nursing students. Design Longitudinal study (Pretest–Posttest) of nursing students’ metacognitive awareness. Method As part of a first-semester foundations nursing course, all students participated in the Art of Nursing program consisting of three 90-minute sessions led by graduate Art Education students in a local fine arts museum. Before and after the program, subcomponents of critical thinking were assessed using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). Findings A total of 218 students (56 traditional, 162 accelerated) participated. Statistically significant improvement was observed on seven components of the MAI. Although significant increases were observed for Declarative ( p < .0001), Planning ( p < .0001), and Comprehension Monitoring ( p < .0001), the differences pre to post were of different magnitudes between the student groups, characterizing a large change in the traditional versus accelerated group. Conclusions Our results suggest that (1) nursing students’ metacognitive awareness benefits from the museum-based experience despite demographic and educational differences and (2) overall the accelerated student group has exhibited higher metacognitive awareness at baseline as compared with the traditional student group; however, both groups demonstrate significant growth in this area after experiencing an art-based program.

Translation and psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the metacognitive awareness scale among nursing students

“…This process lays the groundwork for investigating metacognitive awareness across various domains and professions ( Siqueira et al, 2020 ). Our findings align with the research outcomes of Harrison and Vallin (2018) , underscoring the importance of elaborating upon and quantifying cognitive knowledge and cognitive regulation in crafting precise educational intervention plans and strategies ( Rivers et al, 2020 ; Lovell et al, 2021 ). Future investigations may employ the C-MAS to assess the metacognitive awareness of nursing students across different regions in China, providing an essential tool for comparative studies on students’ metacognitive awareness within diverse cultural settings.…”

Effects of Arts-Based Pedagogy on Competence Development in Nursing: A Critical Systematic Review

“…A total of 15 interventions utilize the visual arts, with art observation being the most common design. Art observation is typically conducted in a museum (e.g., [ 56 , 102 , 115 ]). Three interventions engaged participants in creative assignments [ 95 , 103 , 113 ].…”

“…Above all, the impact of art observation on observation skills is examined. Five studies examine cognitive skills (e.g., [ 115 , 117 , 129 ]). Other studies focus on communication skills (e.g., [ 56 , 119 ]), diagnostic skills [ 102 ], or clinical skills [ 40 , 127 ].…”

“… Observational skills Tolerance for ambiguity Variation of Budner’s Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) Significant improvement in observational skills Significant increase in tolerance for ambiguity • 4 5.67 Kyle et al (2023) [ 112 ] UK Drama Non-exp. Undergraduate nursing students n = 175 Q Attitudes toward interprofessionalism and nursing advocacy Attitudes toward Healthcare Teams Scale (ATHCTS) Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale (PNAS) Significant improvement in attitudes toward interprofessionalism and nursing advocacy • 5 6.00 Lovell et al (2021) [ 115 ] USA Visual art Non-exp. Traditional and accelerated first-year nursing students n = 218 Q Critical thinking (metacognitive awareness) Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) Significant increase in metacognitive awareness • 3 5.17 Moore and Miller (2020) [ 116 ] USA Video storytelling …”