A Delphi study of innovative teaching in baccalaureate nursing education

The purpose of this Delphi study was to describe the process of innovative teaching in the baccalaureate nursing classroom, based on the consensus of expert nurse educators (n = 28). Round 1 involved a semi-structured survey that required participants to identify essential components of, facilitators of, and barriers to innovative teaching. Content analysis of the responses was used to construct the 62-item Round 2 survey in which participants ranked the importance of each item using a 7-point, Likert-type scale. The Round 3 survey included the same items and provided the median scores of the participants' own and other experts' responses. The highest-ranked essential components were faculty open, seeking new ideas; faculty motivation, commitment, and enthusiasm; and open and effective student-faculty communication. The highest-ranked facilitators were effective communication with students, faculty motivation and enthusiasm for change, and faculty satisfaction with innovative teaching. Faculty attitudes, fears, and lack of knowledge of innovative teaching were the highest-ranked barriers to innovative teaching in the nursing classroom.