Preparing the future nurses for nursing research: a creative teaching strategy for RN-to-BSN students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Effective teaching strategies are crucial for engaging students in research courses.
• Nursing students often require innovative methods to foster interest in research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement the Cookie Experiments teaching strategy in a nursing research course.
• To evaluate the strategy's impact on students' attitudes towards nursing research.

Main Methods:

• A pretest-post-test design was employed.
• The study involved 95 students in a Registered Nurses to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) program.
• The Cookie Experiments strategy was the core intervention.

Main Results:

• A significant positive effect of the Cookie Experiments strategy on students' attitudes toward research was observed.
• Students perceived course pressure as conducive to learning.
• High student recommendations for continued use of the strategy were noted.

Conclusions:

• The Cookie Experiments strategy is effective in enhancing nursing students' attitudes towards research.
• Hands-on and engaging teaching methods are vital for motivating nursing students in research education.
• Integrating diverse, attractive teaching strategies is recommended for nursing research courses.