Using Nursing and Information Literacy Standards to Design an Online Learning Experience

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Information Literacy
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Nursing students often struggle to develop information literacy skills essential for evidence-based practice.
• A gap exists in translating theoretical knowledge of information literacy to practical application in nursing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and evaluate an online learning experience for prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students.
• To enhance students' ability to locate and critically appraise evidence for practice.

Main Methods:

• Developed a framework based on nursing and information literacy standards.
• Designed an online learning experience using cognitive constructivism.
• Integrated the intervention into a baccalaureate-level research and theory course.

Main Results:

• Students showed improved competence in identifying source types and ethical information use.
• Students demonstrated lower competence in defining information needs and resource location.

Conclusions:

• Online learning experiences can positively impact information literacy competence in nursing students.
• Further development is needed to enhance students' skills in needs assessment and resource discovery.