Critical thinking and learning styles of students in conventional and accelerated programmes

The effect of learning styles on the academic achievement of nursing students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Learning in the academic setting is influenced by the dynamic interaction between students and teachers. Recognizing and adapting to diverse learning styles is essential for improving instruction, gaining knowledge, and drawing informed conclusions. Therefore, this study investigated learning styles and their effects on students' academic achievement.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study in Iran's Mazandaran province, 238 nursing students were surveyed between October and December 2021 using random sampling. The questionnaire included socio-demographic data, Kolb's Experiential Learning Model, and students' academic performance (EPT). Statistical analysis with SPSS version 22 involved descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, chi-square tests, and linear regression with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The mean age of the nursing students was 20.95 ± 1.71 years. The most common student learning styles were convergent (75.2%) and accommodator (12.2%). According to the results, convergent (148.62 ± 16.28) and accommodator learning styles (147.72 ± 8.79) with the highest average played a role in students' academic achievement. The mean score of EPT was 147. 13 ± 15.48 (out of 240). A significant difference between the academic performance and different dimensions of learning style was found (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Findings indicated that adopting a convergent and accommodator learning style can affect students' academic achievement. Therefore, learning environments appropriate to this style, such as simulation and laboratory activities, are suggested to emphasize practical work and make students think an scrutinize.

Instruments to evaluate undergraduate healthcare student learning styles globally: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Recognizing learning styles is important to maximizing learning outcomes and many instruments are available to investigate learning styles.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate instruments with evidence of validity and reliability most commonly used to evaluate undergraduate healthcare student learning styles globally.

METHOD

This scoping review of literature was guided by The Joanna Briggs Institute's recommendations for conducting scoping reviews and the PRISMA-ScR (extension for scoping reviews). The protocol is available for access.

DATA SOURCES

Databases searched included Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria were: fully accessible; written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish; and used reliable and/or validated instruments to describe healthcare student learning styles. Articles were excluded if the sample included healthcare professionals, there was no report of the instrument validity and reliability, or was not fully accessible. Data were extracted from each article and entered into Microsoft Office Excel documents for analysis.

RESULTS

Forty-seven articles were selected for full review, including cross-sectional, interventional, and longitudinal studies. Eleven instruments were identified with evidence of reliability and validity for assessing undergraduate healthcare student learning styles globally. The most frequently used instruments were Visual, Aural, Read-Write, and Kinesthetic; Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory; and the Honey-Alonso Questionnaire. Most instruments were developed based on a theoretical framework and/or model.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review adds to the literature an overview of available instruments which measure healthcare student learning styles with evidence of both reliability and validity. The results indicate the need for further studies to improve learning style instruments for use in intervention studies aimed at improving the teaching-learning process for healthcare students.

A multi-centre study of learning styles of new nursing students

AIMS

To describe beginning nursing student learning styles and to determine whether there are relationships between learning style and sociodemographic or educational background. We also aim to compare these data with the normative values of the 3.1 version of the Kolb learning style inventory and verify its reliability.

BACKGROUND/LITERATURE

Learning style is related to the way in which an individual interacts with learning conditions, involving cognitive, affective, physical and environmental aspects. In nursing education, few studies have focused on knowing the learning styles of beginning nursing students, despite the need for students to develop critical thinking skills required of nurses.

DESIGN

Descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational, multi-site study.

METHOD

The study took place at five universities in Brazil and one university in the United States. Data were collected from a sample of beginning nursing students (n = 176) in 2019, using the Portuguese and English 3.1 versions of Kolb's learning style inventory.

RESULTS

Most students' learning styles were classified as divergers (34.10%), while 28.41% were assimilators, 23.86% were accommodators and 13.63% were convergers. Kolb describes learning as a four-stage cyclical process grounded in experience. The mean score of one learning stage, the concrete experience, showed those who attended public high schools compared with private high schools was higher (mean = 26.22; p = .0019), and there were different results between Brazilian state universities, Brazilian federal universities and the American university (p = .0149).

CONCLUSION

The diverger style was the most common among beginning nursing students in Brazil and the United States. There was a significant relationship between learning style, the educational background of students, the type of institution they attend and their previous experience with some active learning methodologies.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Aligned with Kolb's experiential learning theory, nurse educators must be aware of student learning styles so they may use teaching strategies to meet their students' needs.

Learning style instruments in Arab countries: an analysis of existing literature

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine learning style instruments used in Arab countries to measure higher education students’ learning styles, identify the most common instruments and determine whether the reliability and validity of these instruments have been verified in Arab contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive review of the existing literature using several databases and search engines. Descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages were used to present the results.

Findings

There are only a few published studies related to learning styles in Arab countries, with the majority published between 2012 and 2016 using samples drawn from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. The most common learning style instrument is the Felder–Silverman/Solomon Index of Learning Styles. The reliability and validity of this instrument require further investigation.

Research limitations/implications

This study is not without limitations. First, it covers only publications in the English language. Second, the paper focuses on research involving higher education students. Third, only research that was available online was used in this study. Nonetheless, the findings have several implications for researchers, educators and human resource development managers. For researchers, this study highlights research gaps that need to be filled. It also serves as a basis for more analytical and in-depth studies. The data also helps educators become more informed about the learning style instruments commonly used in the Arab context and whether the results from these instruments are dependable. Human resource development managers can draw on these findings to choose instruments that have proven reliable and valid.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to examine learning style instruments used in Arab countries and to explore whether the reliability and validity of these instruments have been verified in Arab contexts. This paper is a useful contribution to research into learning styles and learning style instruments.

Graduate entry to nursing: An exploration of the demographic characteristics of New Zealand students

This paper describes the characteristics of student enrolled in New Zealand's first Graduate Entry to Practice (GEN) programme. Data were collected from students enrolled in the first five cohorts of the programme from 2014 to 2018 (n = 93). In total 69 students responded to an on-line, self-report survey, resulting in a 74% return rate. The majority of respondents were female (87%, n = 60), aged 21-30 (68%, n = 47) and New Zealand European (77%, n = 53). The educational background of respondents ranged from theology, to marine biology and more commonly science based degrees. Their motivation for entering nursing was to work in a diverse and caring profession with many wanting to eventually move to advanced practice roles. A key finding was that the students considered that the primary role of the nurse was the provision of holistic care to both the patient and their family. The majority wish to start their nursing careers in the acute hospital based areas of care provision.

Critical thinking dispositions in undergraduate nursing students: A case study approach

BACKGROUND

The transition of nurse education to the higher education sector in Ireland in autumn 2002 led to the development of a new curriculum for undergraduate nursing with critical thinking as an expected outcome.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate critical thinking dispositions and the difference between first and third year nursing students.

DESIGN

A single embedded case study approach incorporating a cross-sectional design.

SETTING

Two similar university sites providing a new four year undergraduate honours degree programme in nursing.

PARTICIPANTS

A cohort of first (n = 237) and a cohort of third year (n = 215) undergraduate nursing students.

METHODS

Critical thinking provided the main case for this case study. The Delphi conceptualisation of critical thinking underpinned the study and critical thinking dispositions were measured using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test was used to determine differences between the first and third year nursing students.

RESULTS

First year nursing students scored strong while third year students scored weak in overall critical thinking disposition. Both first and third year nursing students revealed a strong score for inquisitiveness, open-minded, analyticity and maturity dispositions. They revealed weak scores for self-confidence, systematicity and truth-seeking dispositions. Inquisitiveness was the strongest while truth-seeking was the weakest disposition for both cohorts. Neither cohort reached the higher positive scores indicative of consistent endorsement of higher level thinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse educators need to develop their knowledge of critical thinking dispositions and foster these attributes throughout the pre-registration nursing degree programme. Clinically based scenarios which challenge nursing students and invoke questioning contribute to critical thinking development. Statutory bodies responsible for nurse education and nurse educators must continue to encourage critical thinking.

Nurse educators' critical thinking: A mixed methods exploration

Nurse educator's critical thinking remains unexamined as a key factor in the development of students' critical thinking.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to understand how nurse educators reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting while supervising students.

DESIGN

This study uses a single-phase triangulation mixed methods design with multiple data gathering techniques.

PARTICIPANTS/SETTINGS

Participants for this study are clinical nurse educators from a large Western Canadian baccalaureate nursing program who teach 2nd or 3rd year students in medical-surgical settings.

METHODS

Participants for this study completed a demographic survey, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), participant observation in a clinical practice setting, and semi-structured interviews.

RESULTS

The results from the California Critical Thinking assessments (CCTST and CCTDI) show that participants are positively inclined and have a moderate to strong ability to think critically, similar to other studies. Participants find it difficult to describe how they reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting, yet all participants use role modeling and questioning to share their critical thinking with students. When the quantitative and qualitative results are compared, it is apparent that the confidence in reasoning subscale of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test is higher in those educators who more frequently demonstrate and voice engagement in reflective activities. Dispositions associated with critical thinking, as measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, are more easily observed compared to critical thinking skills.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is a beginning exploration of nurse educators' critical thinking-in-action. Our mixed methods approach uncovers a valuable approach to understanding the complexity of nurse educators' critical thinking. Further study is needed to uncover how nurse educators' can specifically enact their thinking abilities to support student learning in the clinical setting.

Transition experiences, intrapersonal resources, and job retention of new graduate nurses from accelerated and traditional nursing programs: A cross-sectional comparative study

BACKGROUND

With increasing numbers of new graduate nurses from accelerated nursing programs entering the workforce, it is important to understand their transition experiences, as they may differ from those of traditional graduates.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the intrapersonal resources, transition experiences, and retention outcomes of these two groups.

DESIGN

A descriptive cross-sectional comparison study was conducted.

PARTICIPANTS

A random sample of 3655 registered nurses with <3years of nursing experience were invited to participate from across Canada; 1020 responded (27.9%). The final sample included 230 nurses from accelerated programs and 768 from four-year programs (total n=998).

METHODS

Following ethics approval, participants were mailed a questionnaire to their home address. One month later non-responders were sent a reminder letter, followed by a second questionnaire one month later (January to March, 2013). Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS. Group differences were assessed using independent samples t-tests for continuous variables and χ² tests for categorical variables.

RESULTS

Overall, there were few significant differences between new graduate nurses from accelerated and traditional programs. Nurses in both groups had high levels of intrapersonal resources, positive transition experiences, were satisfied with their jobs and their choice of nursing as a career, and their intentions to leave were low.

CONCLUSIONS

All new graduate nurses need to have a strong educational preparation and transition support, regardless of their age and previous work and career experiences.

Assessing Learning Styles of Graduate Entry Nursing Students as a Classroom Research Activity: A quantitative research study

BACKGROUND

A number of studies across different disciplines have investigated students' learning styles. Differences are known to exist between graduate and baccalaureate nursing students. However, few studies have investigated the learning styles of students in graduate entry nursing programs. .

OBJECTIVES

Study objective was to describe graduate entry nursing students' learning styles.

DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/METHODS

A descriptive design was used for this study. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) was administered to 202 graduate entry nursing student volunteers at a southwestern university. Descriptive statistics, tests of association, reliability, and validity were performed. Graduate nursing students and faculty participated in data collection, analysis, and dissemination of the results.

RESULTS

Predominant learning styles were: sensing - 82.7%, visual - 78.7%, sequential - 65.8%, and active - 59.9%. Inter-item reliabilities for the postulated subscales were: sensing/intuitive (α=0.70), visual/verbal (α=0.694), sequential/global (α=0.599), and active/reflective (α=0.572). Confirmatory factor analysis for results of validity were: χ²(896)=1110.25, p<0.001, CFI=0.779, TLI=0.766, WRMR=1.14, and RMSEA =0.034.

CONCLUSIONS

Predominant learning styles described students as being concrete thinkers oriented toward facts (sensing); preferring pictures, diagrams, flow charts, demonstrations (visual); being linear thinkers (sequencing); and enjoying working in groups and trying things out (active),. The predominant learning styles suggest educators teach concepts through simulation, discussion, and application of knowledge. Multiple studies, including this one, provided similar psychometric results. Similar reliability and validity results for the ILS have been noted in previous studies and therefore provide sufficient evidence to use the ILS with graduate entry nursing students. This study provided faculty with numerous opportunities for actively engaging students in data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results.

Patient-Centered Tablet Application for Improving Medication Adherence after a Drug-Eluting Stent

BACKGROUND/AIMS

This study's objective was to evaluate a patient-centered educational electronic tablet application, "My Interventional Drug-Eluting Stent Educational App" (MyIDEA) to see if there was an increase in patient knowledge about dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) and medication possession ratio (MPR) compared to treatment as usual.

METHODS

In a pilot project, 24 elderly (≥50 years old) research participants were recruited after a drug-eluting stent. Eleven were randomized to the control arm and 13 to the interventional arm. All the participants completed psychological and knowledge questionnaires. Adherence was assessed through MPR, which was calculated at 3 months for all participants who were scheduled for second and third follow-up visits.

RESULTS

Relative to control, the interventional group had a 10% average increase in MPR. As compared to the interventional group, more patients in the control group had poor adherence (<80% MPR). The psychological data revealed a single imbalance in anxiety between the control and interventional groups. On average, interventional participants spent 21 min using MyIDEA.

DISCUSSION

Consumer health informatics has enabled us to engage patients with their health data using novel methods. Consumer health technology needs to focus more on patient knowledge and engagement to improve long-term health. MyIDEA takes a unique approach in targeting DAPT from the onset.

CONCLUSION

MyIDEA leverages patient-centered information with clinical care and the electronic health record highlighting the patients' role as a team member in their own health care. The patients think critically about adverse events and how to solve issues before leaving the hospital.

Critical thinking in nursing: Scoping review of the literature

This article seeks to analyse the current state of scientific knowledge concerning critical thinking in nursing. The methodology used consisted of a scoping review of the main scientific databases using an applied search strategy. A total of 1518 studies published from January 1999 to June 2013 were identified, of which 90 met the inclusion criteria. The main conclusion drawn is that critical thinking in nursing is experiencing a growing interest in the study of both its concepts and its dimensions, as well as in the development of training strategies to further its development among both students and professionals. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that critical thinking has been investigated principally in the university setting, independent of conceptual models, with a variety of instruments used for its measurement. We recommend (i) the investigation of critical thinking among working professionals, (ii) the designing of evaluative instruments linked to conceptual models and (iii) the identification of strategies to promote critical thinking in the context of providing nursing care.

My Interventional Drug-Eluting Stent Educational App (MyIDEA): Patient-Centered Design Methodology

BACKGROUND

Patient adherence to medication regimens is critical in most chronic disease treatment plans. This study uses a patient-centered tablet app, "My Interventional Drug-Eluting Stent Educational App (MyIDEA)." This is an educational program designed to improve patient medication adherence.

OBJECTIVE

Our goal is to describe the design, methodology, limitations, and results of the MyIDEA tablet app. We created a mobile technology-based patient education app to improve dual antiplatelet therapy adherence in patients who underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention and received a drug-eluting stent.

METHODS

Patient advisers were involved in the development process of MyIDEA from the initial wireframe to the final launch of the product. The program was restructured and redesigned based on the patient advisers' suggestions as well as those from multidisciplinary team members. To accommodate those with low health literacy, we modified the language and employed attractive color schemes to improve ease of use. We assumed that the target patient population may have little to no experience with electronic tablets, and therefore, we designed the interface to be as intuitive as possible.

RESULTS

The MyIDEA app has been successfully deployed to a low-health-literate elderly patient population in the hospital setting. A total of 6 patients have interacted with MyIDEA for an average of 17.6 minutes/session.

CONCLUSIONS

Including patient advisers in the early phases of a mobile patient education development process is critical. A number of changes in text order, language, and color schemes occurred to improve ease of use. The MyIDEA program has been successfully deployed to a low-health-literate elderly patient population. Leveraging patient advisers throughout the development process helps to ensure implementation success.

Outcome measures for traditional and accelerated nursing graduates: an integrative literature review

AIM

The purpose of this article is to examine research studies that compared outcome measures of students/graduates of traditional and accelerated BSN programs.

BACKGROUND

Accelerated postgraduate baccalaureate nursing programs are popular. It is important to compare outcome measures and explore equivalence between traditional and accelerated programs.

METHOD

Peer-reviewed research articles published within the last six years were identified in ERIC, CINAHL, and MEDLINE.

RESULTS

Seven research studies involving 1,159 traditional students and 576 accelerated students were included in this review.

CONCLUSION

Findings indicate that although there were some statistically significant differences in outcomes between groups, research methodologies used in several of the studies were not ideal. Future research needs to be geared toward practice pattern differences between the two groups as well as research exploring evaluation methods.

Learning styles and critical thinking relationship in baccalaureate nursing education: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Critical thinking is a desirable competency for contemporary nurses although there are growing concerns supporting a disturbing paucity in its achievement. Learning styles reflect habitual behaviors which determine distinct preferences within learning situations. Evidence suggests that critical thinking could evolve through learning processes. Variances in critical thinking achievement by nursing students might therefore be influenced by individual learning preferences. The concepts "learning styles" and "critical thinking" have been independently examined in the nursing literature. No reviews were found however exploring their association in nursing education.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the potential relationships between learning styles and critical thinking in baccalaureate nursing students.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

Eleven electronic databases were utilized without geographical and time publishing filters. Hand-searching journals and scanning references from retrieved studies were also performed.

METHODS

Databases were searched for descriptive correlational studies which considered the relationship between learning styles and critical thinking in baccalaureate nursing students. The authors independently progressed three stage screening. Retrieved articles were reviewed at title, abstract and full text levels according to predetermined criteria. All included studies were quality appraised using a rating tool for descriptive studies.

RESULTS

Six studies were finally included. Findings were grouped under four key themes: predominant learning styles, critical thinking scoring, critical thinking evolution across academic progress and learning styles-critical thinking correlations. Learning styles' diversities, weak critical thinking and inconsistent evolution through academic progress were revealed across studies. Critical thinking differed significantly between learning styles.

CONCLUSIONS

Commonly accepted models in nursing education were lacking in both learning styles and critical thinking. Within studies identical learning styles were found to be positively or negatively related to critical thinking. However comparative findings across studies revealed that all learning styles might be positive determinants toward critical thinking evolution, suggesting that there is a relationship between learning styles and critical thinking. Certain links between learning styles and critical thinking were supported in given settings and given nursing student populations. Further field exploration is required.

The perceived benefits of a virtual community: effects of learning style, race, ethnicity, and frequency of use on nursing students

BACKGROUND

It is important for nursing faculty to consider the variability in learning style among nursing students.

AIM

The researchers sought to compare differences in perceived learning benefits among nursing students who had different learning styles and in frequency of use of a virtual community learning intervention. METHOD Using a comparative approach, learning style was measured with the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Frequency of use and benefit were measured with an exit survey.

RESULTS

No differences in perceived benefit were found according to learning style. Subjects with frequent use of the virtual community reported significantly greater learning benefits than those with infrequent use, regardless of learning style. Also found was a statistically significant relationship between Kolb learning-style scores and race or ethnicity.

CONCLUSION

All nursing students may potentially benefit from virtual community use.

Comparison of students' perceptions of educational environment in traditional vs. accelerated second degree BSN programs

BACKGROUND

Students' perceptions of their academic learning environment have been found to be related to their approaches to learning and learning outcomes. Educational environment is just beginning to be researched in nursing education with the vast majority of studies focusing on the clinical educational environment. Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) programs for students who have obtained a bachelor degree are a popular nursing pedagogue. These programs are instituted on the belief that degreed students have the ability to be successful in a demanding program, are older, are adult learners and tend to be more motivated than their traditional counterparts. There is a paucity of research exploring the differences in student perceptions of the educational environment between the traditional and accelerated programs.

OBJECTIVE

Explore students' perceptions of the educational environment in the traditional and ABSN programs within an institution and determine any differences.

DESIGN

Comparative descriptive study.

SETTING

Private school of Nursing in the Southwest.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience sample of 24 ABSN and 38 traditional graduating senior students.

METHODS

Invited students completed the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure through the online survey application Qualtrics. An independent t-test was used to compare the scores.

RESULTS

A total of 62 students completed the survey for an overall response rate of 57%. No statistical difference was found in students' perceptions of academic environment between the two groups on the total score. However, there was a statistically significant difference on the sub-domain pertaining to atmosphere and there were significant differences on 6 out of 50 individual items.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that, taken in its entirety, there was no significant difference in student perception of educational environment between the traditional and accelerated cohorts at this institution as measured by the DREEM tool. However, there was a significant difference between the two cohorts within the student perception of Atmosphere sub-domain and on seven individual items. The DREEM tool was found to be a reliable instrument to determine students' perceptions of educational environment.

Assessment of learning style in a sample of saudi medical students

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED

Clinical skills education for graduate-entry nursing students: enhancing learning using a multimodal approach

This paper discusses the development of a new clinical skills course at a school of nursing and midwifery in London. The course, part of a two year pre-registration programme for graduates in other disciplines, adopted an innovative multimodal approach. This comprised a range of teaching, learning and assessment strategies designed to maximise comprehensiveness, complementarity and flexibility. The background to the development is discussed and each component is described in detail. A brief summary of relevant feedback generated from anonymous student evaluations is included. This provides important insights into the perceived strengths and weakness of the module from a learner perspective. The paper concludes by identifying proposed future developments and recommending wider applications of the multimodal approach within nursing and healthcare education on an international level.

Learning styles of first-year undergraduate nursing and midwifery students: a cross-sectional survey utilising the Kolb Learning Style Inventory

It is important that educators understand their students' learning styles. In this study we investigate the learning styles of first-year undergraduate nursing and midwifery university students and whether these learning styles are influenced by student demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional survey including demographic questions and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory was utilised. There was a 78% response rate (n=345). The majority of first-year students investigated in this study were divergers (29.5%), followed by assimilators (28.8%), accommodators (23.9%) and convergers (17.9%). Female students had a higher reflective observation (RO) score than male students (p=0.0078). Those with English as first language showed a higher active experimentation score (p=0.0543) and a lower concrete experience (CE) score (p=0.0038). Australian citizens and permanent residents had a higher RO score (p=0.0560) and a lower CE score (p=0.0100) than migrants and international students. Nursing/arts students had a higher abstract conceptualisation (AC) score than nursing students (p=0.0013). Students enrolled in 4-5 subject units had a higher AC score than those enrolled in 1-2 units (p=0.0244). Nursing and midwifery students are mainly of the diverger and assimilating learning styles. Some student demographic characteristics show a significant influence on learning styles. This study has teaching and research implications.

Implications of Confucian learning on nurse education in the UK: a discussion

This paper explores and discusses the increasing presence of international recruitment in higher education in the UK with a particular focus on nurse education and the implications of this growth in student population with regards to teaching and learning. It draws attention to the noted differences in learning styles of Confucian learners from the East to that of Socratic learners in the West. Addressing these two dimensions and cultural differences in learning for international students is important if educators are to fully understand the student learning behaviours. Owing to a lack of information regarding these learning behaviours in the nursing domain, comparisons have been drawn from other disciplines. Recurrent themes are presented and analysed in terms of the educational paradigm and their possible influence on the educational interaction is postulated. From this analysis it is apparent that although quite disparate, both learning behaviours could benefit from each other's intellectual tradition. Emic differences between learning styles have been highlighted in this paper, it would in future be useful to identify etic commonalities within learning groups and use those as a foundation for further research, so that the full potential of confusion learners can be achieved within a Westernised academic arena.

Maximising graduate status in pre-registration nursing programmes: utilising problem based learning

This paper debates the use of problem based learning in accelerated pre-registration nursing programmes that are specifically designed for candidates with 'graduate status'. We discuss the benefits of using problem based learning (PBL) within a graduate entry nursing (GEN) curriculum and its effectiveness in producing dynamic nurses who are both capable and value-centred practitioners.