This research was aimed at integrating Problem- Based Learning (PBL) into a pediatric nursing bachelor program in order to explore the nursing students' understanding of the teaching method, the learning state of the students and the student's satisfaction with the teaching outcomes. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the nursing students who had selected the pediatric nursing course for a continuous four semesters. The total valid sample size was 62. Among them, 88.7% indicated that ”small-group discussion” was the important method of PBL, and ”collaborative discussion” was the students' role in the PBL. Students who had completed the PBL course had significantly higher scores when evaluated on their level of understanding of the scenarios compared to the baseline (p<.0001). In total, 62.9% of students reported that they had previewed the course, while 91.9% of students stated that they had actively researched the relevant learning sources. More than 60% of students indicated satisfaction with the total teaching outcomes including participation in-group discussion, group assignments, the presence of a consistent coaching tutor, course preview and learning novel nursing knowledge. However, the cost in terms of the teaching load for teachers, the time needed for scenario writing and the time required to evaluate the clinical performances of the graduated nursing students need further analysis. The results of this study support the applicability of PBL to a pediatric nursing bachelor program.
This research was aimed at integrating Problem- Based Learning (PBL) into a pediatric nursing bachelor program in order to explore the nursing students' understanding of the teaching method, the learning state of the students and the student's satisfaction with the teaching outcomes. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the nursing students who had selected the pediatric nursing course for a continuous four semesters. The total valid sample size was 62. Among them, 88.7% indicated that ”small-group discussion” was the important method of PBL, and ”collaborative discussion” was the students' role in the PBL. Students who had completed the PBL course had significantly higher scores when evaluated on their level of understanding of the scenarios compared to the baseline (p<.0001). In total, 62.9% of students reported that they had previewed the course, while 91.9% of students stated that they had actively researched the relevant learning sources. More than 60% of students indicated satisfaction with the total teaching outcomes including participation in-group discussion, group assignments, the presence of a consistent coaching tutor, course preview and learning novel nursing knowledge. However, the cost in terms of the teaching load for teachers, the time needed for scenario writing and the time required to evaluate the clinical performances of the graduated nursing students need further analysis. The results of this study support the applicability of PBL to a pediatric nursing bachelor program.