Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Kostandy, Raouth

Subject Headings

Nursing

Abstract

Critical thinking has been recognized as an essential concept in nursing curricula, as well as an important outcome for nursing students. The process of journaling has been used as an educational tool within nursing education to evaluate the critical thinking skills in nursing students. Despite its vigorous use, there is no specific format or conceptual model that is used consistently in nursing education to guide the journaling process or to evaluate if critical thinking is or has indeed occurred. This study will introduce the concept of using self-regulated learning (SRL) theory to prompt Basic BSN students in the development of critical thinking skills through the act of journaling. Self-regulated learning was used to format and apply journaling prompts to guide the Medical-Surgical II clinical rotation of Cleveland State University nursing students. The hypothesis was that students who use the self-regulated prompts will show a higher level of critical thinking skills as compared to the students who did not use the self-regulated prompts. A convenience sample of students were recruited and randomly assigned into groups. Journal reflections were scored and evaluated using the Lasater Clinical Judgement Rubric for the presence of cognitive, metacognitive and motivational critical thought processes. A t-test analysis was conducted to measure the difference between the two BSN groups for level of critical thinking. The results of this study did not show a significant difference between the two groups, but is a step in developing a more conceptually consistent method of guiding and evaluating the journaling process in order to show the presence of critical thinking.

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