FEEDBACK OF LEARNING PREFERENCE INFORMATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON AFFECTIVE RESPONSES, INDEPENDENT STUDY TIME, AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING READINESS OF NURSES IN A SELF-DIRECTED HOSPITAL ORIENTATION PROGRAM.
Contributors: Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.)
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 155
Subjects: Education, Adult and Continuing.; Education, General.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Hospital orientation programs have changed to keep pace with increasing technology, innovative teaching methods and cost containment measures. Many hospitals have developed self-directed orientation programs, and assessment of learning styles has been deemed an important characteristic of them. How do nurses who characteristically prefer concrete and teacher-structured learning situations, respond to these orientation programs?.

This study sought to provide an empirical basis for the decision to assess learning preferences and to provide feedback on preference profiles to nurse orientees. The purposes of this study were to (1) determine the learning preferences of nurses enrolled in a self-directed hospital orientation program, and (2) investigate the effects of feedback of learning preference information on affective response to the self-directed model, time spent in independent study, and change in readiness to engage in self-directed learning.

The study employed a pretest-posttest control group design. A convenience sample of 61 nurses were randomly assigned to the experimental or alternate-treatment control group. The groups were statistically similar on a variety of demographic variables. All subjects were administered a learning preference inventory, a career preference inventory, and a questionnaire to determine readiness to engage in self-directed learning. The experimental group (n = 31) was provided feedback on their learning preference profiles with concomitant recommendations about strategies that might be used in subsequent orientation activities. The control group (N = 30) was provided "placebo" feedback from the career inventory.

Analyses of covariance and t-tests revealed no significant differences between group means on the posttest learning readiness scale, the affective response and time measures. Nurses who were mismatched to the self-directed orientation mode and who received learning preference feedback showed significant differences in time spent in independent study as compared to the mismatched orientees in the control group. The data supported previous findings that nurses tend to prefer concrete, teacher-structured and interpersonal learning situations.

Recommendations for hospital educators and repeat studies are presented.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-02, Section: A, page: 0382.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, 1989.

School code: 0163.