THE EFFECT OF DEVELOPMENTAL INSTRUCTION STRATEGIES ON THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SOPHOMORE NURSING STUDENTS; RELATIONSHIP OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT SCORES TO MEASURES OF CRITICAL THINKING AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT.
Contributors: Temple University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 145
Subjects: Education, Higher.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this descriptive and quasiexperimental study was to investigate the cognitive development of sophomore nursing students and the effect of planned developmental instruction on students' cognitive growth. A convenience sample of 95 subjects completed the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP, a measure of cognitive development), the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), and the Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral reasoning. Students in the experimental section completed two other measures of cognitive development, the Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) and the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID). Qualitative data on student reaction to course experiences in the experimental section was collected via student journals.

The mean pre and posttest scores of the subjects in this study places them at the lower levels of cognitive development, at the Perry stage of early Multiplicity. There is a statistically significant correlation between posttest LEP scores and subjects' scores on other measures of cognitive development, the LCQ and the MID. There was also a statistically significant positive correlation between cognitive development (LEP) and moral reasoning (DIT scores), and between DIT scores and CCTST Induction subscores. There was no evidence of a statistically significant relationship between cognitive development (LEP) and critical thinking (CCTST scores), or between LEP scores and SAT, GPA, or age.

A repeated measures analysis of variance did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups on change in LEP score over time. ANCOVA analysis did not discover a significant effect of section on LEP score when adjusting for the effects of age, SAT score, or GPA. A systematic investigation of student qualitative data was impossible due to the varied and personal nature of the journal entries. Review of these data appears to support general student enthusiasm for developmental instruction strategies.

For the subjects studied, these results suggest that the mean level of cognitive development is at the lower levels of development, and remains at the lower levels even after two years of college. Further research is needed to identify educational experiences which foster reasoning and critical thinking, particularly among nursing students, and to investigate the instructional activities which are most appropriate to enhance student cognitive development.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1262.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0225.