LEARNING FETAL MONITORING UNDER THREE CONDITIONS OF CONCEPT TEACHING.
Contributors: University of Colorado, Boulder.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 159
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Higher.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if use of an instructional design model for concept attainment in teaching the critical concepts related to interpretation of fetal monitor patterns would make a significant difference in preparing nursing students in this skill. This teaching model was compared to teaching strategies more commonly used in maternity nursing courses today. The teaching strategies used in the two experimental methods were based on the Tennyson-Cocchiarella instructional design model for concept attainment.

Subjects in the study were generic baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in maternity nursing courses at two universities. Students from each course were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The treatment design for Group I included teaching strategies used in most schools of nursing today. Teaching strategies for Group II involved a modification of the Tennyson-Cocchiarella model, and the treatment for Group III incorporated all of the teaching variables prescribed in the model.

All classes (treatments) were taught by the researcher who followed a script developed for each treatment design. A test to evaluate for concept attainment was administered 2 to 3 days after each treatment, and prior to the students' clinical experience with fetal monitoring. A parallel form of the test was administered at the completion of the clinical experience, 6 to 7 weeks later.

The results of the study show that the group with the teaching variables prescribed by the Tennyson-Cocchiarella method were found to have significantly higher (p $<$.05) means on the first test, than the other two groups, but not on Test 2. Means of all groups, however, increased significantly, showing that clinical experience significantly increased performance of all groups. In addition, the mean of the Tennyson-Cocchiarella group on the first test, was approximately the same as the means of the other two groups on the second test. Given the results of this study, it is recommended that this research be replicated. In addition, this study has important implications for orientation of new nurses to labor and delivery; thus, replication of the research using registered nurses as subjects is also recommended.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-07, Section: A, page: 1954.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER, 1989.

School code: 0051.