Browsing by Author "Went, Amanda"
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- ItemFacilitating critical thinking in nursing students : lecturers’ perspectives(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Went, Amanda; Archer, Elize; Bell, Janet; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.ENGLISH SUMMARY: As health care systems become more complex, health professionals are faced with multifaceted situations requiring suitable critical thinking skills. These critical thinking skills allow health professionals to integrate information and make prompt, appropriate decisions resulting in safe and effective health care practice. Health professional education is fundamental to facilitating the development of critical thinking skills in students. However, there are many factors affecting this process including teaching strategies, the lecturers, the students, academic literacy, the educational institution, and various societal factors. The aim of this study was to explore lecturers’ perspectives of strategies that could facilitate the development of critical thinking in nursing students in class room teaching, in order to make recommendations for lecturers. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted at a nursing college in the Western Cape. The data were analysed using an iterative process that involved repeated readings of the transcripts, identification of codes, and the subsequent generation of two focus areas. The understanding of critical thinking by the lecturers revealed in the first focus area, was found to be primarily related to cognitive skills in nursing students with more limited reference to their affective skills. The general finding related to the second focus area, was that lecturers continue to use the lecture method as their main teaching strategy, rather than more student-centred strategies that promote active learning and assist with the facilitation of critical thinking in students. There was a realisation among the respondents that the lecture method did not necessarily facilitate critical thinking in nursing students. Yet, resource constraints such as large student numbers and the large amount of content in the curriculum were the reasons proposed by the lecturers for continuing with the lecture method. Other resource constraints mentioned by the lecturers included the lack of availability of Wi-Fi in classrooms and the lack of a well-equipped simulation laboratory that could assist with the facilitation of critical thinking in the student. The preparedness of lecturers to teach critical thinking seemed to be problematic with lecturers expressing a desire for further education and training on critical thinking and various appropriate teaching strategies to facilitate it. Language was also seen as a challenge in the facilitation of critical thinking. This study represents the first of its kind in this institution and it is hoped that this contribution would add to the conversations that are currently being held about the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that educators have in relation to critical thinking.