Nursing Students' Self-regulated Learning Skills for Online Learning

Abstract BackgroundUniversities have been working to adopt more flexible approaches to teaching and learning. New approaches have been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic whereby university nursing programs have moved more learning into online environments to continue delivering education and supporting nursing students to progress in their study. However, there is significant evidence to suggest that many students remain comfortable with traditional methods of learning. Nursing students in particular prefer to learn by experience and reflection. An important attribute for online learning is related to students' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. The aim of the study was to explore nursing students' SRL readiness for online learning environments. MethodsA convenience sample of one hundred and fifty undergraduate nursing students who were enrolled in the first year of nursing program participated in an online survey. The survey instrument was a Self-Directed Learning Instrument which had previously been used to measure the students' readiness for self-regulated learning.ResultsResults indicated that students were motivated to improve in their learning and enjoyed finding answers to questions. They also agreed that they continued learning even when they faced difficulties. In contrast, they often did not know what they had to learn; they struggled to manage their learning time, find learning resources, monitor their progress, and self-evaluate their learning outcomes. ConclusionsProviding opportunities to develop nursing students' metacognition is important. Activities such as goal setting and planning, developing time management and assessment strategies, and making explicit support channels for online learning, as well as providing opportunities for self-reflection and self-evaluation strategies to enhance SRL can support this.