Abstract
Background
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have transformed nursing education by incorporating online and digital technologies into instructional methods. Digital literacy is essential in information communication technology–based courses to train nursing students to adapt to new digital environments in their profession. Flipped learning effectively utilises digital literacy to help students engage in self-directed learning and develop critical thinking skills. This study aimed to investigate the impact of flipped learning utilising digital literacy on the critical thinking skills and self-directed learning of nursing students in South Korea.
Methods
A quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group pre-test–post-test design was employed to examine effects of flipped learning using digital literacy on the critical thinking skills and learner autonomy of nursing students. Participants were third-year nursing students at P University, Korea. Flipped learning was administered to 36 students in the experimental group for 13 weeks, while traditional lecture-based instruction was provided to 35 students in the control group from September to December, 2023. Data were analysed using SPSS Statistics 27.0. Independent t-tests were conducted to compare the effects between the experimental and control groups. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyse the relationships between digital literacy, critical thinking skills, and learner autonomy.
Results
The post-test scores for critical thinking skills differed between the experimental and control groups, though not statistically significantly (t=-0.86, p = .391). However, the scores for learner autonomy showed a statistically significant difference in favour of the experimental group (t = 2.79, p = .042).
Conclusion
This study indicates that flipped learning using digital literacy effectively enhances learner autonomy. However, critical thinking skills require long-term follow-ups to ensure significant changes occur. This finding suggests that both the short- and long-term effects should be considered when evaluating educational outcomes.