Evaluation of the impact of case studies on self-efficacy, student engagement, and critical thinking in a Doctor Of Nursing Practice online pediatric course

ABSTRACT

Case studies are an effective educational strategy; however, there is limited literature examining virtual case–based learning for nurse practitioner (NP) students in online education. This evaluation examined the impact of case studies on the students' learning experience, self-efficacy, engagement, and critical thinking among NP students enrolled in an online course. As an alternative to traditional recorded lectures, two written case studies and three interactive unfolding case studies were developed addressing vaccinations, pediatric asthma, type I diabetes, pediatric gastrointestinal disorders, and pediatric musculoskeletal disorders for NP students in an online Family NP Pediatric Theory course. After each case study, students completed self-evaluation surveys assessing their pre and post self-efficacy for managing the clinical scenarios. At the end of the course, students revaluated the impact of the case studies on their learning experience as well as their affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement and critical thinking. Students reported increased self-efficacy for each case study with large effect sizes. Overall, the unfolding case studies positively influenced students' learning experience, engagement, and critical thinking. These findings support the integration of unfolding case studies in online NP education as an effective strategy to enhance students' self-efficacy, engagement, and critical thinking in online courses.