title: Use of the Pathfinder scaling algorithm to measure students' structural knowledge of community health nursing.
abstract: In nursing education, measures of structural knowledge have not been widely used to assess student learning. Some authors have suggested concept mapping as a way to measure structural knowledge, but this approach can be subjective and otherwise problematic. Pathfinder, a computer-based network scaling technique, offers an alternative, quantitative method for representing and evaluating structural knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate structural knowledge as a learning outcome for baccalaureate nursing students by using Pathfinder techniques. Results revealed that students' structural knowledge increased in internal consistency and became more similar to instructors' knowledge during a course in community health nursing. Students with structural knowledge that was most coherent and similar to the instructors' performed better in the course. Students' structural knowledge characteristics differentiated between high-performing and low-performing students. Findings support the use of structural knowledge representation with Pathfinder scaling techniques as a way to operationalize learning.
authors: University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117, USA. jo-azzarello@ouhsc.edu
authors: Jo
authors: J
authors: Azzarello
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000458:organization & administration; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012984:Software