title: Collaborative learning among undergraduate students in community health nursing.
abstract: Teamwork can benefit students, enhancing their ability to think critically, solve problems creatively, and collaborate effectively. We piloted a collaborative learning project with undergraduate community health nursing students (N = 83) that entailed working in teams to explore epidemiologic data, synthesize the literature, and develop an evidence-based plan for nursing intervention and evaluation pertaining to a public health issue. Project evaluation consisted of pre- and post-project surveys by students, peer evaluation, and formative and summative evaluation by faculty. Having students work in teams, while challenging both for faculty and students, may be a viable strategy for preparing the next generation of nurses for inter- and intraprofessional collaboration. Our experience suggests that instituting a collaborative learning experience as part of an undergraduate course in community health nursing can be an effective way to expose students to constructive approaches to teamwork and prepare them for evidence-based nursing practice in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Community Systems, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 415 Victoria Building, 3500 Victoria Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. yangk@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Kyeongra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Gail R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Woomer
authors.forename: Judith T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*