title: Effects of e-learning, lectures, and role playing on nursing students' knowledge acquisition, retention and satisfaction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nursing education can maintain its dynamic quality when it moves toward innovation and modern methods of teaching and learning. Therefore, teachers are required to employ up to date methods in their teaching plans. This study evaluated the effects of e-learning, lectures, and role playing on nursing students' learning, retention, and satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty nursing students were selected as an experiment and control groups during two consecutive semesters. The educational content was presented as e-learning and role playing during one semester (experiment group) and as lectures in the next semester (control group). A questionnaire containing three parts was used to assess demographics, learning and satisfaction statuses. The questionnaire also included a final openended question to evaluate the students' ideas about the whole course.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean scores of posttest were 16.13 ± 1.37 using role playing, 15.50 ± 1.44 using e-learning and 16.45 ± 1.23 using lectures. The differences between the mean scores of posttest and pretest were 12.84 ± 1.43, 12.56 ± 1.57, and 13.73 ± 1.53 in the mentioned methods, respectively. Lectures resulted in significantly better learning compared to role playing and e-learning. In contrast, retention rates were significantly lower using lectures than using role playing and e-learning. Students' satisfaction from e-learning was significantly lower than lecturing and role playing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the lower rates of retention following lectures, the teachers are recommended to use student- centered approaches in their lectures. Since students' satisfaction with e-learning was lower than the other methods, further studies are suggested to explore the problems of e-learning in Iran.
authors.affiliation: PhD Student in Nursing, Student Researches Committee, Faculty Member, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. pourghazneinT@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Tayebeh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pourghaznein
authors.affiliation: MSc, Faculty Member, East Nursing and Midwifery Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran. sabeghih@bums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Hakimeh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sabeghi
authors.affiliation: MSc in Biostatistics, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. ShariatiNK1@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Keyvan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shariatinejad
keywords: E-learning; lecture; nursing students; role play