Identification and Comparison of Academic Self Regulatory Strategy Use of Traditional and Accelerated Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Abstract

Objective: To explore and compare the use of metacognitive, cognitive, and environmental resource management self regulatory learning (SRL) strategies used by a national sample of students enrolled in traditional and accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs. Background: Learner focused reforms in nursing education require students to assume more responsibility for learning. Nursing student responsibility for learning is reflected in their use of metacognitive, cognitive, and environmental resource SRL strategies. Learning strategy use promotes the development of clinical reasoning and lifelong learning skills requisite to meet the needs of complex patients in a dynamic healthcare environment. Method: Using Bandura’s social cognitive theory as a framework, the learning subscales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire were used to survey a national sample of 514 baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in their final semester of a traditional baccalaureate nursing program or a 12-month accelerated baccalaureate program. Delineation of student use of metacognitive, cognitive (rehearsal, organization, and elaboration), and environmental resource management (help seeking, peer learning, effort regulation, and time and study environment) SRL strategies was examined by program and in light of age, grade point average (GPA), weekly hours spent studying independently, and weekly hours spent in employment. Results: Differences in SRL strategy use were found between the program groups and between program groups divided by sample age. Older students in both the accelerated and traditional programs used more metacognition and elaboration SRL strategies than their younger traditional counterparts. Older traditional students used significantly more effort regulation SRL strategies than both groups of younger students. Both older groups of students studied significantly more, used significantly more time and study environment SRL strategies, and had significantly higher GPAs than the younger groups of students from both programs. Conclusions: This study provides a framework for learner focused nursing education by explicitly defining differences in SRL strategy use of students enrolled in traditional and accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs.