| Summary: | Background: Critical thinking has been identified as a skill that many nursing students struggle with. Concept mapping is one teaching method that has been purported to enhance critical thinking.
Aim: To interpret and synthesize the evidence related to the use of concept mapping as a method of developing critical thinking in nursing students and novice nurses, and to present an overview of methodological and reporting aspects of the studies. The goal of this meta-analysis was to determine the magnitude of the effect concept mapping has on critical thinking skills in order to guide our profession in how we teach student nurses.
Methods: A search of Web of Science, PubMED, Cochrane Library and EBSCOhost, which includes Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases was performed. The criteria used for inclusion for this thesis were articles published in English, from peer-reviewed journals, participants were registered nurses or nursing students, and quantitative primary studies published since 2002. Four full text peer-reviewed articles were reviewed independently by two researchers. Data were extracted based on the inclusion criteria. A quantitative meta-analysis was conducted with Review Manager 5.3 software.
Results: Four journal articles published between 2003 and 2014 that reported results from controlled intervention quantitative studies were included in the analysis. The results were not conclusive and did not provide statistically significant evidence in support of concept mapping affecting critical thinking skills in nursing students and novice nurses.
Conclusion: This study does not support the application of concept maps as a teaching and learning strategy to promote the development of critical thinking skills in nurses. Further studies and data collection is suggested using a nurse specific measurement tool for critical thinking skills and a larger sample size. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Nursing, School of === Graduate
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