Date of Graduation

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Learning and Instruction

Program

Learning & Instruction EdD

First Advisor

Patricia Busk

Second Advisor

Xornam Apedoe

Third Advisor

Judith Lambton

Abstract

A Comparison of Two Teaching Methods for Pediatrics: Multimedia and Text-based Modules to Teach Pediatric Medication Administration

Nurse educators are in a position to design and develop effective methods that consider the cognitive structures and how the mind processes information to teach pediatric medication content to nursing students. The majority of methods teaching medication administration use only one mode: the visual mode. One mode to present leaning material does not take advantage of the additive effects of using two modes to present learning material.

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of two teaching methods to present learning material for teaching pediatric medication administration content: multimedia and text-based modules. The multimedia and text-based modules included worked examples with a step-by-step explanation and solution on how to calculate pound to kilogram, safe-dose ranges, intravenous flow rates, and fluid maintenance. The dependent variable was knowledge acquisition of mathematical calculation skills for medication administration. Calculation skills were defined operationally as a student's ability to calculate (a) weight-based safe-dose ranges, (b) intravenous flow rates for primary and secondary (intravenous piggy-back) medication infusion, (c) conversions from pounds to kilograms, and (d) fluid maintenance.

The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the multimedia and the text-based module with regard to the pass rates and the four subtest items, pound-to-kilogram conversions, safe- dose calculations, intravenous flow rates, and fluid-maintenance calculations. The results also suggest that both modules were not as effective for teaching pediatric medication administration content for the participants in the study, as one would expect.

As for additional findings, the majority of errors made by both groups were similar with the exception of three types of errors. The differences between the two groups were related to correctly setting-up the problem, mathematical functions, and calculation errors. The majority of the questions that were answered incorrectly were related to mathematical functions, for example, dividing, adding, or multiplying when not necessary. The text-based group made more mathematical functions errors and calculation errors compared with the multimedia group. All of other types of errors that were made between the two groups were similar.

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