ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1616392
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrating Behavioral Neuroscience and Educational Psychology in Healthcare TrainingView all articles
Integrating Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory into Nursing Education: A Four-Stage Intervention with Case Analysis, Mind Maps, Reflective Journals, and Peer Simulations for Advanced Health Assessment
Provisionally accepted
- School of Nursing, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China
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Purpose: This study evaluates the effectiveness of integrating case-based mind maps and reflective journals within Kolb's experiential learning framework in advanced nursing education.Methods: An ex post facto design compared 2023 (control group, n=46) and 2024 (experimental group, n=57) cohorts of nursing master's students. The experimental group received a Kolb-based intervention comprising: case analysis (concrete experience), reflective journals (reflective observation), mind maps (abstract conceptualization), and peer-led simulations (active experimentation). Outcomes were assessed using the Self-Directed Learning Instrument for Nursing Students (SDLINS), Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV), and a teaching satisfaction questionnaire.Results: The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher final assessment scores (96.54 ± 1.43 vs. 93.07 ± 1.62, p<0.001), superior self-directed learning abilities (69.09 ± 7.56 vs. 55.63 ± 7.68, p<0.001), and enhanced critical thinking skills (288.05 ± 12.41 vs. 260.13 ± 12.02, p<0.001). All subdomains of these measures showed significant improvements (p<0.05). Teaching satisfaction was markedly higher in the experimental group across all dimensions (p<0.001), with particular strengths noted in teaching attitude (18.09 ± 2.68 vs. 11.35 ± 2.09) and classroom teaching (23.02 ± 3.59 vs. 17.83 ± 2.70).Conclusion: The systematic implementation of Kolb's experiential learning cycle through case-based mind mapping and reflective journaling can facilitate the development of master's nursing students' competency in clinical advanced health assessment. This pedagogical approach effectively connects theoretical knowledge and clinical practice while fostering students' critical thinking and self-directed learning skills.
Keywords: Experiential learning, Mind mapping, reflective practice, Nursing education, Competency-Based Education
Received: 22 Apr 2025; Accepted: 13 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cheng, Wu, Huang, Wu and Guan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jing Cheng, School of Nursing, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China
Yuxiang Guan, School of Nursing, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China
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