Visualizing Thought Through Mind Mapping: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills Among Nursing Students

This study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the mind mapping method in enhancing nursing students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The study will be conducted using a randomized controlled experimental design. The study will be conducted at the Faculty of Nursing at Gazi University, located in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The study population will consist of students (n=80) enrolled in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course at the Faculty of Nursing, Gazi University, during the 2025-2026 academic year. The research will be conducted in a randomised controlled experimental design (n=65). All students will be administered the "Demographic Information Form," the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale," and the "Problem-Solving Inventory" as pre-tests. Subsequently, students who volunteer to participate in the study will be selected based on inclusion criteria. The students will be assigned to two separate groups using stratified randomization based on their scale point means. The implementation phase of the study will be conducted over five weeks in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course. The researchers have developed five distinct case studies to be discussed in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course. One case study will be covered each week. The case studies address infection control, medication administration, patient safety and medical errors, ethical issues, and systematic approaches. Different teaching methods will be applied to the experimental and control groups simultaneously during the course's scheduled days and times. The subject of the lesson for that day will be covered in 40-50 minutes. After that, the experimental and control groups will be assigned to two separate classrooms for the remaining part of the lesson. Participants in the control group and those excluded from the study will continue with the course's regular flow under the guidance of the course instructor. During the course, they will cover the subject matter usingthe case analysis methods. In the experimental group, students will be divided into small groups of 4-5 people. Over the course of five weeks, they will create mind maps on a different topic each week. Groups will be given approximately 20-30 minutes to create their mind maps. During this process, groups will be expected to prepare their mind maps in a visual format, either using pen and paper or, if they prefer, various web-based programs. At the end of the allotted time, all groups will present the mind maps they have prepared, and these will be discussed. Once all mind mapping presentations are complete, the final test will be administered at the end of the five weeks. All students will take the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale" and the "Problem Solving Inventory" as the final test. Research data will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. A significance level of p \< 0.05 will be accepted.

Mind maps consist of a network of interconnected and related concepts. The purpose of mind mapping is to discover creative connections between ideas (Ordu, Çalışkan, 2022). Mind maps are two-dimensional visual learning tools. These learning tools serve as a bridge between students' prior knowledge and the new information they will acquire. Mind maps are a note-taking technique that emphasizes creativity and visual representation. With the advancement of technology, mind maps have also begun to be used in computer-based environments (Gao et al., 2022; Tavares et al., 2021). This study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the mind mapping method in enhancing nursing students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The study will be conducted using a randomized controlled experimental design. A power analysis was performed using the G\*Power Version 3.1.9.7 program based on the 80 students enrolled in the course during the 2025-2026 academic year to determine the sample size. In a similar study in the literature (Cengiz et al., 2023), the mean and standard deviation data for the pre-test (94.52 ± 24.11) and post-test (84.26 ± 19.95) for the experimental group, the effect size was determined to be 0.4559608. Based on a 5% margin of error and 95% power parameters, the t-test for dependent groups determined the minimum sample size to be n=54. Taking into account potential data losses that may occur during the study process, a 20% margin was added to the sample group, and the study was planned to begin with a total of 65 participants. The inclusion criteria for the study were students who were enrolling in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course for the first time and who volunteered to participate in the study. The exclusion criteria were students who had previously taken the critical thinking course. The dropout criteria were the student's refusal to continue with the study or failure to complete the data collection forms. Data for the study will be collected using the "Demographic Information Form," the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale," and the "Problem-Solving Inventory." The preparatory phase of the study The researchers have developed five distinct case studies to be discussed in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course. One case study will be covered each week. The case studies address infection control, medication administration, patient safety and medical errors, ethical issues, systematic approaches. For each case, there are case-specific questions regarding the nurse's fundamental roles and responsibilities, areas of risk requiring attention, and so on. The cases and case questions will be submitted to subject matter experts in the nursing department. Necessary revisions will be made based on the experts' feedback. Implementation of the Study All students will be administered the "Demographic Information Form," the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale," and the "Problem-Solving Inventory" as pre-tests Покажи пълното описание...

Inclusion Criteria: * Students who are enrolling in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course for the first time and * who volunteer to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: * Students who have previously taken the critical thinking course * The student's refusal to continue participating in the study or failure to complete the data collection forms.