| The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparison between the number of clinical laboratory high fidelity simulations used in an associate degree nursing program and the effect on the students' final exam grades and ATI scores within the senior nursing leadership course. The primary research question for this study was: What is the effect of increasing the use of high fidelity simulation on the academic achievement of associate degree nursing students enrolled in a leadership course? The actual data analyses used in this research study were descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The archival data collected were final exam grades and ATI leadership scores from four cohorts of senior nursing students at one institution who took a leadership course in the fall semester of their final year in the nursing program from fall 2009 to fall 2012. The sample size was 184 participants' data. The results revealed that increasing the use of high fidelity simulation have a correlation with the academic achievement of students enrolled in this leadership course. Significant differences were established at the .05 alpha level. Some implications that resulted from this research included offering various measures for learning to meet individual student needs, providing students with the ability to practice skills and competencies learned in each course, and enabling students to also apply the content they are learning. Even though this study concluded that an increase in high fidelity simulation can impact learning outcomes, future research is recommended because of the limitations to this study, including a sample of convenience and inclusion of only one nursing program. |
