The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of case based learning(CBL) on the problem
solving ability, intrinsic motivation, and course satisfaction of nursing students, and to compare the effect of
CBL with that of traditional learning.
Participants were sophomore nursing students of A university located in Seoul. The subjects were consisted
of 34 nursing students in the experimental group(CBL) and 37 nursing students in the control
group(traditional learning). The validity of the case scenarios was evaluated by four nursing professors and
clinical experts. The time for data collection and intervention program was from April 1, to May 30, 2014.
The CBL intervention was applied to experimental group once a week, two hours per session for six weeks.
The data were analysed using SPSS WIN 18.0 Program. The homogeneity of the general characteristics
and the dependent variables at pretest between two groups was tested by use of χ2-test and independent
t-test. The differences of dependent variables between two groups at posttest was analysed using paired t-test
and independent t-test.
The results of this study are as follows:
1. In the homogeneity test, there was no significant difference between the two groups.
2. The problem solving ability(t=-2.108, p=.039) and intrinsic motivation(t=-1.987, p=.048) of the
experimental group were significantly more improved than the control group after CBL intervention.
3. In terms of comparing with two groups, course satisfaction(t=-.630, p=.531) was not different
significantly.
In summary, the results demonstrated that CBL contributed to improve problem solving ability and
intrinsic motivation of nursing students. Therefore, it is recommended that CBL need to be used to be a
part of teaching and learning methods in nursing education.