Kristiina Vähämaa’s scientific contributions

The aim of this research was to study how a web-based discussion forum can be used as a supervision tool during nursing students' clinical training. The study emphasises peer support and its importance for the students. The empirical research was carried out at a Finnish university of applied sciences. 25 nursing students took part in web-based discussion during their eight-week clinical training period. All in all, 395 comments were submitted. The material was analysed by using categorisation and a thematic analysis process. Finally, the results were reported using a modified Salmon's (2002) 5-stage model of Teaching and Learning On-line and Mezirow's (1981) levels of reflection. The students motivated each other by sharing their feelings and experiences. They noticed the value of peer support and started to learn from each other as well. By reflecting on their experiences, the students progressed in their learning process and at the same time advanced their reflective thinking process. This combination of theoretical knowledge and practice, based on the students' needs and interests, could lead to a deeper understanding which could also result in better clinical skills. This method offers the lecturers the possibility to support and follow the professional growth process in a new evidence-based manner.

The purpose of the empirical study was to describe how nursing students use web-based discussion forum as a tool for sharing their experiences as learners during their clinical training and how the lecturer can use it as a tool for supervision and supporting the students' learning process. Clinical training is an essential part of nursing education. New innovative methods are needed for supervising the nursing students. There is a shortage of nurses in hospitals and the lecturers have little time for supervision. It is therefore difficult to supervise students by traditional methods which do not promote reflective learning particularly well. At a Finnish University of Applied Sciences, 25 nursing students took part in web-based discussion on a Moodle platform during their eight-week clinical training period. The discussion was supervised by two lecturers. All in all, 395 comments were mailed. Data was collected in 2005. The material was analysed by using a categorisation and a thematic analysis process. Finally, the results were reported according to modified Salmon's (2002) 5- stage model of Teaching and Learning On-line and Mezirow's (1981) levels of reflection. The activity in discussion was liveliest from the second week to the sixth week. By sharing feelings and experiences, the students motivated each other. The students noticed the value of peer support and they started to learn from each other as well. By reflecting on their experiences, they advanced in their learning process and at the same time in their reflective thinking process. The lecturers had a possibility to support and follow the professional growth process in a new evidence-based way. Web-based discussion is an effective way to supervise learning in nursing education. Students work as peer supervisors in lively dialogical conversation. By connecting theoretical knowledge with the practice, students can understand things and their consequences in contexts. This leads to deeper understanding and better clinical skills. Web-based discussion can be used as a supervision method in all fields of education.