The effect of crossword puzzle activity used in distance education on nursing students? problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills: A comparative study

Aim: The study was planned to determine the effect of crossword puzzle activity in distance education on nursing students' problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills. Background: In online education, increasing nursing students' learning skills, motivations and participation is important. Design: The study is a randomized-controlled trial. Method: The study sample consisted of 132 nursing students registered to the Pediatric Nursing distance course in the 2020-2021 academic year. 20 students who were assigned to the control group did not agree to participate in the study and did not fill in the data form. Accordingly, the study was completed with the participation of 112 students, with 66 students in the experimental group and 46 students in the control group. In the 14-week distance education, 20-question crossword puzzle activity per unit was applied to the students in the experimental group. The standards for reporting consort guidelines for reporting parallel group randomized trials were used to report this research. The students in the control group were taught in the form of presentation. At the beginning and end of the study, CDMNS and PSI were applied to the students. Ethics committee approval (Number: 2021/79) was obtained from the relevant university to conduct the research. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group in PSI and CDMNS scales (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Crossword puzzle activity used in distance education developed the students' problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills.