Abstract:

Objective To explore the teaching effect of “virtual learning communities” based on WeChat in nursing undergraduates. Methods A total of 60 nursing undergraduates were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group received the intervention of WeChat “virtual learning communities” for four weeks，including preset student mentoring plans and submission，completing the plans in “virtual learning communities”，counting the completion of daily plans，and exchange and communication. Meanwhile，the control group was reminded to complete assignments and examination arrangements by the research team. The Independent Learning Ability Scale，Students’ Academic Procrastination Questionnaire were used to compare the differences pre and post intervention，and the learning time，the completion of learning tasks，satisfaction and overall goal completion were summarized. Results After the intervention，there was no statistically significant difference in the scores of self-directed learning between the two groups（t=1.402，P=0.166）. The score of academic procrastination in the experimental group（112.50±13.22） was less than the control group（119.70±11.62），which difference was statistically significant（t=2.240，P=0.029）. Besides，the completion of learning tasks，satisfaction and general objective’s completion of the experimental group were better than the control group（P<0.05）. Conclusion The intervention of “virtual learning communities” based on WeChat can effectively reduce academic procrastination and improve learning efficiency of nursing students，which is worthy of promotion and application.

Key words: Students, Nursing, Virtual learning communities, Self-directed learning, Academic procrastination