Nursing student's experiences of blended learning of theoretical courses: Findings of a qualitative study

Blended learning is a combination of two or more educational methods that takes advantage of other training methods such as multimedia courses, seminars, and e-learning in addition to attending classes. This study aimed to assess nursing students’ experiences of blended learning and to evaluate the effectiveness of this method. This study used content analysis methodology and had a qualitative approach. For this reason, 30 third-semester nursing students from Urmia Islamic Azad University were selected through purposive sampling. Medical-Surgical II was prepared and implemented for the purposes of this study. At the end of the semester, students’ experiences were derived using focus group interview during four sessions. The content analysis method was used for data analysis. Three main themes and n ine sub-themes were extracted from the results. The main themes included "benefits of blended learning", "offers for increasing efficiency of blended learning", and "disadvantages of blended learning". Participants expressed that blended learning is more useful than traditional education, and leads to ease of understanding learning, increases motivation to continue to higher education, and reduces test anxiety. In comparison with traditional learning, blended approach improves learning, has positive impact on exam results, and improves working skills with computers. Therefore, using blended education in medical training is strongly recommended.