World Café Teaching Method on Pharmacology Academic Performance and Self-Regulated Learning Among Nursing Students

NCT07601984 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: KMMU2023MEC016
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 890
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The study hypothesis was that introducing the World Café teaching method into pharmacology education would significantly improve students' final examination scores, which included performance in accurate knowledge identification and discrimination, and in knowledge integration, reasoning and clinical decision-making, as well as students' subjective ratings of their pharmacology learning ability. This study evaluated the World Café method, a structured participatory teaching approach, in pharmacology education for nursing students, focusing on its impact on academic achievement and self-regulated learning.

Conditions

Nursing Education Research

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Pharmacology Final Examination Total Score

  The final total score was obtained from a unified, blindly graded written pharmacology examination. The total score was the sum of two sub-scores: (1) accurate knowledge identification and discrimination ability, and (2) knowledge integration, reasoning, and clinical decision-making ability. Higher scores indicate better performance. The examination was administered at the end of the semester (Week 19).

  At the end of the semester (Week 19), after completion of the pharmacology course.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Student Perceptions of the World Café Teaching Method

  Pre-intervention (approximately Week 1 of each semester)

• Self-Regulated Learning Abilities Score

  End of the semester (Week 18)

Study Arms (2)

World Café Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm received the World Café teaching method integrated into the standard pharmacology curriculum. The World Café is a structured participatory teaching approach involving: (1) division of the class into several small groups; (2) presentation of a pharmacology case for initial intra-group discussion; (3) rotation of members to other groups for inter-group exchange, bringing new insights back to the original group; (4) plenary synthesis of insights from all groups to form collective understanding; and (5) instructor feedback on each group's presentation and synthesis. The intervention was delivered by instructors from the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, Kunming Medical University, and spanned the full semester (March-July). The same core pharmacology content was covered as in the control group.

Behavioral: World Café Teaching Method

Traditional Lecture Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this arm received traditional lecture-based pharmacology instruction via PowerPoint presentations and blackboard instruction. Students completed classroom assignments, homework, and the same final examination based on the standard pharmacology curriculum. No structured group discussion or participatory components were included. The course was delivered by the same teaching group and spanned the full semester (March-July).

Behavioral: Traditional Lecture Method

Interventions

World Café Teaching Method BEHAVIORAL

A structured participatory teaching method featuring rotating small-group discussions on pharmacology topics, guided by a facilitator, with plenary sharing of insights.

World Café Group

Traditional Lecture Method BEHAVIORAL

Instructor-delivered didactic lectures using PowerPoint slides, with limited interactive components, covering the same pharmacology content as the experimental group.

Traditional Lecture Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 23 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Third-year undergraduate nursing students at Kunming Medical University
• Enrolled in the pharmacology course during the study semester (March-July 2023 or March-July 2024)
• Willing to participate and provided informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Students who did not complete the pharmacology course or did not take the final examination
• Students who did not provide informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ying Guo: lead

Study Sites (1)

Kunming Medical University

Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China

Location

Study Officials

• Ying Guo

  Kunming Medical University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2026
• First Posted: May 22, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2024
• Study Completion: July 30, 2024
• Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)