Exploring dialogue in virtual simulation in nursing education – An observational study

Abstract

Objectives: Simulation is an important learning activity in nursing education. There is little knowledge about dialogue and communication between students and facilitators in a virtual simulation setting. The current study, conducted in Norway, explores the dialogic teaching approaches applied by facilitators in a virtual classroom and adapt an analytic tool from a physical classroom in lower education to a virtual classroom in higher education. Methods: Sixteen virtual simulation sessions of groups with nursing students were video-taped. The videos were coded with a coding scheme developed for physical classrooms and adapted to the virtual setting. The dialogic approaches from the facilitator were analysed using descriptive analysis. Results: The most frequently used approaches from the facilitator were categorized as listening (“Modelling prompts and body language to encourage continuation”) and asking (“Big questions”). The most frequent pattern seen in the use of dialogic approaches fall under the category listening. Conclusions: The coding scheme is suitable to analyse facilitators' dialogic approaches in a virtual setting in nursing education. Further research should examine how the facilitator can strategically deploy dialogic approaches in other types of simulations with students. Innovation: The coding scheme was developed from lower to higher education, and from a physical to a virtual setting.