Socratic and Lecture Teaching Methods on Academic Performance of Students at Selected Nursing Colleges in Imo State, Nigeria

In education, teaching methodologies are critical in facilitating student learning and understanding. Nursing education uses various teaching approaches to improve the learning experience. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of three teaching methods (Socratic teaching methods and lecture method) on students’ academic performance in research methodology. A pretest-posttest experimental design was employed. This study involved a total of 134 nursing students from two nursing colleges in Imo State, Nigeria, selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. A multiple-choice, single-best-answer achievement quiz on research methodology, developed by the researcher, was used to assess students' knowledge (validity = 0.92, reliability = 0.69). Data collection took place from December 2022 to April 2023. Prior to intervention, the students exhibited markedly low knowledge levels of research methodologies, with mean scores of 22.97 (SD = 3.08) for the lecture method and 22.26 (SD = 4.99) for the Socratic method, with no significant difference observed (p = 0.453). Post-intervention results indicated substantial increases in knowledge: the lecture method yielded a mean score of 59.49 (SD = 10.84), while the Socratic method produced a mean score of 72.19 (SD = 7.90), the latter demonstrating a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the study highlights the effectiveness of Socratic teaching methods in enhancing nursing students' academic performance in research compared to traditional lecture approaches. Based on these findings, nursing educators are encouraged to integrate Socratic methods into their curricula to enhance students' understanding and application of research methodology.