Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence

Traditional aging education at our institution in Taiwan has primarily relied on lecture-based instruction, emphasizing teacher-centered knowledge transmission. Although effective in delivering foundational theories, this approach often overlooks active student engagement which is crucial for develo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shang-Yu Yang, Pin-Hsuan Lin, Chin-Mao Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Education Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/4/401
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850143822851342336
author Shang-Yu Yang
Pin-Hsuan Lin
Chin-Mao Chen
author_facet Shang-Yu Yang
Pin-Hsuan Lin
Chin-Mao Chen
author_sort Shang-Yu Yang
collection DOAJ
description Traditional aging education at our institution in Taiwan has primarily relied on lecture-based instruction, emphasizing teacher-centered knowledge transmission. Although effective in delivering foundational theories, this approach often overlooks active student engagement which is crucial for developing critical thinking, self-confidence, and problem-solving skills. These methods focus on transmitting theories and skills while often neglecting the cultivation of a willingness to serve older adults. This study investigates the impact of integrating diverse teaching strategies into aging education courses to enhance caregiving competence, defined as a multidimensional construct comprising critical thinking, self-confidence, problem-solving ability, and willingness to serve older adults. A quasi-experimental design was used for first-year students from the Department of Healthcare Administration at a university in Taiwan. Participants were divided into traditional (111th academic year) and diverse (112th academic year) teaching groups during gerontology courses. The traditional group employed lecture-based instruction focusing on knowledge transmission, whereas the diverse group utilized flipped teaching, case or story discussions, and expert lectures, emphasizing active learning, situated learning, and reflective practices based on constructivist learning theory. Data were collected via questionnaires at the semester’s start and end. The results showed significant improvements in critical thinking, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and willingness to serve older adults within the diverse group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in these measures. These findings indicate that while diverse teaching strategies effectively enhance caregiving competence, their outcomes are not significantly different from those of traditional methods.
format Article
id doaj-art-50829a8a33b544508d2e206cd8d6847c
institution OA Journals
issn 2227-7102
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Education Sciences
spelling doaj-art-50829a8a33b544508d2e206cd8d6847c2025-08-20T02:28:33ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-03-0115440110.3390/educsci15040401Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving CompetenceShang-Yu Yang0Pin-Hsuan Lin1Chin-Mao Chen2Department of Healthcare Administration, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung 41354, TaiwanDepartment of Health and Beauty, Shu Zen Junior College of Medicine and Management, Kaohsiung 821, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Therapy, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 51591, TaiwanTraditional aging education at our institution in Taiwan has primarily relied on lecture-based instruction, emphasizing teacher-centered knowledge transmission. Although effective in delivering foundational theories, this approach often overlooks active student engagement which is crucial for developing critical thinking, self-confidence, and problem-solving skills. These methods focus on transmitting theories and skills while often neglecting the cultivation of a willingness to serve older adults. This study investigates the impact of integrating diverse teaching strategies into aging education courses to enhance caregiving competence, defined as a multidimensional construct comprising critical thinking, self-confidence, problem-solving ability, and willingness to serve older adults. A quasi-experimental design was used for first-year students from the Department of Healthcare Administration at a university in Taiwan. Participants were divided into traditional (111th academic year) and diverse (112th academic year) teaching groups during gerontology courses. The traditional group employed lecture-based instruction focusing on knowledge transmission, whereas the diverse group utilized flipped teaching, case or story discussions, and expert lectures, emphasizing active learning, situated learning, and reflective practices based on constructivist learning theory. Data were collected via questionnaires at the semester’s start and end. The results showed significant improvements in critical thinking, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and willingness to serve older adults within the diverse group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in these measures. These findings indicate that while diverse teaching strategies effectively enhance caregiving competence, their outcomes are not significantly different from those of traditional methods.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/4/401diverse teaching strategiescaregiving competencecritical thinkingself-confidenceproblem-solving ability
spellingShingle Shang-Yu Yang
Pin-Hsuan Lin
Chin-Mao Chen
Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
Education Sciences
diverse teaching strategies
caregiving competence
critical thinking
self-confidence
problem-solving ability
title Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
title_full Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
title_fullStr Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
title_full_unstemmed Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
title_short Application of Diverse Teaching Strategies in Aging Education Courses to Enhance Caregiving Competence
title_sort application of diverse teaching strategies in aging education courses to enhance caregiving competence
topic diverse teaching strategies
caregiving competence
critical thinking
self-confidence
problem-solving ability
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/4/401
work_keys_str_mv AT shangyuyang applicationofdiverseteachingstrategiesinagingeducationcoursestoenhancecaregivingcompetence
AT pinhsuanlin applicationofdiverseteachingstrategiesinagingeducationcoursestoenhancecaregivingcompetence
AT chinmaochen applicationofdiverseteachingstrategiesinagingeducationcoursestoenhancecaregivingcompetence