Does teaching method affect learning and how meaningful learning is from student perspectives?

This study examines how two different teaching methods affect learning in two first-year nursing student groups trained to use the TETRA phone. One group listened to a lecture on the TETRA phone and the second group learned to use it through a computer-based simulation program. The research questions of the study are as follows: “How do different teaching methods affect students when they learn how to use the TETRA phone?” and “How meaningful is learning from the students’ perspective?” The teaching experiments were organized in spring 2013 in northern Finland, and 40 nursing students participated in the TETRA phone training. The data were collected using interviews (n=12) after the students carried out a simulation scenario where the aim was to use the TETRA phone in daily communication processes. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis methods. Results show differences in the two groups, particularly in the mechanical use of the TETRA phone.