Improving Nursing Students’ Critical Thinking Disposition Through a Gamified Flipped Classroom: A Quasiexperimental Study Publisher

Summary: Could games improve nursing students’ critical thinking? A single-group study found improved scores after a gamified flipped classroom, though a control group was absent. #NursingEducation #Learning

Dehghan M S ; Birjandi M ; Bagheri M
Source: Nursing Research and Practice Published:2026

Abstract

Background: Combining gamification with the flipped classroom as a novel teaching method for enhancing the learning process has theoretical advantages. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the gamified flipped classroom method on the critical thinking disposition of undergraduate nursing students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This study was a single-group, quasiexperimental design with a pretest and a posttest. This study was conducted on 60 fourth-semester nursing students. The intervention consisted of a gamified flipped classroom, with the preclass component delivered on a virtual learning management system with games and the in-class component gamified in face-to-face classes. The Persian version of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) was used. Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed in overall critical thinking disposition and in the subscales of open-mindedness, analyticity, and maturity following the implementation of the gamified flipped classroom (p = 0.001). Effect sizes were moderate to strong (95% CI: −0.71 to −0.47). Conclusion: This study suggests that integrating a gamified flipped classroom with in-class games may enhance nursing students’ disposition toward critical thinking. Copyright © 2026 Mohammad Sadegh Dehghan et al. Nursing Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.