Online teaching strategies to improve collaboration among nursing students Laurie Posey * , Christine Pintz The George Washington University, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, 900 23rd Street, NW, Suite 6163 Washington, DC 20037, United States Accepted 20 July 2006 Summary Collaborative problem-solving is an essential competency for nurses and all health professionals. This paper compares the design characteristics and educa- tional benefits of three online-teaching strategies that nurse educators can use to build the critical thinking and social skills needed for effective collaboration: com- puter supported collaborative learning, case-based facilitated discussion, and cogni- tive flexibility hypermedia. These strategies support a critical instructional outcome required for effective collaboration: the ability to examine, assess, and synthesize multiple perspectives to resolve illstructured problems (i.e., problems for which there is no clear-cut solution). Descriptions, examples, and guidelines for imple- menting each strategy are provided. By integrating these strategies into their online courses, nurse educators can prepare nurses to work effectively with others to solve complex problems in clinical practice and the broader health-care system.  c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This article appears in a joint issue of the journals Nurse Education Today Vol. 26, No. 8, pp. 680–687 and Nurse Education in Practice Vol. 6, No. 6, pp. 372–379. KEYWORDS Online learning; Collaborative learning; Critical thinking; Instructional design Introduction This paper will compare and contrast three online teaching strategies that educators can use to de- velop nursing students’ collaborative problem-solv- ing skills. Computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) engages small groups of students in joint problem-solving activities. In case-based facilitated discussion (CBFD), the instructor guides students’ critical discussion of a complex clinical case or problem. Cognitive flexibility hypermedia (CFH) is an interactive learning environment that enables students to explore multiple cases and learning themes from multiple perspectives. Although each of these strategies offers unique benefits, they all support a critical instructional outcome required for effective collaboration: the ability to examine, assess, and synthesize multiple perspectives to resolve ill-structured problems (i.e., problems for which there is no clear-cut solu- tion). By learning to assess ideas and assumptions critically, including one’s own, and to develop 0260-6917/$ - see front matter  c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 202 994 9313; fax: +1 202 994 2576. E-mail address: posey@gwu.edu (L. Posey). Nurse Education Today (2006) 26, 680–687 intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/nedt Nurse Education Today