The Effect of Puzzle Activity on Nursing Students' Willingness to Work With Older Adults and Gerontological Nursing Competence

The study will be conducted using a parallel-group randomized controlled experimental design to determine the effect of a puzzle activity on nursing students' willingness to work with older adults and their gerontological nursing competence. The study group will consist of second-year students (N=243) enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at a university. The G*Power program was used to calculate the sample size. In the reference study (Kaynak, S., Ergün, S., & Karadaş, A. (2023). The effect of crossword puzzle activity used in distance education on nursing students' problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills: A comparative study. Nurse Education in Practice, 69, 103618), it was determined that at least 86 students (43+43) were needed, with α = 0.05, 80% power, and an effect size of 0.615.

After assigning the students to the intervention and control groups, a puzzle activity will be conducted with the intervention group following a lecture. In preparing the puzzles, the researchers will use free online puzzle-making tools (e.g., https://crosswordlabs.com/). The puzzles will include questions related to basic knowledge and concepts concerning gerontological nursing competence. During the puzzle-solving process, the researcher will be present in the classroom and provide guidance to students when needed. After students complete the puzzles, the researcher will project the puzzle on the presentation screen and evaluate the answers through interactive discussion with the students. Upon completion of each puzzle, the researcher will collect the puzzles from the students to prevent contamination between the intervention and control groups. A post-test will be administered to students at the end of the puzzle activity.