AI-SUPPORTED FLIPPED LEARNING IN NURSING EDUCATION

The growing complexity of healthcare systems and the increasing diversity of patient needs require nurses to possess a broad range of competencies beyond clinical knowledge and technical expertise. Effective communication, critical thinking, and self-directed learning have become essential skills for nursing professionals in contemporary healthcare settings. Throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation of patient care, nurses collaborate continuously with multidisciplinary healthcare teams. In this context, communication competence plays a pivotal role in ensuring patient safety, facilitating teamwork, and improving the quality of care. Effective communication extends beyond the exchange of information; it also involves understanding patients' emotional concerns, engaging family members in care processes, and maintaining professional collaboration among healthcare providers. Despite the importance of these competencies, traditional educational approaches often rely on instructor-centered teaching methods that encourage passive learning. Such approaches may provide limited opportunities for students to actively develop communication abilities, problem-solving skills, and independent learning behaviors. Consequently, nursing students may experience lower learning motivation and encounter challenges in making autonomous clinical decisions and communicating effectively in professional practice. Furthermore, rapid technological advancements and evolving healthcare expectations have increased the importance of lifelong learning and self-management skills among future nurses. Students are expected not only to acquire theoretical knowledge but also to apply that knowledge in clinical environments, regulate their own learning processes, and continuously improve through reflection and feedback. Therefore, communication competence and self-directed learning are recognized as fundamental components of nursing education and professional practice.

Recent developments in digital technology have transformed educational environments by supporting more learner-centered approaches. These innovations offer significant opportunities to enhance learning experiences, particularly in health professions education where knowledge and practice evolve rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based educational tools have emerged as promising resources for delivering personalized learning experiences. By analyzing individual learning needs, AI-supported systems can provide tailored feedback and targeted guidance, enabling students to identify areas requiring improvement and optimize their learning outcomes. At the same time, the flipped learning model has gained increasing attention as an alternative to conventional classroom instruction. Within this model, students review theoretical content before attending class, while face-to-face sessions are devoted to interactive activities such as discussion, application, and problem-solving exercises. This instructional strategy encourages active participation and allows learners to engage more deeply with educational content. Through collaborative activities and scenario-based discussions, students have greater opportunities to strengthen both critical thinking and communication skills.

The integration of artificial intelligence with flipped learning creates an innovative educational framework that combines technological capabilities with active learning principles. This approach enables students to study educational materials at their own pace before class and participate in experiential learning activities during classroom sessions. Personalized feedback generated through AI technologies further supports students in monitoring their progress and refining their learning strategies. As a result, learners are encouraged to assume greater responsibility for their educational development, fostering stronger self-directed learning behaviors and promoting meaningful, long-term knowledge retention. Therefore, AI-supported flipped learning has the potential to enhance both students' motivation to learn and their ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning processes.

Although AI-supported flipped learning has attracted growing interest in educational research, evidence regarding its effectiveness within nursing education remains limited. Existing studies have predominantly focused on conventional teaching methods, while the influence of AI-enhanced pedagogical strategies on student learning outcomes has received comparatively less attention. This gap in the literature is particularly relevant in the context of professional communication skills training, which is a critical component of nursing practice. Communication competence directly influences nurses' ability to make clinical decisions, establish therapeutic relationships with patients, and collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams. Educational approaches that promote active student engagement can facilitate the integration of theoretical knowledge into clinical practice and support the development of independent thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills. In contrast, educational methods centered solely on information transmission may be insufficient for cultivating these competencies. Innovative teaching strategies may better prepare nursing students to become proactive, reflective, and critically minded healthcare professionals.

Given these considerations, a systematic evaluation of AI-supported flipped learning in professional communication skills education is warranted. Such research may contribute to the advancement of innovative pedagogical practices in nursing education while supporting the preparation of future nurses who are capable of delivering effective, patient-centered, and collaborative care. Moreover, evidence generated from this area of inquiry may guide educational policy development and inform the integration of artificial intelligence technologies into health professions education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of AI-supported flipped learning-based professional communication skills training on nursing students' learning motivation and self-directed learning.