Online real-time teaching interaction and self-regulated learning ability: a cross-sectional mediation study among undergraduate nursing students

Background As higher education increasingly shifts toward online models, nursing education has also widely adopted digital learning formats, one of the key theoretical foundations of which is the self-regulated learning model. Existing research has confirmed that academic self-efficacy is significantly and positively associated with the development of students’ self-regulated learning abilities. However, its mediating mechanism between online real-time teaching interaction and self-regulated learning ability in nursing students has not yet been systematically explored. Methods This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. From September 30th, 2025 (with a data collection period of one week), a questionnaire survey was conducted among nursing students from four nursing undergraduate programs in Jilin Province. Using the convenience sampling method, a total of 813 valid questionnaires were collected. Data were collected through questionnaires, utilizing the following instruments: the online real-time teaching interaction (ORTTI), the academic self-Efficacy (ASE), and the self-regulated learning (SRL) scales. All data were processed using the SPSS AU statistical analysis platform. Analytical methods encompassed descriptive statistics, correlation analysis between variables, path analysis with Bootstrap mediation testing, and mediation effect testing for academic self-efficacy. Results The results indicate that, the online real-time teaching interaction was significantly and positively related to self-regulated learning ability in nursing students ( r  = 0.809, p   Conclusion These findings suggest that online real-time teaching interaction is directly and positively associated with the self-regulated learning ability of nursing students, and may also be indirectly associated with it through higher academic self-efficacy. The results highlight the importance of intentionally designing interactive components in online nursing education that support academic self-efficacy. These findings may inform the design of interactive online courses that support nursing wstudents’ academic self-efficacy and self-regulated learning.