DNP 801 Topic 5 DQ 1

DNP 801 Topic 5 DQ 1 Why is it important to develop the skill of questioning? How does developing this skill apply to your reading of empirical articles, research conclusions, and your own DPI Project? Critical questioning is essential for all students. In particular, critical questioning is important for DNP students to be able to successfully construct knowledge (Mayweg-Paus, Thiebach, & Jucks, 2016). Additionally, critical questioning promotes “collaborative argumentation on science-related issues” (Mayweg-Paus, et al., 2016, p. 195). Understanding the main goal of education is to foster critical thinking, it is logical to assume any student with education would be able to critically think; however, this is not the case. A key educational activity which can promote critical thinking is “computer-supported collaborative argumentation” (Mayweg-Paus, et al., 2016, p. 195). This is particularly encouraging for a student currently in an online learning program. Communicating online can encourage critical questioning which hopefully leads to well-researched, current, and in nursing, evidenced-based knowledge (Mayweg-Paus, et al., 2016). While some may think all students critically think and question, it was found that in order to critically think and therefore critically question, a trained student did much better than an untrained student. In addition to a trained student critically questioning more often, the same students used more critically questioning statements (Mayweg-Paus, et al., 2016). In this case, training consisted of purposeful online activities, online questions, etc. to assist students in developing their critically thinking abilities. In conclusion, frequency, comfort, and expectations to critically think promote critical questioning; which in this case, encourages a DNP student to find gaps in literature and be able to accurately dissect literature. Furthermore, critically thinking and questioning enhance intrinsic motivation, which is key to a successful DNP student experience. Mayweg-Paus, E., Thiebach, M., & Jucks, R. (2016). Let me critically question this! – Insights from a training study on the role of questioning on argumentative discourse. International Journal of Educational Research, 79, 195-210. doi:10.1016/.2016.05.017