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The impact of the use of inquiry-based learning as a teaching methodology on the development of critical thinking.

Problem-based learning (PBL) uses patients' problems to develop students' problem-solving and clinical skills. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) was developed as a similar methodology that was more holistic and flexible. This study sought to determine if inquiry-based learning (IBL) enhances critical-thinking ability as measured by the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). The WGCTA was administered to 228 nursing students in the first semester and 257 students in the final semester of their program. When the scores were stratified into groups, the students in the low group showed a significant increase in mean score, no change in the medium group, and a significant drop for the high group.

Curriculum↗

Inquiry-based learning: An instructional alternative for occupational therapy education.

An inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach was used as the model of instruction in one of three sections offered annually to large introductory occupational therapy classes in a Canadian university during 1994/5, 1995/6, 1996/7. Students' final grades in this pre-entry course form part of the grade point average on which admission to the BSc OT programme is based. The IBL model was employed to (1) increase the amount of student-directed learning, (2) increase the amount of independent problem-solving, (3) increase student-instructor interaction within the learning situation, and (4) reduce the number of in-class hours for students. This study is an evaluation of whether students from the IBL sections would subsequently do as well as those from other sections in selected junior professional courses. Students from the three IBL sections (n=47) were peer matched to students who had completed other sections of the introductory course, but were part of the same admission cohort (n=68). Their grades in three junior professional courses were compared at the end of their first year in the BSc OT programme. Results indicated that students from the IBL sections did at least as well as those from other sections where a different instructional approach was used, and those from the IBL sections in 1994/5 and 1996/7 each did significantly better on two of the junior professional courses used as the outcome measure: therapeutic occupation and assessment and evaluation techniques. Students reported that the IBL experience stimulated them to learn more about the field, helped them develop problem-solving skills in relation to occupational therapy, and enabled them to learn more about career opportunities in occupational therapy. Mature students were more positive about the IBL approach than students in their first year of university.

Journal Article↗

Inquiry-based learning as a teaching strategy for critical thinking.

Changes in the healthcare system have prompted educators to rethink and revise nursing curricula. The National League for Nursing has outlined recommendations for the successful implementation of socially relevant curricula that reflect the diversity and plurality of local communities. Such revisions should better prepare graduates to function in a reformed healthcare system. Educational goals have shifted from curricula content to curricula outcomes. Beyond the mastery of content (which may quickly become outdated), the development of specific skills (critical thinking) and innovative responses to problems are now required of advanced practice nurses. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) offers an opportunity for graduate students to develop the necessary skills for effective practice. This article presents a model of IBL in graduate mental health education and an investigation of critical thinking skills as a possible outcome of the IBL method.

Clinical Competence↗

Inquiry-based learning and critical thinking in an advanced practice psychiatric nursing program.

The advanced practice psychiatric nurse must be prepared to meet the changing demands being placed on the nursing profession. Some changes are the product of health care reforms, especially managed care. Others are more fundamental, because continuing scientific advances drive rapid changes in the knowledge base required of mental health nurses. Curricular reforms initiated earlier this decade were intended to equip nurses with the problem-solving and critical-thinking skills required to deal with novel and complex situations in a rapidly changing healthcare system. This article describes how the Inquiry-Based Learning tutorial method attends to the mental processes of graduate students and fosters critical-thinking skills.

Clinical Competence↗

Does Inquiry-Based Learning Improve Students' Critical Thinking? A Meta-Analysis Accounting for Control Group Variations.

BACKGROUND: Inquiry learning is widely recognized, through empirical studies, as an appropriate instruction in enhancing students' critical thinking, yet the results were varied across context. The previous meta-analysis did not include the control group variations as a potential moderator and the studies subject domain was limited only to science subjects. Consequently, it is difficult to generalize the effectiveness of IBL in enhancing critical thinking. This meta-analysis aims to investigate whether inquiry learning is effective in improving the students' critical thinking skills and examine the moderating roles of each study characteristic. Methods The literature search applying the PRISMA protocol 2020 was conducted by utilizing SCOPUS, ERIC, and DOAJ databases. A total of 57 studies from 51 articles, published from 2015 to 2025, were synthesized using a random-effects model with standardized mean difference (SMD). RESULTS: The analysis revealed that IBL has a large and significant effect on enhancing students' critical thinking (g = 1.336; 95% CI [1.061, 1.611]). However, substantial heterogeneity was observed (I 2 = 92.09%), suggesting variability across contexts. Moderator analyses revealed that the main moderator, control group variations, was statistically significant in moderating the effectiveness of IBL (Qm = 5.21; p = .022). in contrast, subject domain (Qm = 1.43; p = .698), education level (Qm = 1.11; p = .774), and country ( Q m  = 3.33; p = .650), were insignificantly moderating the effectiveness of inquiry learning. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis highlighted that IBL is effective in improving students' critical thinking. However, the effectiveness of IBL was relative to the type of control group variations. Its effect on critical thinking was greater when compared with teacher-centered learning but smaller when compared with other student-centered learning.

Thinking↗

Active learning of geriatric rehabilitation: deliberations of an undergraduate occupational therapy programme.

Occupational therapists working in geriatric rehabilitation must possess skills of self-directed learning and critical thinking, but conventional teaching-learning strategies are limited in acquiring the said skills. This action research aimed at developing in students an ability for active learning and problem solving. An inquiry-based learning (IBL) methodology was introduced to two geriatric-related subjects of an undergraduate occupational therapy (OT) programme. Students worked on four real-life problems in tutorials and participated in service learning. Lectures were carefully structured to consolidate theoretical knowledge generated from the problems. This study was evaluated qualitatively through interviews of both students and clinical educators, and reflective journals. Students found the problems and service learning stimulating enough to encourage active learning and develop basic study skills. Likewise, clinical educators noted students to be more competent when working with geriatric clients than former students who learned through a conventional curriculum. However, the IBL methodology was stressful in areas related to consistency of teaching-learning strategies across curriculum, workload and time constraints. Curriculum review, development of resource files and provision of systematic support are some of the recommendations to the challenges encountered. To conclude, the IBL approach provides appropriate learning environments that foster in students a self-directed learning attitude in the study of geriatric rehabilitation.

Focus Groups↗

An interactive multimedia solution to learning removable partial denture design.

Surveys of the dental profession and dental laboratories show that up to 60% of cases received by laboratories have little or no input from dentists into the design of their patients' removable partial dentures (RPD). Thus, there is a clear mandate for dental schools to teach RPD design in new ways that will give their students confidence and allow their graduates to approach the task readily and easily. This computer-aided learning program addresses that need. In designing it, we have exploited the unique properties of computers as a learning tool. The program uses Quicktime VR to simulate a three-dimensional perspective of diagnostic casts. It is also possible to incorporate animated diagrams to illustrate various points. Control of timed answers promotes the use of inquiry-based learning and allows the program to be interactive and completely problem-oriented. Students can practice at their own pace, on a variety of virtual cases, and thus learn the craft behind the art of designing RPDs. With this foundation, discussions with experts in the field regarding the patients they treat in senior years and as graduates can be conducted at a higher and more productive level. Student evaluation so far has been very encouraging.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

"Virtual" experiment for understanding the electrocardiogram and the mean electrical axis.

Educators have placed an emphasis on the development of laboratory materials that supplement the traditional lecture format. The laboratory materials should encourage active learning, small group discussion, and problem-solving skills. To this end, we developed a virtual experiment designed to introduce students to the theory and application of the electrocardiogram (ECG) and the mean electrical axis (MEA). After reviewing background material, the students will analyze ECG recordings from two individuals who underwent a series of experimental procedures. The students are challenged to reduce and analyze the data, calculate and plot the MEA, and answer questions related to the theory and application of the ECG. In conducting the virtual experiment, students are introduced to inquiry-based learning through experimentation.

Computer Simulation↗

Four ways to teach PHC in a changing world.

Nurse educators are challenged to revise teaching/learning methods to support community-based primary health care (PHC) systems. The key elements are: integrating education with the realities of practice and people's needs; moving communities to strive towards solving their own health problems; and recognizing the socioeconomic health determinants. Described below are four educational methods based on PHC: inquiry-based learning, IMPACTS (a game to encourage multisectoral collaboration), distance education and community-based education.

Education, Nursing↗

The Community Partnerships Experience: a report of institutional transition at East Tennessee State University.

The Community Partnerships Program, sponsored by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, served as a catalyst for significant changes within East Tennessee State University (specifically its schools of medicine, nursing, and public and allied health) and the rural communities involved. The authors describe the development and implementation of the program and its effects on the students, faculty, communities, and the three participating schools over the period 1992-1999. They also review the changes the program fostered in health professions education and the resulting institutional changes at their university. The primary motivation for change at East Tennessee State University was the desire to develop primary care providers who could more effectively function in an interdisciplinary and interprofessional health care system and who would be sensitive to community needs in rural and underserved areas. The planning process, curricular transformation, implementation of inquiry-based learning, community collaboration, and interdisciplinary education involving students from the three health professions schools are described, including challenges and difficulties (e.g., student attrition; retention of volunteer community-based clinical preceptors; initial faculty resistance; a climate of competition rather than cooperation). Outcomes are described, including students' enrollment and attrition in the program over time, performances on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, program graduates' career choices, and the types and locations of their practices. The program's students performed as well on professional licensing examinations as did their peers enrolled in traditional programs. Program graduates have been much more likely to select primary care careers and to practice in rural locations than have their non-program peers. The development strategies and experience gained could give useful insights to other universities contemplating a community-based component for health professionals within their existing curricula.

Community Participation↗

Cooperative quizzes in the anatomy and physiology laboratory: a description and evaluation.

Physiology educators read journals, such as this one, to gather ideas about curriculum and instruction. Most articles focus on curriculum (i.e., what is taught), but this paper will focus on instruction (i.e., how curriculum is implemented). Just as there are different types of curricula, there are different types of instruction. The most common strategy is lecture. Lectures are extremely efficient for delivering large amounts of information in a short period of time. A common laboratory strategy is discovery or inquiry-based learning (i.e., giving students tools, cognitive and physical, to deduce new information via investigations). A third instructional strategy is the use of cooperative learning. Proper conditions are required for each instructional strategy, and problems arise when the wrong combinations are put together. This paper will describe how a cooperative learning environment can be created in the anatomy and physiology laboratory through the use of cooperative quizzes. It will include a brief introduction to the pedagogical theory behind cooperative learning and an evaluation of the effectiveness of quizzes compared with more traditional methods.

Anatomy↗

Construction of a model demonstrating cardiovascular principles.

We developed a laboratory exercise that involves the construction and subsequent manipulation of a model of the cardiovascular system. The laboratory was designed to engage students in interactive, inquiry-based learning and to stimulate interest for future science study. The model presents a concrete means by which cardiovascular mechanics can be understood as well as a focal point for student interaction and discussion of cardiovascular principles. The laboratory contains directions for the construction of an inexpensive, easy-to-build model as well as an experimental protocol. From this experience students may gain an appreciation fo science that cannot be obtained by reading a book or interacting with a computer. Students not only learn the significant physiological concepts but also appreciate the importance of laboratory experimentation for understanding complex concepts. Model construction provides a hands-on experience that may substantially improve performance in science processes. We believe that model construction is an appropriate method for teaching advanced concepts.

Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena↗

Community partnerships: redirecting the education of undergraduate nursing students.

Consistent with the goal of reforming nursing education to support nursing's agenda for health care reform, a community-based, multiprofessional initiative supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation began in Hawaii in 1991. This initiative created a partnership among the University of Hawaii Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, and Public Health, three community health centers, and their communities to provide a community-based, integrated system of health care, education, and research. In response to this initiative, the School of Nursing developed an integrated undergraduate curriculum consisting of: a discipline-specific tutorial using an inquiry-based learning strategy; a multiprofessional tutorial; and a 1-year clinical experience providing culturally competent primary care. Community-based education has stimulated changes in the philosophy, mission, and curriculum of the School of Nursing. The outcomes achieved as a result of this initiative have had a favorable impact on clients using the community health centers, the communities, the School of Nursing, and the students.

Community Health Nursing↗

An inquiry-based teaching tool for understanding arterial blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular function.

Educators are placing a greater emphasis on the development of cooperative laboratory experiences that supplement the traditional lecture format. The new laboratory materials should encourage active learning, problem-solving, and inquiry-based approaches. To address these goals, we developed a laboratory exercise designed to introduce students to the hemodynamic variables (heart rate, stroke volume, total peripheral resistance, and compliance) that alter arterial pressure. For this experience, students are presented with "unknown" chart recordings illustrating pulsatile arterial pressure before and in response to several interventions. Students must analyze and interpret these unknown recordings and match each recording with the appropriate intervention. These active learning procedures help students understand and apply basic science concepts in a challenging and interactive format. Furthermore, laboratory experiences may enhance the students' level of understanding and ability to synthesize and apply information. In conducting this exercise, students are introduced to the joys and excitement of inquiry-based learning through experimentation.

Blood Pressure↗

Continuing education for medical professionals: a reflective model.

The Royal Colleges and their Faculties have moved continuing professional development up the agenda of doctors in the UK. The low educational value and failure to change professional practice of much continuing medical education has led to criticism of its emphasis on formal, didactic teaching and academic knowledge. The ubiquitous scientific or technical bias in medical education makes questionable assumptions about the nature of professional knowledge, how professionals learn, and the linkage of theory and practice in professional work. Given its narrow conception of professional knowledge, it is hardly surprising that the effectiveness of continuing medical education has proven difficult to evaluate. These points of criticism suggest that a more systematic and coherent approach to continuing education is required. The adoption of the concept of continuing professional development, which draws on learning by reflective practice, marks an important step in this direction. Continuing professional development emphasises self-directed learning, professional self-awareness, learning developed in context, multidisciplinary and multilevel collaboration, the learning needs of individuals and their organisations, and an inquiry-based concept of professionalism. It also involves a widening of accountability to patients, the community, managers and policymakers, and a form of evaluation which is internal, participatory and collaborative rather than external and scientific in character.

Clinical Competence↗

Science education partnership between the University of Colorado and a Denver High School.

The authors describe a partnership, begun in 1997, between Manual High School, a school in which about 85% of the students are African, American or Hispanic, and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. There are three partnership goals: help teachers transform a lecture-based curriculum into an inquiry-based curriculum, help students build their science knowledge, and give students opportunities to learn--and become excited--about careers in medicine. The current emphasis of the partnership is at the ninth-grade level. The first unique aspect of the partnership is the Medical Explorers program. One portion of the program begins when a hypothetical teenage car-crash victim arrives at the emergency room; over the next six weeks, practicing health care professionals dramatize their medical responsibilities to this patient and discuss the academic training necessary to fulfill those responsibilities. In addition, the Medical Explorers students travel to the Health Sciences Center, where they tour laboratories and clinics, help conduct experiments, and explore computer-based surgical simulations. The second unique program is a service learning project in which ninth-grade students assist with an activity that gives elementary school students a chance to participate in the process of scientific inquiry and to discover the wonder of real hearts and lungs; the ninth-graders assist with logistics (e.g., they distribute newspapers), and, more important, interact with the younger students by asking thoughtful questions of them. The partnership plans to incorporate the elementary and middle schools that graduate their students to Manual High School in order to encourage the implementation of inquiry-based science curricula and to provide sustained support to teachers throughout the entire K-12 educational pathway. If medical colleges can help teachers provide a consistent classroom draw for student fascination in science and medicine, then the colleges are more likely to help create a rich diversity of students who pursue careers in medicine.

Adolescent↗

Boston University's biosciences education program for Boston-area students.

The authors describe the CityLab program, which has the goal of providing equal educational opportunities in biotechnology and medical sciences for all students in the greater Boston area in grades seven through 12, particularly students from groups traditionally underrepresented in science. Since 1992, more than 16,000 students and 1,200 teachers have participated in the program's activities, which focus on giving students meaningful laboratory experiences in the biosciences (either at Boston University of by means of a traveling laboratory in a bus). Students develop confidence in their ability to apply molecular biology and biotechnology concepts and skills to scientific problems and learn that they can pursue careers in the biosciences. The authors describe the CityLab program, its inquiry-based teaching methods, its effects, and its potential to increase students' interest in biomedical studies and careers.

Boston↗

Supported inquiry science: teaching for conceptual change in urban and suburban science classrooms.

Science education professionals generally agree that hands-on, inquiry-based science potentially benefits all students, yet there are few specific guidelines for helping students with learning disabilities (LD) achieve success in general education science classrooms. This study compared the effects of two approaches to hands-on science--supported inquiry science (SIS) and activity-based science--in six urban and two suburban fourth-grade general education classrooms. Participants included 172 students, 33 of whom had learning disabilities. The study found that students with and without LD demonstrated greater concept learning in the SIS classrooms, which focused on eliciting and reworking students' misconceptions and co-constructing knowledge under the guidance of a teacher-coach.

Achievement↗