To Foster a Culture of Curiosity: A Hermeneutic Study of the Experienced Nurse Educator and Student Intellectual Curiosity in the Online Learning Environment

• Main Author: Russell, Bedelia H
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2016
• Subjects: student intellectual curiosity; experienced nurse educator; nursing education; hermeneutics; online education; Higher Education and Teaching; Online and Distance Education; Other Nursing
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3128; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4498&context=etd

Skills of inquiry are essential outcomes from a baccalaureate nursing education. Students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity can develop effective skills of inquiry. Nurse educators must place emphasis on teaching and learning strategies which engage student intellectual curiosity. However, the concept of intellectual curiosity is not well-studied across multiple contexts of teaching and learning environments within nursing education. In addition, there is little known about the experienced nurse educator and the meaning of student intellectual curiosity across multiple teaching and learning environments. With the increased emphasis on online teaching and learning in nursing education as a solution for expanding student access and capacity, the concept of intellectual curiosity within the context of online learning needs further exploration. Under the assumptions of philosopher Max van Manen (1990, 1997) and Martin Heidegger (1962), the purpose of this qualitative, hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experience of baccalaureate nursing student intellectual curiosity for the experienced nurse educator teaching within the online learning environment. The research question was: What does intellectual curiosity mean to experienced nurse educators teaching in the online environment? A total of eight participants from three different institutions of higher education in the southeastern United States were interviewed through a socratic approach. Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner’s Steps for Data Analysis (1989) are utilized for data analysis. Three constitutive patterns and seven relational themes emerged through the data analysis process. Ontological considerations of findings, implications for nursing education, and future research investigations are identified.