Posted: January 16th, 2023

NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline

NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline

I am going to respond to this discussion by stressing the importance of asking questions. I wanted to see what was out there concerning asking questions. Shiver (2015) explains her take on asking questions as:

One of the most important things that I’ve learned in graduate school is how to ask for help when I need it. Knowing when and how to ask for help can make navigating this unknown terrain much easier and save you time by avoiding the mistakes (or experiments) that others have made. This skill cannot be underrated, as you will encounter the unknown regularly in your studies as a graduate student NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.

The trick is knowing when, and how, to ask for help. The point of graduate school is for students to become independent scholars of their chosen disciplines who can ask and answer their own questions.

When starting out it’s quickly apparent that graduate school is different from undergrad. It can be difficult to know what is expected of you in terms of being instructed on what to do versus independently figuring out what to do. This is a huge change from undergrad, where a lack of knowledge was assumed and professors were there to show you what and when things needed to be completed. Now, there are still professors to ask for assistance, but by and large graduate students are expected to take the lead in their training and reach out for what they need.

Here are some tips for asking questions in order to improve learning:

General Strategies for Asking Questions

• When planning questions, keep in mind your course goals. For example, do you want students to master core concepts? To develop their critical thinking skills? The questions you ask should help them practice these skills, as well as communicate the facts, ideas, and ways of thinking that are important to their learning in your course. For more information about course goals NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.
• Aim for direct, specific questions. During class discussions, rather than beginning with a single question that is multilayered and complex, use a sequence of questions to build depth and complexity. Essay questions on exams or paper assignments, on the other hand, often provide an appropriate opportunity to ask multi-layered questions. If your course goals include preparing students to answer multi-layered questions, use questions during class time to walk students through the process.
• Ask questions throughout your class and ask only one question at a time. When you ask more than one question, students often do not respond because they are unsure which question you want them to answer. In course planning, include notes about when you will pause to ask and answer questions. Asking questions throughout the class will not only make it more interactive but will also help you measure and improve student learning. Do not wait until the last two minutes of class to ask for questions. Students are unlikely to ask questions when they know that only a few minutes remain.
• Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions work best for engaging students in discussion, as they offer the opportunity for debate. Avoid asking leading questions, those that prompt or suggest the answer, and yes/no questions. If a yes/no question is warranted, be ready with a follow up question to encourage students to critically evaluate the material and engage in discussion.
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to be sure you are addressing various types of cognitive processes in your questions. Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a useful way to think about kinds of cognitive processes that students use to engage with knowledge. Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used in all stages of course planning. The previous table shows six types of cognitive processes ordered according to the level of complexity involved. Ideally, you should combine questions that require “foundational thinking” to assess students’ knowledge and comprehension with questions that require “complex processing” to assess students’ abilities to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.
• Refine and reflect on questions after class. After teaching a class session, teaching a help session, collecting an assignment, or administering an exam, take brief notes on which questions were the most effective at achieving the goals you had set and which questions led to answers that you did not expect. Keep these notes with your lecture notes or lesson plans and use them to refine your questions for the next time you will teach or meet with students.

Reference

Shiver, K. (2015, November 3). The importance of asking for help. Inside Higher Ed: gradhacker. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/importance-asking-help

The Teaching Center. (2019). Asking questions to improve learning. https://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/resources/teaching-methods/participation/asking-questions-to-improve-learning/

Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions

By Day 3 of Week 2

By Day 6 of Week 2

sample post

Post any questions or concerns that you are willing to share with the group. The Discussion board represents an opportunity to network with your course colleagues, and others may have the same questions or concerns.

One of the biggest concerns I have, is time management.  Dr. Phyllis Morgan, a Walden Core Faculty, states in this weeks second video, “time management is a key strategy.  You have to be able to balance your schoolwork, your professional life, along with your personal life” (Strategies and Resources for Success, 2018).   I am still working full time and have a wife and daughter at home whom I owe time as well.  I knew this was a big concern coming in, so I have set up a daily planer, with specific times to study and specific times when I need to step away and enjoy some quality time with the family.  Knowing things will come up, and the schedule will need to change is also important.  Being flexible and able to adapt to minor changes or larger challenges will also we important to my success NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline. 

The second, and final concern I wanted to share, was the concern am I ready for this next step in my nursing career.  Having only been a nurse for two years, I wondered if I had learned enough to become a Nurse Practitioner.  It was an impossible question to answer on my own.  I took some time and reached out to fellow nurses, a previous instructor, my nursing school capstone mentor, and two Nurse Practitioners with whom I work.  The resounding answer I received is that they believed in me and they felt if I was considering this step, then it was time to move forward.  Perhaps the most reaffirming statement I received was from my nursing school capstone mentor, who told me he knew after my capstone that I would not be a nurse for long, meaning he believed I would take this step sooner than later.  These statements were just the positive affirmation I needed to apply.    

I have had a lot of questions, in just these short eight days of school.  Most of them, with some research I have been able to answer.  However, the most important question I have deals with finances.

How does repaying federal student loans work?

I have never had to use any federal student loans, due to having the GI Bill.  It is a great advantage, but it is running low, and I only have it for about eight months of this program.  I will be using a program through my work and federal student loans for the remainder of the program.  I looked online but am totally confused with paying them off.  For example, are they paid monthly, and it so how much?  How long do you have to repay them?  There are so money things with this program that confuse me.  I almost just applied for a personal loan, just to avoid the entire problem.  I know the financial people at Walden are here to answer those questions, but maybe I can receive some simpler ideas from my peers. 

The second question I have pertains to continued registration of classes. 

How do we register for our second semester of classes? 

These classes were taken care of by my student advisor.  I am not sure if they would continue to register us for classes, off our requirements, or is it something we need to do.  I was planning on emailing my student advisor about halfway through this course, to find an answer.    

These were the two main questions I had, coming into this week.  I am sure, with our group, I will get some great answers.  I am looking forward to your assistance and feedback this week.

Respectfully,

Reference:

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Strategies and Resources for

     Success [Video file]. Balitmore, MD: Author.

sample response

It sounds like you have a lot to manage in regards to work, school, and family. I am lucky that I do not have children yet. I knew if I had children, I would never find the strength to put myself through school while being a parent, so I applaud you and your dedication. I would not be able to do what you are doing. I considered doing this program part-time, which I believe is three years to complete. However, I decided to hit the books hard and proceed with a full-time commitment. I have heard that a planner helps plan out daily activities with time management. I use a planner to write down many things, and I find that this helps me stay on track with daily activities and academics. I write almost everything that “needs to be done” in my planner. Planning out activities to manage time can help decrease stress and anxiety and increase productivity (Sainz et al., 2019) NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.

Student loans can be stressful! I would recommend that you speak to a financial advisor. If you take out a federal loan, you have to do some interactive online activities before the loan is disbursed to your school. These are called “Entrance Counseling” and “Master Promissory Note.” In the entrance counseling, they discuss repayment thoroughly. As an undergrad, I took out private loans because dealing with “FAFSA” intimidated me, and I did not understand much of the terminology used. At this point, I wish I would have just done federal student loans because I now have a higher interest rate since I went with a private loan company. I have heard that federal student loan rates are higher now and that private student loan rates are more competitive with the federal rate. When you take out a federal student loan, you have the option to select your repayment plan. Interest will start accruing when the loan is disbursed, but payment will not be due until six months after graduation. Some borrowers elect to pay off interest monthly while in school to save money in the long run (Hoyt, 2020, p. 74).

Hoyt, A. A. (2020). The top five mistakes of federal student loan borrowers. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 74(6), 73–80.

Sainz, M.A., Ferrero, A. M. & Arantza Ugidos. (2019). Time management: skills to learn and put into practice. Education + Training, 61(5), 635–648. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1108/ET-01-2018-0027

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sample response 2

Time management is a skill and necessary for nursing school success (Mohamadkhani Ghiasvand et al., 2017). I think it is one of those things that has to be personalized to fit an individual’s unique lifestyle and usually requires the sacrifice of something personal, for something professional. Many studies have shown the difficulty associated with demanding family roles being integrated with professional careers and higher education (Majomi et al., 2003). I too have always continued to work full-time while attending school and I am also a single parent of two children. The sacrifice I chose was to work graveyard, where I can work and do schoolwork at the same time, allowing me to spend time with my children during the day NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.

References

Majomi, P., Brown, B., & Crawford, P. (2003). Sacrificing the personal to the professional: community mental health nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42(5), 527–538. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02652.x

Mohamadkhani Ghiasvand, A., Naderi, M., Zagheri Tafreshi, M., Ahmadi, F., & Hosseini, M. (2017). Relationship between time management skills and anxiety and academic motivation of nursing students in Tehran. Electronic Physician, 9(1), 3678–3684. https://doi.org/10.19082/3678

sample response 3

Time management seems to be immensely popular in this week’s discussion post. Without the proper Time management skills, online schooling can be both challenging and overwhelming. I like Dr. Redden’s response to you regarding completing the discussions ahead of time to have ample time to complete assignments. My personal experience is, when I wait to compose my discussions close to the due date, I get very anxious, which affects my thinking skills. Strategies to be successful are organizing time set aside to adequately do the reading and assignment, to participate in the discussions ( Laureate 2018) NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.

I am not too familiar with a student loan, as for me, I have been working overtime to pay some of my classes out of pocket. I plan to minimize the student loans by the time I graduate from school. Eventually, my schedule will not allow me to work overtime. My co-workers mentioned the federal credit union offered much lower interest. Average interest rates on federal student loans range from 2.75% to 5.30%. (Gravier, 2021). Average interest rates on private student loans are generally higher but can range from 3.34% to 12.99% fixed and 1.04% to 11.98% variable. (Gravier, 2021). I know finances can be another burden that you do not need right now.

Reference

Gravier, E. (2021, March 10). Here’s the average interest rate on private and federal student loans-plus what to look out for. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/select/average-interest-rate-on-private-and-federal-student-loans/.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Strategies and Resources for Success [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.

sample response 4

I enjoy reading your posts. I also have a family with children, work, and school to juggle. We have five children, but we’re fortunate that four of them are beginning their adult lives away from home. We just have a 12-year-old still living at home. My wife is also working on her Master’s in Social Work. We believe what we’re doing sets an example for our children to maintain a habit of lifelong learning. Three of our other children are in college and live near. We all work together to assist each other. 

Time management is something we all struggle with. We are all nurses, and time management is something we constantly improve upon. I have found a few things that work for me. I carry a small notepad with me at all times. I use a scheduling app that works across many platforms and syncs all of my work and personal calendars together. This app (Any.Do) also allows me to set tasks and prioritize them. According to Indeed, Prioritizing Tasks (n.d), one should determine the urgency of each task, who is most affected, prioritize, and set deadlines. Setting aside time to complete assignments is essential to success (Laureate 2018). I have a Blackboard app on every device I use. I’ll read assignments at lunch, in between work tasks, and even in more private areas. I’ll have my phone read and write (using voice-to-text in Google Docs) assignments when I’m driving. There are a lot of ways to combine time to create efficiency, but we will still have to set some dedicated time for proofreading and editing NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline. 

Good luck and I wish you all the best in your journey.

William Jud Humphries

Reference

Prioritizing Tasks: a How-To Guide for Business Operators. (n.d.). Indeed.Com. Retrieved March 12, 2021, from https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/prioritizing-tasks?aceid=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAv6yCBhCLARIsABqJTjYtPkhTJEwEOtcf3oOr4ay0GCVM3vtJa3w1eaqQuHc6yRuZ1lCkb5caAqqGEALw_wcB

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Strategies and Resources for Success [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author NURS 6003 week 2 Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions guideline.