Communities of Inquiry in Online Nurse Practitioner Education

To become competent clinicians, nurse practitioner students must learn to think critically and interact effectively while applying advanced knowledge to complex situations. The Community of Inquiry framework is a prominent model guiding the design and assessment of online learning. In this study, the interrelated components of a Community of Inquiry—teaching, social, and cognitive presences—are analyzed in the context of four online nurse practitioner learning activities that used different teaching strategies to promote critical reflection and dialogue: asynchronous discussion; synchronous presentations; collaborative projects; and VoiceThread. The results of this analysis can assist nurse practitioner educators in developing high-quality online learning experiences.