Teaching critical thinking to undergraduate nursing students: approach, design, and theory of an educational intervention

Introduction: Developing professionals that are not only critical and reflexive but also able to make complex decisions based on scientific evidence is becoming more compelling each day. Therefore, it is important that the nursing student builds up and/or enhances his/her abilities and provisions of critical thinking (CT)(1-4). Objectives: Assessing how the teaching of CT in the nursing graduation courses has been happening not only through scientific literature but also in educational institutions; identifying the perspective of both professors and students regarding the teaching of CT; analyzing the concept of CT; design an educational intervention and developing a theory for the explicit teaching of dispositions and skills of CT for students taking a degree in nursing. Method: Assessment of mixed method, based on a model of development of complex intervention in nursing. We have developed a scoping review in the theoretical approach to identify how the teaching has been happening and which theoretical support has been used in the research for the development of CT in nursing students. In the phase of empirical approach, we have developed an analysis of the CT concept. In the experiential approach, we have performed observational descriptive studies as well as a qualitative and quantitative approach to assess the insertion of the teaching of CT in the curriculums of Brazilian public courses of Bachelor in Nursing. Data has been obtained through questionnaires, a focus group and interviews with students and professors of nursing graduation courses. After that, we have defined the active ingredients, goals, strategies, submitting form and the amount of intervention, which have all substantiated the formation of the Teaching Theory of Explicit Critical Thinking (TTECT). Results: Fifty researches were included in the scope review. The majority of the researches made use of experimental methodology and were developed in China. Problem-Based Learning and conceptual map were the most assessed strategies, they were compared to lectures. In the analysis of concept we identified the correlated factors, traits, preceding and resulting factors, as well as the implications in the concept of CT. In the perspective of professors and students, the case study was the strategy most often mentioned as the fosterer of CT. The intervention sketch was made taking into consideration as active ingredients the provisions and skills of CT and incorporated the goals, the activities, the submitting form and the amount. TTECT was developed according to the results of problem understanding and the intervention sketch. Conclusions: The teaching of CT for nursing students is a complex activity although necessary and urgent. The theoretical, empirical and experiential approaches have made possible the development of the design and theory of educational intervention which should be implemented and assessed. According to the design of educational intervention and TTECT it will be possible to teaching CT to graduation nursing students, with a consistent basis and to enable professors to the teaching of the CT topic.