Educational Methods Commons^™

Facilitating Freirean Pedagogy And Asset-Based Learning In An Asynchronous Environment In A Doctoral Public Health Course, Manoj Sharma, Liliana Davlos, Sharmistha Roy

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The Department of Social and Behavioral Health offers an asynchronous course, Advanced Applications of Social and Behavioral Theories (HED 762), to doctoral students in public health. In this course, commonly used behavior and social change theories are taught. One such theory is the Freirean theory of adult education, which emphasizes dialogue, critical conscientization, praxis, transformation, and critical consciousness. The instructor of this course uses a variety of methods to imbibe this pedagogy that comprise (a) the use of the fourth-generation multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change to motivate students, (b) Freirean dialogue in the Canvas discussion forum with students …

Arts Integration: Teaching Through The Senses Just Makes Sense!, Isabella Shenouda, Noah Karnafel, Hongming Xu

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Arts Integration is a high-impact teaching practice for both higher education and K-12 settings. Because students bring diverse backgrounds, learning preferences, and ways of making meaning, the arts offer flexible, multi-sensory pathways to content comprehension that traditional lecture-based and text-based instruction often cannot. Drawing on classroom evidence from an Honors First-Year Seminar at UNLV in which students identified an arts-based workshop as their favorite lesson, we argue that creative, hands-on activities deepen knowledge retention and foster genuine intellectual engagement. Arts Integration is inherently an asset-based and inclusive practice, as it encourages students to connect through various sensory learning experiences, whether …

The Prep‑Check Routine: How Students Prepare With Ai, Homa Soroudi-Terzian

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

This poster presents a simple, repeatable Attempt & Audit routine that supports students in using AI as a learning partner rather than a shortcut. The Prep_Check structure guides students to attempt a problem on their own, ask AI for help on only one part, compare their work with the AI’s reasoning, and reflect on differences. This routine promotes metacognition, reduces anxiety, and helps students build confidence and independence in gateway math courses.

Playing To Learn: Game-Based Maternal-Newborn Review Using "Forbidden Words" (Taboo-Style), Nikki Rose Ty-Albright

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

TEACHING PRACTICE & NEED IT ADDRESSES Prelicensure nursing students often struggle to translate medical terminology into patient-friendly language (Rodrigues & Moreira, 2022) Gen Z learners frequently disengage from traditional post-conference lecture formats (Thi, 2025) "Forbidden Words" (Taboo-style) game used during post-clinical conference to bridge this gap in an engaging way Students explain maternal-newborn concepts in jargon-free language while avoiding forbidden words on a card

Streaming Success: Using Summer Fellowships And Asynchronous Lecture Videos To Scale Relationship-Rich Learning In Large Enrollment Courses, Van "Docdoc" Whaley

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Supported by SIHS Summer Teaching Fellowships, this initiative developed 110+ asynchronous lecture videos embedded in Canvas to enhance accessibility, engagement, and alignment across large-enrollment A&P courses. Results include 92,000 minutes of views for the 2025 vides, 330,000 minutes viewed of the 2024 videoss, and over 4.8 million minutes of total student engagement and documented impact on student outcomes and program scalability.

Sparking Engagement: Using "Lightning Debates" To Transform Dry Policy Into Dynamic Learning, Minnie Wood, Ericka Yelle, Necole Leland

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

To address a gap in health policy application among nursing undergraduates, we piloted Lightning Debates, a high-energy teaching strategy that replaces passive lecture with active learning. Students are assigned Pro or Con stances on contentious local policies, using role-play and improvisation to present evidence-based arguments in five-minute sprints. This asset-based approach leverages student creativity to deconstruct complex fiscal and clinical issues. Results demonstrate significant impact: 87.5% of students reported an improved ability to analyze policy, and the percentage of graduates feeling prepared to apply policy knowledge rose from 57% to 77%. This session provides scalable implementation tips for fostering critical …

Using Exit Tickets To Drive Reflective And Responsive Instruction, Melissa Yarczower

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Exit tickets are an effective formative assessment tool for promoting student reflection and guiding responsive instruction. Exit tickets were used at the end of each class session to help students identify key takeaways, assess their understanding, and connect new learning to prior knowledge and professional practice. Exit ticket responses allowed for timely instructional adjustments, including reteaching key concepts, clarifying misunderstandings, and scaffolding complex content. Summarizing themes at the start of each class strengthened continuity between sessions and established a predictable reflective routine. Implementation of this strategy increased student engagement, participation, and metacognitive awareness because students were able to clearly articulate …

Preparing Dental Students To Lead Teledentistry Programs Addressing Oral Health Inequities: An Evidence-Informed Teaching Practice Grounded In Multi-Theory Model (Mtm) & Social Cognitive Theory (Sct), Asma Awan, Christina Demopoulos, Manoj Sharma

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The rapid expansion of telehealth and teledentistry demands dental professionals proficient in remote care delivery, digital communication, and community-based service models. This practice prepares students to lead and implement teledentistry programs addressing oral health inequities among underserved and rural populations in Nevada and beyond

The Importance Of Relational Teaching In Introductory Statistics, Nathan Matthew Slife

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

This poster presents relational teaching strategies for introductory statistics courses.

Facilitating Student Success Through Scholar Programs, Jenna Heath, Isabella Shenouda

College of Liberal Arts Faculty Research

This poster features a series of career highlights from the UNLV Engelstad Scholars Program. This document profiles four exceptional current and former students—Fyona Mortel, Nikki Adams, Jordan Paul Guimarey, and Haydee Herrera—who demonstrate how the program's unique blend of mentorship, financial support, and community engagement accelerates career readiness. Through hands-on internships, leadership roles, and diverse professional networking opportunities, these scholars have cultivated essential competencies such as leadership, critical thinking, empathy, and professional branding, effectively preparing them for future success in their respective fields.

Creating Open Educational Resources With Artificial Intelligence, Serena Scalzi

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The adoption of artificial intelligence is becoming widespread in higher education. AI-driven technology has the ability to support academic and administrative faculty in designing and delivering course content. As a Part-Time Instructor in the College of Education, I used AI to enhance my teaching practice by creating course resources for my class, CIT 647 Creating Online Learning Environments. These open educational resources, developed through a reflective teaching practice facilitated by the UNLV Teaching and Learning Commons, promote equitable, inclusive education.

Approaching Learning Satisfaction: Factors Influencing Educational Video Learning, Fei Wang, Douglas Havard, Tara Barnhart

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The rapid expansion of digital education has accelerated the use of online instructional videos, yet variability in video design and production quality continues to shape learners’ engagement and satisfaction. This study developed and tested a structural equation model to examine predictors of undergraduates’ satisfaction with educational videos. Using survey data from 964 students, learning satisfaction was positively predicted by image clarity (β = 0.381, p <  0.001), learning motivation (β = 0.18, p = 0.006), and interactive behavior (β = 0.182, p = 0.011). In contrast, video attachment tools showed a small negative direct association with satisfaction (β = −0.116, p = 0.042). Teacher performance and video …

Writing As A Process Of Inquiry In Autoethnography For Meaning-Making: Reflections And Some Points For Consideration, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

This article explores writing as a process of inquiry and meaning-making in the autoethnographic tradition, offering reflections on the recursive, emergent, and dialogical/dialectical nature of writing, along with some points for consideration. Drawing on perspectives from qualitative research and narrative inquiry (Riessman, 2008), I argue that autoethnographic writing serves as a method of inquiry and/or discovery, generating ontological, epistemological, and axiological-driven cultural meaning that functions as a site of reflection, interrogation, and re-storying of lived experiences. This recursive, often messy, and reflexive act allows researchers to excavate, analyze, and interpret their lived experiences. Rather than viewing writing as a final-stage …

Numeracy-Based Civic Education Model: Needs Analysis Through An Explanatory Sequential Design, Sulkipani Sulkipani, Kokom Komalasari, Sapriya Sapriya, Susan Fitriasari, Vina Amilia Suganda Makenun

Numeracy

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals emphasize numeracy as essential for quality education, and require its integration across the curriculum, including into civic education (CE). However, the integration of numeracy in CE in Indonesian universities has not yet been clearly mapped out. This study aims to analyze the need for numeracy integration in CE as a basis for developing a numeracy-based CE learning model. Using a mixed method with an explanatory sequential design, the study involved a convenience sample of 225 students and 10 lecturers from various universities through surveys, interviews, observations, and documentation studies. Quantitative findings show that numeracy …

Optimizing Costs & Efficiency With Heartcode Complete: A Quality Improvement Project, Jessica Bryant

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

PURPOSE

This quality improvement project aimed to implement HeartCode Complete (HCC), a simulation-based BLS training platform, at a 154-bed community hospital. The goal was to replace instructor-led BLS training, improve training efficiency, reduce costs, increase certification compliance, and enhance staff satisfaction.

BACKGROUND

Maintaining competency in CPR is a regulatory requirement for healthcare providers. Traditional instructor-led BLS training requires scheduled classes, instructor availability, and staff time away from clinical duties, contributing to certification delays and operational inefficiencies. Simulation-based training platforms offer self-directed learning with real-time feedback.

METHODOLOGY

This quality improvement project used Lean Six Sigma principles and Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to guide …

Implementing Retrieval And Distributed Practice In A Rotating Block Schedule: Boosting Students’ Memory And Metacognition, Terra A. Caputo, Kaitlyn C. Hoffmann, Cindy Reagan, Guy D. Savastano, Brandon J. Foster, Kathryn Hallal, Kristin Miller-Gecsi, Thomas A. Yarcusko

Journal of Catholic Education

An all-boys secondary Jesuit Catholic school in the Midwest, recently transitioned to a rotating block schedule with the goal of supporting deeper learning for all students. Though the transition to longer class meetings helped achieve this goal, less frequent class meetings presented a new challenge in that it tended to exacerbate the natural “forgetting curve.” Retrieval practice, one of the most widely cited high-impact learning strategies to boost student memory, is most beneficial when used alongside spaced practice. A team of teachers implemented and tested the impacts of retrieval and distributed practice on memory in a rotating block schedule. Our …

The Ignatian Cybergogical Experience Model: Fostering Competence, Conscience, Compassion, And Commitment In The Digital Age, Theresia Y. Setyawan, Chatarina A. Budiningsih, Sugeng B. Wahyono

Journal of Catholic Education

Despite advances in educational technology, learning models that effectively integrate digital tools to develop not only competence but also learners’ conscience, compassion, and commitment remain limited. This article introduces the Ignatian Cybergogical Experience (ICE) model, a novel framework designed to foster these four essential characteristics in digital learning environments. Rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, the model deliberately integrates Ignatian Pedagogy’s proven framework for values formation and reflective practice with cybergogy’s capacity to engage digital learners through technology-mediated experiences. This synergistic blending addresses critical limitations in existing approaches: the ICE model simultaneously develops technological competence and moral character, which neither …

Reimagining Arabic As A Foreign Language Learning Through Place: Teachers’ And Students’ Perspectives On Pbl, Hebatalla Salem

Faculty Journal Articles

This one-cycle design-based research study aims to explore the perceptions of both teachers and students toward place-based learning. To achieve this, interviews were conducted with teachers, and questionnaires were administered to students who were directly engaged in place-based learning. The findings indicated positive outcomes, demonstrating that place-based learning offers multiple benefits, particularly in engaging learners in authentic experiences that enable them to apply what they learn in class within meaningful, community-based contexts. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on place-based learning by providing design principles that can support teachers in the design, development, and implementation of place-based learning …

The Social Validity Of The Zones Of Regulation, Tracy Grass

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the social validity of the Zones of Regulation, specifically in terms of the constructs of acceptability, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness, in elementary school classrooms. Despite the popularity of this social-emotional learning (SEL) program, limited research has explored its social validity. To address this gap, a mixed-methods research design was used to gain a comprehensive understanding of teacher perceptions and experiences.

A total of 43 elementary teachers completed the Usage Rating Profile—Intervention Revised (URP-IR), and seven teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Abductive thematic analysis was used to integrate data and …

Math In Melody: How Music Strikes A Chord With Memory And Learning, Aidan V. Waters

Honors Theses

As a result of personal curiosity, this thesis seeks to understand the current status of music integration within educational settings, discussing its importance and potential impact. By considering existing literature, it analyzes music’s effectiveness in K-12 education, particularly within the mathematics classroom. Based on the current body of research, the study identifies three key features of music integration: its effectiveness as an energizer, a memory tool, and a means of creating structure within the classroom. Building on these findings, a proposed ten-day, music-integrated Algebra I unit on functions is presented, applying the research in a variety of ways. The unit …