Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Thesis Equations: A Standard Formula To Help Craft A Thesis Statement, Meanna Williams

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Thesis Equations is an outlining method that can be used for writing argumentative papers. It proposes a formulaic structure that acts as a base for students to craft a simple thesis. Students need to know how to make a claim. With the emergence of AI use, and the decreasing knowledge of foundational practices, utilizing proper brainstorming and outlining skills persists to be a difficult task for student writers.

The “Presentation Log Report”: A Project Workflow That Supports Notes, Annotation, And Editing, From Project Inception To Final Presentation, Julian Kilker

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

My “presentation log report” practice repurposes presentation software to serve the function of the research report with the flexibility to transform a logbook into a final report. This practice is (1) accessible to students, (2) supports workforce skills, (3) models workflow stages, and (4) is resistant to Gen AI abuse. Using my Google Slides project template, students thoroughly log details of each project stage and then “collapse” this log into a final report. Presentation slides are ideal for structuring report sections and visual documentation of resources and data. Slides can be shared, supporting collaboration and peer review, and students can …

Conversations Before The Conversation: Readying Dissidence Through Norm-Setting, Ashley N. Watson

Feminist Pedagogy

How can educators speak truth to power in ways that decenter whiteness while supporting student learning across different levels of awareness? What does the right balance of challenge and support look like in today’s unpredictable college environment? These questions are drawn from my experience as a Black predoctoral fellow teaching “Intercultural Dialogue” at a traditionally white public liberal arts university in rural Minnesota. This paper—both a reflection and recommendations for practice—outlines my approach to co-constructing and scaffolding a conducive learning environment rooted in emancipatory pedagogy.

Central Habits Of Highly Effective Tutors: Hospitable Practice, Rhetorical Listening, And Emotional Validation In The Writing Center, Edward A. English

The Writing Center Journal

This article explores hospitality as a theoretical framework for valuing emotional engagement and rhetorical listening in writing center consultations, challenging traditional views that prioritize rationality and detachment. Anchored in a university writing center, the study investigates how writing tutors engage with writers, adopting hospitality as a core principle. Semi-structured postconsultation interviews and a focus group allowed tutors to reflect collaboratively on their application of the hospitality framework. Thematic analysis with in vivo coding ensured participants’ voices remained central to the findings. By examining the lived experiences of tutors, the study highlights the dynamic relationship between emotional and rational responses in …

The Dark Lord And The Mafia Boss: A Comparison And Contrast Of Toxic Leadership In Darth Vader And Vito Corleone, Mya A. Garcia, Mikheil Makhviladze

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This project employs a qualitative media analysis to explore toxic leadership through a comparative study of two characters: Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, from the Star Wars Franchise, and Vito Corleone, from the movie The Godfather. Both rule very strongly, but in a destructive manner to those who serve underneath them. From using the book Haslam et al.’s (2020) "The New Psychology of Leadership”, we can analyze how they rule toxically through manipulation, fear, control, and how the followers are affected by their rule. Darth Vader rules under the idea that centralized power brings order. Never taking …

Developing A Collaborative Study Resource For Craft Academy Students, Makayla Jones, Annika Marshall, Lucy Mcclung, Heather Ott, Donna Besant

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The Stem-X Files is a collaborative study resources created with the mission of fostering academic excellence and collaboration among Craft Academy students at Morehead State University. This student-led platform was founded by Rebekah Jones and Donna Besant Fall 2023, who graduated from the Craft Academy in 2024. This project allows for high-performing students to share their study materials with present and futures students. These study materials include notes, study guides, syllabi, and more. By empowering students to contribute to and utilize valuable academic tools, The Stem-X Files strive to contribute to students enhanced learning, knowledge sharing, and success while maintaining …

Patient To Nurse Ratios And Their Effects On Patient Care, Katalina White

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

While working on a medical surgical unit at hospital A, I noticed that many nurses received upwards to 7 patients per shift. This led to many patient care activities not being able to be accomplished, unsatisfactory patient outcomes, nursing dissatisfaction, and nurse turnover rates increasing. Patient care was brought into question as the nurses on the unit felt overworked and understaffed. So the objective of this project is to introduce a 4-1 ratio of patients to nurses to improve patient safety, patient outcomes, and overall patient care. QSEN thrives for patient safety and quality improvement, so implementation of this standard …

Cataloguing Shadow (Phaeophyscia), Rosette (Physcia), And Cryptic Rosette (Physciella) Lichens Of Carter Caves State Resort Park, Payton A. Offill, Allen C. Risk

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

A lichen is a composite, symbiotic partnership of a fungus and photosynthetic algae or cyanobacteria. These organisms provide stability to ecosystems through provision of nutrients and microhabitats to fauna and absorption of pollutants and large particulates in the air, serving as great indicators of environmental conditions. The purpose of this research was to document the diversity of three commonly encountered, though not easily discerned, foliose lichen genera found in Carter Caves State Resort Park: Phaeophyscia, Physcia, and Physciella. These three lichen genera are found to be small to medium sized, greenish grey, olive, or brown in color, and inhabit various …

Climbs: Revisiting Big Bone Lick To Develop A Late Quarternary Climate Record For Kentucky, Margaret Alden, Jennifer O'Keefe, Tori Reid, Hannah Sprinkle, Avery Wasinger

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

CLIMBS P2 (Climate Learning, Prediction, and Building Response Systems Project 2: Paleo-perspectives) focuses on improving our understanding of historical flooding and landslide events in Kentucky using paired Holocene paleoclimate and sedimentary records. To date, few published paleoclimate records exist (Liu et al., 2013; Nunez Otano et al., in prep.). As an initial step in meeting the aims of P2, the OPaL lab at Morehead State University is focusing on completion of an in-progress latest Pleistocene - early Holocene palynology-based paleoclimate record derived from sediments in legacy Andrews/KGS cores from Big Bone Lick in Northern Kentucky. This region is the birthplace …

Effect Of Nordic Hamstring Exercise On Knee Flexor Torque In Female Athletes: A Pilot Study, Jarrod Plank, Lucy Singleton, Manuel Probst

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

PREVALENCE Female athletes experience Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries 5-6x more often than male counterparts.

PREDISPOSITIONAL FACTORS The Q-angle refers to the pull vector exerted by the quadriceps muscle on the patella which results in greater valgus load on the knee ligaments.2,3,4,5,6 Females also possess lower levels of testosterone which yield decreased ligamentous strain tolerances.

MUSCULAR IMBALANCES Sufficient hamstring contraction during the landing phase decreases ACL strain by >70%, thereby limiting anterior tibial translation (ATT) force exerted by the quadriceps. As stated by Hewett et al., females present an absence of increased hamstring/quadricep torque ratio compared to males, resulting in …

The Effectiveness Of Turn Teams In Reducing The Incidence Of Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries, Abigaile Blackburn

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

It is commonly known in healthcare that pressure injuries (PIs) result in higher morbidity and mortality rates for the adult population. PIs include a range of intact, open, and deep tissue injuries related to prolonged immobility. To reduce the incidence of PIs, it is highly recommended to turn patients, usually alternating among the left side, the back, and the right side. Additionally, it is standard across most hospitals to enforce mandatory turning schedules, which is at least every two hours. The objective of the project is to investigate the effectiveness of using turn teams in hospitals and nursing homes. The …

An Introduction To The Sphecidae Of Eastern Kentucky, Dawn Barnett, Kyah Brinegar, Gracie Burdette, Sean O'Keefe

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The Sphecidae are solitary wasps that can be used to assess biodiversity on a larger scale. Sphecidae are called solitary because they do not live in colonies but rather in dirt burrows, constructed nests, and existing cavities. Their behavior reflects their name as they rarely sting people and do not mind them much, as they commonly nest near or on human dwellings. Sphecidae occur worldwide and include four subfamilies: Sphecinae, Crabroninae, Nyssoninae, and Philanthinae. Of the 10,220 known species, 1200 occur in North America. Sphecidae prey on various invertebrates, including spiders, caterpillars, and bees. Members of the subfamily Sphecinae genera …

Improving Fall Risk Precautions: A Safer Approach To Protect Patients, Dylan Fraley

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The purpose of this project is to highlight current fall risk precaution flaws at facility XYZ and implement new changes that would increase patient safety. As a nurse, safety comes first for both patients and staff, with new guidelines and interventions we can decrease the number of preventable falls in the hospital setting. We would implement changes that have showed positive outcomes in evidenced based practice and prioritizes patient comfort and safety. These new precautions would be patient centered as their safety needs would be better met. Teamwork and collaboration are also essential as many of the interventions in this …

Impacts Of Local Clay On Ceramic Glazes, Emily Fischer, Abigail Morgan, Quinn Maher

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

This region of eastern Kentucky has an important and rich history of clay, from the brick companies like Haldeman, Louisville, and Granh, to the once-thriving Lee clay that employed a large percentage of the Morehead community and the surrounding areas of Appalachia. To further explore the rich history of local clay in Kentucky, this study analyzed the effects of using local clay on traditional glaze recipes. The purpose of our study was to prove that adding specific increments of local iron-rich clay to a basic glaze recipe would impact the glaze in one of the following ways: texture, opacity, color, …

Diversity/Adaptations Of The Galapagos Land Snails (Bulimulus) On The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, M.E. Hargan, Charles Lydeard

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The Galapagos Land Snails, scientific species name Bulimulus, are native to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. There is varying climates and geography throughout the islands and these snails evolved and adapted to these variances. On our experience abroad trip, the goal was to find our selected animal we researched and try to prove whatever hypothesis we found to be correct. I researched and found that depending on the island/area the snails where their cones were shaped different from each other although they were the same species they had variances. I had set out to see if this …

Battling Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, Kelsey Carrier

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The purpose of this literature review is to address common or potential concerns that may contribute to the hospital setting where we are receiving practicum experience. A potent issue in hospitals today is the healthcare acquired infections that occurs worldwide. One of the biggest contributors to healthcare-acquired infections is ventilator associated pneumonia (vap). QSEN, which is Quality, Safety, and Education for Nurses is integrated into the literature review by enhancing the knowledge of Nurses and safety of the patients. By researching potential health concerns, it helps us better understand the issue and what we can do to prevent it.

The Potential Impact Of Overusing Isolation Precautions, Laci Johnson

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

While Isolation Precautions (IP) help prevent infections, excessive use can harm patients' mental and physical health. Research shows that prolonged IP increases anxiety, depression, and social isolation, leading to worsened outcomes and longer hospital stays. Overuse may also create stigma and communication barriers, reducing care quality. This poster highlights the need for a balanced approach to IP to protect both patient well-being and infection control.

Benefits Of Interdisciplinary Rounding For Better Patient Outcomes, Brooklyn Phipps

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Interdisciplinary rounding in healthcare teams can significantly improve communication and patient care. Miscommunication often arises when multiple physicians and healthcare professionals are involved in a patient's care, leading to fragmented or delayed treatment. By adopting interdisciplinary rounding, healthcare teams can share expertise and knowledge, ensuring that all members are aligned on the patient's plan of care. This approach directly supports the QSEN competencies, including Teamwork and Collaboration, which fosters effective communication and mutual respect among team members, and Patient-Centered Care, which ensures the patient is a central part of the decision-making process. Furthermore, it enhances Safety by minimizing the risk …

Improving Patient Safety Through Bedside Shift Report, Madison Caudill

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

This project addresses the issue of nurses at Hospital A not participating in bedside shift report, often conducting report in hallways or at the nurses' station. This practice can compromise patient safety, communication, and continuity of care. The guiding objective is to implement bedside shift reporting to enhance patient safety, improve communication, and foster a more patient-centered approach. • Interaction of the six QSEN principles: • Patient-centered: Including patient in their care by including them in the report process. • Teamwork: Encouraging collaboration between outgoing and incoming nurses. Enables patients to take an active role in their own care. • …

Nurse-Patient Ratios And The Effects On Patient Outcomes, Mortality, And Costs., Martin Helms

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Healthcare in the United States is constantly changing and adapting to the current health of the country. There are many considerations that play into providing quality, safe, and effective care. At the forefront of what is needed is nursing staff, that has seen a steep decline in recent years. One of the problems I see as a large influence on nursing is the ratio of patient's nurses are responsible for during their shifts. This research project is aimed at finding the relation between nurse-patient ratios and the outcomes on patients/hospitals. The study is focused on identifying improvement in patient-centered care, …