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Jete Introduction Fall 2025, Nichelle Frank

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

An introduction to the Spring 2025 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 9, Issue 2, Fall 2025

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Fall 2025 issue (Volume 9, Issue 2) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

This issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence brings together articles that highlight approaches for engaging students and broader communities through teaching, coaching, and assessment in higher education. The contributions examine community-engaged learning in graduate coursework, the use of coaching practices to support student-centered teaching and advising, Cooperative Extension staff readiness for virtual instruction, and alternative assessment strategies aimed at increasing engagement and reducing anxiety in challenging STEM courses. Collectively, the articles …

(In)Consequential Rhetoric: Grading Policy And Values Misalignment At First-Generation-Serving Community Colleges, Sarah N. Seiffert

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Research indicates that first-generation (FG) students face a number of barriers to success in higher education when compared to their continuing-generation peers. Although many institutions serving a large number of FG students have implemented programs to support this population, little attention has been paid to institutional grading policies that reinforce harmful practices by attempting to standardize assessment while perpetuating inequalities. This study uses document analysis and critical policy analysis to examine the alignment between the grading policies and institutional values of 25 community colleges serving high FG student populations. Findings reveal critical tensions between the stated values of these colleges …

Developing Digital Feedback Literacies In Language Teacher Education: Peer And Partnership Approaches In The Postdigital Age, Jennifer Schluer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Critical media literacy needs to be seen as a central component of language teacher education, especially in the postdigital age. One underexplored dimension, however, is digital assessment literacy and in particular digital feedback literacy (Schluer, 2022a). Even though recent years witnessed a proliferation of digital technologies for feedback exchanges, pedagogical guidance for the use of digital feedback remains almost non-existent (but see Schluer, 2022a; 2023; 2024a). Theoretically, this paper connects the concept of Digital Feedback Literacies (DFL) to the frameworks of Critical Media Literacies (CML) and Postdigital Literacies (PDL). Empirically, it presents insights from research on digital peer feedback as …

Digital Text And Communication Literacy Of English Language Teachers: Implications From A Reconstructive Study On Teachers’ Professional Development, Annika Janßen, Jan-Erik Leonhardt, Alexandra Kemmerer, Britta Viebrock

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In this contribution, we will introduce the concept of Digital Text and Communication Literacy (DITECOL), which was developed as part of the DigiNICs project. It contains subject-related, functional, critical, and methodological competences to deal with and teach digital texts and communication forms in foreign language education. We will present first results from a qualitative interview study with six English language teachers who participate in the DigiNICs project. The study examines how they perceive their usage of digital texts and communication forms a) in their lessons and b) in the context of in-service teacher training. The interview data was analysed using …

Holistic Support And Development: Collaboration Between Residence Life And Faculty On Short-Term Education Abroad Programs, Kendra Sherman

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Short-term education abroad programs are designed to increase students’ intercultural competencies, expose them to new cultures and languages, prepare them for future employability, and further their academic development (Castiello-Gutiérrez & Gozik, 2022; Yao, 2021). While education abroad programs may result in strong benefits for students, they are not without their challenges when it comes to facilitating and managing them. Both the faculty who lead these programs and the students who participate in them face challenges respective to their experiences abroad. Many researchers emphasize collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs to alleviate these challenges, but no one office is identified …

When Prayers Aren’T Enough: The Need For Mission Formation And Professional Development For Lay Faculty At Catholic Colleges And Universities, Lucy A. Pesce

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Current literature suggests that administration and faculty must make a more intentional effort within Catholic higher education to articulate the mission of these religiously-affiliated institutions in response to two current issues: dwindling numbers of clergy and vowed religious faculty and administrators, and fewer students nationwide who self-identify with any form of organized religion. However, few studies have examined the experience of lay faculty at Catholic institutions who are entrusted with advancing the mission, regardless of their religious affiliation, and their professional development needs.

Using the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities’ Catholic Identity and Mission Assessment (CIMA) as a framework …

Interview With Orca Award Winner John J. Janovy, Jr., Unl Biological Sciences; Parasitologist And Author, Mark Griep, John J. Janovy Jr.

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Professor John Janovy, Jr., was awarded the ORCA in 1998. John was born in Louisiana, but his family moved to Oklahoma, where he grew up in Tulsa and then Oklahoma City. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in science because he earned three degrees from the University of Oklahoma in Norman: a bachelor of science in math in 1959, a master of science in zoology in 1962, and doctoral degree in zoology in 1965. Next, he ventured 1400 miles east to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he did post-doctoral work for about a year. …

'The Rest Is Silence': Reframing Stasis As Integral To Creative Practice, Corinna Di Niro, Pablo Muslera

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This duoethnographic study examines the relationship between motion and stasis in creative practice through the lens of two creative educators working in postgraduate and undergraduate Creative Industries. Drawing on our combined experiences as practitioners and educators at SAE University College, we explore how creative blockages can be reframed as productive rather than problematic, challenging dominant productivity paradigms in contemporary creative industries and education. Through structured dialogic exchange, we investigate three interconnected themes: the rhythmic nature of creative practice, the pedagogical value of embracing productive stasis, and the tension between institutional timelines and creative development. We consider how encouraging SAE creative …

Teachers' Beliefs Expressed As Personal Practice Theories: A Touchstone And Tool To Navigate First Year Teaching Challenges, Sera Shimakura, Tara Barnhart

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study examined how early-career teachers utilize Personal Practical Theories (PPTs)—core beliefs about teaching and learning—to navigate first-year challenges. PPTs represent convictions about pedagogy, engagement, and classroom management that teachers develop throughout their preparation. This two-year longitudinal study followed credential program students through training and into their first year of service, replicating and extending Levin et al. (2013).

During preparation, participants engaged in reflection to develop coherent PPTs guiding future practice. Through self-studies, peer discussions, and faculty mentorship, they assessed congruence between stated beliefs and actual implementation, creating a baseline understanding of pedagogical identity. PPT enactment during the first teaching …

Preparing Teachers To Seek Out Student Voice: Grounding The Work In Critical Consciousness, Stephanie Mg Herb

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Seeking out student voice is a powerful and beneficial practice that requires teachers to be thoughtful and intentional. While students may feel validated when teachers respond to their input, soliciting student voice can also be harmful if not done carefully. It is necessary to use a critically conscious lens when soliciting student voice and responding to their input and feedback to best support students with historically marginalized identities. Teachers must be prepared to seek out multiple perspectives, deeply listen, and take critical action in response to the information that the students provide. By doing so, teachers can create empowering learning …

Preparing Confident Elementary Mathematics Teachers: Addressing Anxiety, Building Fluency, And Strengthening Practice., Amber Diamond Pendleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, presented in three articles, examines how elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) experience and develop as mathematics learners and future educators when methods coursework deliberately integrates mathematical reasoning with affective supports. Collectively, the studies investigate how research-informed instructional design may help address mathematics anxiety (MA), mathematics teaching anxiety (MTA), procedural fluency, and instructional practice. The first article, written for practitioners and elementary mathematics teachers, illustrates how well-established instructional routines, such as number talks and student work analysis, can be facilitated to support procedural fluency in multiplication. Using classroom vignettes, this article highlights instructional moves that make structure visible, promote strategy …

Interview With Orca Award Winner Karen Kunc, Unl Art; Abstract Print Artist, Mark Griep, Karen Kunc

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Emeritus Prof. Karen Kunc the Outstanding Research and Creative Activities Award in 1998. She was born in Ralston, Nebraska, in the Omaha Metro Area. Something in her youth must have sparked an interest in art because she earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1975. Next, she ventured 800 miles east to Ohio State University in Columbus, where she earned a master of fine arts. For the next six years, she enhanced her teaching credentials as a printmaking instructor at the Columbus College of Art & Design. From there, she joined the University of …

Exploring Faculty Perspectives Of Roadblocks To Accommodating Students With Disabilities In Community Colleges, Shalither S. Cushenberry

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores faculty perspectives on student accommodation in the community college setting. The one-on-one, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with faculty and perspectives of accommodation experts will result in outcomes that better prepare faculty, as a workforce, to support students with accommodations. The study utilized the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to understand how increasing faculty awareness and engagement through professional development can enhance their ability to provide services to students with accommodation requests. The study underscores the critical importance of understanding the rationale for students with granted accommodations and faculty members supporting their academic success. The findings revealed gaps …

Behavioral Manifestations Of Childhood Abandonment: African-American Men's Reflections And Strategies To Support Teenage Boys In K-12 Education, Jarmel Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the behavioral manifestations of childhood abandonment as reflected in the lived experiences of African-American men and to identify strategies that may support African-American boys in K–12 educational settings. Although there has been limited documentation regarding the direct connection between childhood abandonment and behavioral challenges in school environments, this study seeks to address that gap by capturing the reflections of African-American men who experienced abandonment during their formative years. These reflections provide insight into how abandonment may shape behavior in educational spaces and what types of interventions or supports might have made a …

Borderlines Of Becoming: Transfronterizx College Students Navigating Surveillance, Hybridity And Belonging Along The Us-México Border, Aylin Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This narrative literature review examines the educational experiences of transfronterizx college students along the U.S.– México border, a population largely absent from higher education scholarship. Drawing on Borderlands Theory, Anzaldúa’s frameworks, and critical perspectives on neoliberalism and militarization, this thesis highlights the border as a site of both constraint and possibility. Structural violence, surveillance, and militarization intersect with linguistic, racial, and class hierarchies to shape students’ mobility, identities, and sense of belonging. At the same time, students mobilize hybrid identities, cultural wealth, and transborder networks to assert agency, cultivate belonging, and resist deficit narratives. It also identifies persistent gaps, particularly …

Impact Of Structured Internal Medicine Pharmacotherapy Education In Improving Pharmacist Readiness In Transitioning To An Academic Medical Center, Jude Pierre, Erika Dittmar, Heidi Clarke, Radhan B. Gopalani, Stephanie Palma

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Introduction: Baptist Hospital of Miami (BHM) is transitioning to an academic medical center by starting medical residency training in July 2025. As healthcare systems expand, pharmacists must ensure safe medication dispensing and provide real-time clinical decision support. To support this transition, a structured internal medicine pharmacotherapy curriculum was developed to refresh clinical knowledge and enhance confidence among experienced clinical pharmacists.

Methods: A single-site, Institutional Review Board-exempt, quality improvement project was conducted at BHM. Inclusion criteria included Clinical Pharmacists 2s (primarily decentralized pharmacists with ≥ 1 year of pharmacy experience at BHM) who completed a structured pharmacotherapy curriculum from January 2025 …

Exploring Transformative Learning Experiences In Engineering Doctoral And Post-Doctoral Education: Developing Non-Technical Competencies For Early-Career Academic Roles, Ibukunoluwa Eunice Salami

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the transformative learning experiences that early-career engineering faculty recounted from their doctoral and postdoctoral training and how these experiences shaped the development of non-technical competencies essential for academic success. Grounded in Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) and the Competency-Based Professional Development Framework (CBPDF), the study examines how reflection and shifts in frames of reference supported competency growth and faculty readiness. A qualitative holistic single-case study design was employed. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with early-career engineering faculty and program learning objectives drawn from graduate handbooks. Data analysis was both deductive and inductive guided by Mezirow’s ten phases …

Softchalk: Product Review, Claudia Vela-Hernández, Veronica Rodriguez

TxDLA Journal of Digital Learning

SoftChalk is a powerful content authoring tool designed to support self-directed learning (SDL) and student engagement. It enables instructors to build interactive, multimedia-rich lessons that are accessible across devices. This review explores SoftChalk's key features, including embedded quizzes, self assessment tools, and cloud-based access. It evaluates its effectiveness in enhancing student engagement and explores its system specifications, LMS integration, intuitive interface and flexible design capabilities. Whether used for language acquisition, portfolio creation, or ongoing professional development, SoftChalk proves to be a versatile and impactful tool in today’s digital education landscape.

Knitting A Network Of Meaningful Partnership - Implementing An Operational Structure To Drive Success For All, Ronan T. Bree

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.