Digital Commons Network^™

Bill Brand Interview By Alex Morris, April 6, 2026, Bill Brand, Alexander Morris

HIST 4798/5798: Recording Memory: Methods and Uses of Oral History

In this 2026 interview, Bill Brand, a former corporate executive and, since 2023, a trustee on the Ohio University Foundation Board, discusses his lifelong connections to Ohio University (OU) and Athens, Ohio. An OU alum, Brand earned a Bachelor of Science from the Scripps College of Communication in 1987. He discusses what about OU—from when he first visited in the early 80s up until now—has continued to entice him into involvement with the university. In particular, he touches on the strong sense of community within both the university and Athens as a whole, which he asserts serves as a safe …

Monthly Cohort Meetings As A Pathway To Career-Related Success And Readiness, Jenna Heath, Isabella Shenouda

College of Liberal Arts Faculty Research

The UNLV Engelstad Scholars Program utilizes a monthly cohort-based meeting structure to foster professional and personal development among its approximately 100 scholars. Led by Graduate Mentors, these sessions provide a consistent, structured space for community building, networking, and critical reflection. By incorporating diverse, curated programming (ranging from professional development and guest speakers to stress-management workshops and peer-led activities), the practice cultivates essential competencies. These include emotional intelligence, accountability, and interpersonal communication, ultimately enhancing scholars' holistic career readiness and well-being.

The Collaborative Capstone Model As A Showcase Of Holistic Career Growth, Jenna Heath, Isabella Shenouda

College of Liberal Arts Faculty Research

The UNLV Engelstad Scholars Program capstone project requires graduating students to present their cumulative experience at the "End of Semester Celebration". Intended to build communication skills, emotional intelligence, and professional competencies, the assignment helps scholars reflect on their nonprofit sector learning and share their personal experiences with diverse audiences. This poster proposes shifting the capstone from an individual, three-minute presentation to a six-to-eight-minute collaborative group project focused on the program's core pillars: scholarship, leadership, and service. This transition aims to foster UNLV Career Competencies such as interpersonal communication, accountability, and flexibility by requiring students to navigate group dynamics and integrate …

Making Learning Engaging With Formative Assessment, Michelle A. Arroyo

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Benefits of formative assessment: increases student engagement, provides immediate feedback for teachers and students, helps differentiate instruction, encourages self-reflection and self-regulated learning, and improves overall student achievement.

Prototyping For Game Design With Unlv Libraries, Silvey Benson, Amber Sewell

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Involving students in a hands-on creative way to implement ideation, design, and prototyping skills gives students the opportunity to apply the theory of iterative design. Students analyze and reverse engineer current game designs prior to beginning their own innovations. They are then encouraged to apply innovation and creativity to their own game designs, test the games’ effectiveness through having others play their game and provide feedback, and fail safely in a controlled environment. Students will ideally increase their tolerance for failure through the implementation of the iterative design process while gaining a variety of skills that will serve them outside …

The Benefits Of Micro Mentorship In Supporting Student Learning And Growth, Laura A. Book

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

An overview of how pairing students with industry mentors can benefit their growth post graduation.

From Pages To Practice: Course Design For Integrative And Connected Learning, Prutha Deshpande

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The poster provides resources for the design of courses to incorporate considerable reading, paired with purposeful activities and reflection questions that deepen understanding of key points of learning, support knowledge transfer, and encourage dialogue and connection.

Learning With Ai: A Structured Approach To Student-Ai Collaboration, April Ursula Fox

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education has created an urgent need for instructional models that move beyond tool use toward intentional, pedagogically grounded practice. This study presents a structured assignment design that positions AI as a scaffolded collaborator within undergraduate educational psychology courses. Across a multi-part, semester-long sequence, students engage in concept explanation, self-directed inquiry, AI-supported knowledge construction, and reflective documentation of their learning process. Findings from recurring student artifacts indicate progressive gains in conceptual understanding, integration of research sources, and transfer of knowledge to personally meaningful contexts. Students demonstrate increased capacity for self-regulated learning …

Getting Students To Stop Having Ai Do Their Homeworkfor Them, Todd Jones

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

There are three simple rules, that, if followed, should cut down on the amount that students use AI to do their homework for them.

“Finding From The Field”—An Approach To Encourageexperiential And Epistemological Reflection, Julian Kilker

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The “Findings from the Field” teaching practice asks students to document and analyze experiences, locations, or artifacts encountered outside the classroom. While traditional field trips emphasize experiential learning by, ideally, linking course concepts to real-world experiences, this “Findings from the Field” approach extends this model through epistemological reflection guided by annotating observations. Students are prompted to consider not only what they observe, but how they know what they know, encouraging metacognition about observation, experience, and empirical research.

From Generation To Judgment: A Structured Approach To Teaching Responsible Ai Use, Necole Leland, Lisa Nicholas, Jennifer Vanderlaan

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

A structured approach to teaching responsible use of generative AI in nursing education is critical. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into professional practice, students must move beyond simple AI content generation to critically evaluate and refining AI outputs. Using the RISEN prompting framework to guide learners in designing effective prompts while also emphasizing analysis of accuracy, relevance, bias, and ethical considerations in the output. Through classroom modeling and applied activities, students engage actively with AI as a tool for inquiry rather than passive consumption. This approach offers a practical and adaptable model for integrating ethical and effective AI use across …

Bridging The Divide Between Theory & Practice: A Framework For Fostering Relevant Learning Environments, Elsa Lopez-Martinez

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

This poster presents a framework for bridging the gap between theory and practice in teacher education by designing relevant learning experiences that better prepare preservice teachers. Grounded in seminal teacher education literature, the approach explicitly connects coursework to professional applications while preserving the integrity of theoretical foundations. The framework emphasizes ongoing communication of purpose and alignment across courses. Additional strategies include integrating career-focused activities, facilitating reflective exercises, inviting practitioner perspectives, and providing applied assignments. Evidence from student feedback highlights increased engagement, confidence, and perceived relevance.

Transparency And Personalized Feedback Curb Ai Misuse In Asynchronous Online Biology, Elana A. Paladino

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The rapid expansion of generative AI (Gen-AI) has reshaped teaching and assessment in online, asynchronous introductory biology courses, creating new challenges for academic integrity and meaningful learning. This poster examines practical strategies to promote ethical AI use while maintaining student engagement. Transparency of instructions and timely, personalized feedback were found to curb AI misuse in online discussion posts. Structured use of AI tutors encouraged responsible engagement with Gen-AI, and surveillance methods for summative exams had mixed effects.

Culturally Responsive Tent: An Architectural Journey, Marcos Amado Petroli, Elmira Ebadi

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Culturally responsive teaching in architecture encourages students to connect design thinking with identity, culture, and lived experience. This studio assignment introduced the tent as an archetypal architectural form and weaving as a generative tectonic strategy, allowing students to explore how lightweight structures can respond to social needs, cultural narratives, and material expression.

Evaluating The Benefits Of “Science Of Learning To Learn” In Foundational Undergraduate Biology Courses, Kathryn M. Rafferty, Jenifer Utz, Christy Strong, Matthew Bernacki

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Our objective was to foster increased retention of freshman student and subsequent progression into upper division coursework by incorporating learning skill development and motivational activities into the Introductory Biology courses (BIOL190/191). Enhancement of the introductory biology courses at UNLV has the potential to improve the educational experiences of thousands of students, since about 600 to 800 students enroll in the introductory biology courses each semester. We have previously developed a multimedia learning skill intervention called "The Science of Learning to Learn" which covers the importance of self-testing, spacing out and scheduling study sessions, and managing one's goals, habits, and learning …

Creating Podcasts As Research Assignments With The Help If Unlv Libraries, David Ramos Candelas, Amber Sewell

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Communicating research and ideas via podcasts stretch students’ thinking beyond a traditional classroom assignment, encourgaging: Creative critical thinking Increased sense of ownership and pride over work Research, attribution, and synthesis skills in a publicly accessible, fun, and familiar format

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 …

Using “Ticket Out” To Create A Continuous Feedback Loop For Student Learning, Jacob D. Skousen

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

This presentation highlights the use of a brief end-of-class “Ticket Out” to create a continuous feedback loop for student learning. Students reflect on learning targets and provide feedback on the class experience, which is then analyzed and used to guide instructor response, follow-up communication, and instructional adjustments. The practice supports reflective teaching, student voice, and timely, responsive instruction.

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.

Greeting Death “Sitting Up:” How Children’S Literature Provides Modern Death Education, Reilly Kendrick

Honors Theses

Western culture places a lot of importance on legacy and friendship as important lessons to learn from death. However, children do not have as much experience with death due to changing cultural customs, and our society lacks a formal death education system that can promote these values and teach children how to respond to death in their lives. Literature, though, can fill this gap in children’s knowledge by teaching the basic physical components of death and philosophical understandings of death. These ideas are learned through vicarious reading, in which children experience the character’s emotions and reactions as they read. The …

Enhancing Assessment Tools For Foster Youth: A Phenomenological Approach To Preparing For Independent Living, Karen M. Armstead

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Abstract

Foster youth transitioning to independent living often face challenges that extend beyond technical life skills. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 10 former foster youth (ages 18–21) regarding readiness for independent living and the adequacy of preparation they received. Semi-structured interviews were guided by an 18-question instrument reflecting real-world transition domains commonly addressed by nonprofit independent living programs. Thematic analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) lack of preparation, (2) emotional strain and abandonment, and (3) life skills training. Findings indicate that readiness is multidimensional and shaped by practical preparation, emotional readiness, and relational support. For nonprofit …

Understanding Higher Education Resources: A Critical Policy Analysis Of The Fafsa Simplification Act Of 2019 Implementation At A Private, Catholic University, Jasmine Hamm

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The qualitative study examined a private, Catholic university’s implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2019 alongside the broader, layered federal and state policies involved in financial aid award allocation in higher education (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Rubin & Rubin, 2011; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Critical Policy Analysis and Institutional Theory guided the research in examining (1) policy development, (2) implementation, (3) external pressures, and (4) organizational adaptation (Diem et al., 2014; Meyer & Rowan, 1977). Eight administrators and staff members who worked in the Enrollment Management Division and the Financial Aid Office were interviewed regarding the implementation of the …

Second April 2026 General Education Council Minutes, University Of Nebraska At Kearney General Education Council

General Education Council

No abstract provided.