Digital Commons Network^™

Strengthening Community Health Through Dementia Listening Sessions, Raven Albertson

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"This session explores innovative strategies for strengthening community health through dementia listening sessions and engagement, equipping community partners with the knowledge to make informed decisions regarding dementia care and support. Participants will gain insights into effective partnership-building, impactful dementia education delivery, and strategies for fostering meaningful community involvement through community listening sessions and collaboration. Through a live listening session workshop, attendees will participate in interactive discussions, inform efforts in Utah communities, and acquire practical tools to drive sustainable, community-led improvements in dementia care and support."

Experiential Learning Through Service Learning -- Integrating The Social Inequality Classroom, Mehmet Soyer, Mike Spence, Zach Johnson

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

This session explores the role of service-learning in social inequality education, highlighting an experiential learning assignment that engages students with local non-profits. Participants will learn how structured reflections and community engagement deepen students' understanding of inequality and civic responsibility. The session will provide practical insights into implementing service-learning to foster critical thinking and social change.

Community Strategy For Equitable Home Electrification, Alyson Bergomi, Kelbe Goupil, Kevin Emerson

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Between 2021-2023, Utah Clean Energy collaborated with four community partners to develop the Community Strategy for Equitable Home Electrification. This involved developing an understanding of the barriers and challenges to home electrification, creating a vision statement for equitable home electrification, developing four high-priority solutions to the barriers to home electrification, and creating several action steps for each solution, all based on community input. This document is intended to inform and guide the design and implementation of programs and policies related to home efficiency and electrification that are intended to expand access for low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Reaching Communities And Serving People: Assessing Utah's Legal Needs, Pamela Beatse J.D, Scotti Hill J.D, Keenan Carroll J.D., Hannah Kiely M.A

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"Utah Legal Services (ULS) conducted a comprehensive legal needs assessment in 2024 to gather the necessary data and information to better meet its mission of providing high-quality civil legal aid without cost to people who are unable to afford legal representation or are facing disadvantages. Using the combination of an online survey, a series of focus groups throughout the Wasatch front, individual or group interviews, and several community soundboards, ULS conducted a broad, statewide survey. We connected with representatives, organizations, advocates, case managers, and leaders in the community as well as with client-eligible Utahns and ULS staff. This process allowed …

Guidance And Lessons Learned For Instructors Seeking To Add Video Creation To Their Skill Set, Wendy A. Swenson Roth

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

Videos have entered the classroom, whether for online asynchronous courses or as supplementary information in synchronous classes. COVID-19 accelerated the pace of online and video learning but left instructors with little time to explore the optimal use of this technology. Nonetheless, videos are here to stay, raising questions about what unique choices faculty must make when implementing them and what new skills are required as videos become additional content delivery sources. The following article provides implementation guidance and lessons learned for instructors seeking to add video creation to their skill set.

Design, Implementation, And Reflection From An Interdisciplinary Course In Museum Studies, Brenna L. Decker

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

In Spring of 2023, I developed a special topics course titled Collection Material Handling to introduce students to museum management using Utah State University collections on the Logan, UT campus. The cross-listed upper-level course brought 16 USU students together from two disciplines: anthropology and natural sciences. The publication details how I used various learning theories to guide the creation of course content and how I structured and implemented activities in the classroom and in the collections. Examples of worksheets, activities, student feedback, and recommended improvements to assignments are provided. I encourage …

Learning A Little Bit Harder: The Intersecting Experiences Of First-Generation And Single-Mother College Students, Natalie Lecy, Elizabeth Hendrix, Brian A. Droubay

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

This study examines the experiences of nine first-generation, single-mother college students, focusing on these intersecting, double-jeopardy identities. Participants’ difficulty navigating college varied; contributing factors included family background, social capital, the type of college attended, and whether they established a mentor. The following themes were established: 1) realizing college is an option, 2) caught between two worlds, 3) college wasn’t designed for us, 4) economic barriers, and 5) disparities in social capital. Our findings indicate colleges were unprepared to meet the unique challenges faced by this group. We present recommendations for the …

The Role And Influence Of Faculty As Predictors For Retention And Satisfaction Among Generation Z, Katelyn Romsa, Stephani Jarecke, Jessie H. Hendricks, Bryan Romsa

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

While previous research has established that faculty and their interactions with students have had the greatest impact on student retention and satisfaction for centuries, limited studies have been done to understand how faculty are influencing Generation Z, our newest generation of students in higher education. This study examined how the quantity of faculty interactions is impacting student retention and satisfaction among 342 Generation Z first-year college students at a public land-grant institution in the Midwest using the National Survey of Student Engagement instrument. In a Mann-Whitney U test, significant difference was …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 9, Issue 1, Spring 2025

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2025 issue (Volume 9, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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

The issue includes five articles addressing challenges in higher education: faculty-student interactions with Generation Z students, experiences of first-generation single-mother college students, implementation of an interdisciplinary museum studies course, guidance for creating educational videos, and a book review on resistance to change in higher education. The journal emphasizes practical strategies for effective teaching, inclusivity, and innovative approaches to pedagogy across various educational contexts.

Making Visible Leadership Characteristics And Actions In Fostering Collective Teacher Efficacy: A Cross-Case Study, Donald R. Mendenhall, Suzanne H. Jones, Leann G. Putney

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Poverty can contribute to students' struggles with academic success, yet these struggles may be mitigated in schools with high levels of collective teacher efficacy (CTE). The purpose of this study was to identify effective Title I-eligible schools, serving a high percentage of financially disadvantaged students, while also maintaining high levels of CTE. Two schools were selected for cross-case analysis to explore how leadership characteristics and actions nurtured and sustained schoolwide CTE. The methodology used in this study was a qualitative cross-case analysis. The researchers purposefully selected the schools as cases based on the level of CTE existing in the schools. …

Precision Hinges For Origami Space Arrays, Jake Sutton, Trevor Carter, Davis Wing, Brooklyn Clark, Fisk Lundgreen, Spencer Magleby, Mark Stephen, Nathan Usevitch, Larry L. Howell

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Optical satellite performance improves with increased surface area, which enhances light capture and sensor input. Deployable array mechanisms allow satellites to remain compact during launch and expand in orbit. This study focuses on designing passive hinges in rigid-panel origami-based deployable satellites for optical applications. A novel kinematic coupling method is developed, incorporating magnets, compact Lamina Emergent Torsional (LET) joints, and principles from Maxwell couplings. This system autonomously achieves precise alignment without motorized actuation reducing complexity. The design process involved iterative testing of ten two-panel hinge prototypes to identify the most effective designs. These were integrated into a degree-four vertex pattern …

Far-Field Uav-Enabled Antenna Radiation Pattern Mapping, Jack Fernald

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This paper presents an overview of an research project at Weber State University (WSU) focused on developing a UAV-based system for measuring far-field radiation patterns of physically large antennas operating in the High-Frequency (HF, 3–30 MHz) and Very-High-Frequency (VHF, 30–300 MHz) ranges. Leveraging commercially available unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) components, software-defined radios (SDRs), open-source software tools, and advanced simulation environments, this project aims to create a cost-effective, scalable measurement solution that addresses the logistical challenges of traditional methods. By enabling autonomous three-dimensional radiation mapping of operational antennas in open-field environments, the proposed system refines industry practices and expands our understanding …

Reconstruction Of Cad Models Into Analysis-Ready Single Trimmed Surfaces With Aerospace Applications, Rebecca Rasmussen, Royce Pablo Harline, Kendrick Shepherd

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Classical methods by which computer-aided design (CAD) geometries are represented for both design and analysis involve meshing. However, the current process of converting a CAD model into an analysis-suitable surface mesh takes a significant amount of time and labor [23, 4, 18], results in a faceted representation of the original smooth geometry, and generates representations that are prohibitively expensive for use in high-order explicit dynamics computations [35, 9].

This research focuses on accurately and efficiently rebuilding given CAD surfaces or meshes, such as shell-like components of aeronautical structures or automotive vehicles, into smooth, single trimmed spline surface approximations (rather than …

Educational And Engaging Scientific Outreach: A Dinosaur Case Study, Auriana Dunn, Holly Gerber, Brandon Bennett, Sharol Gauthier, Greta Geary

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Clear communication of scientific findings is critical in academic settings. However, it is just as important, if not more so, in settings where researchers are trying to educate the public. Through engaging and entertaining methods, science communication can effectively share advancements from the scientific community with the general public.

Optimizing Satellite Handoffs In Leo Constellations, A Predictive Model, Savanna Sanborn

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are huge players in the modern space infrastructure and are used for a variety of human needs, including public communication, weather imaging, and scientific research. Typically these satellites orbit at altitudes between 300km and 600km above the earth's surface, complete an entire orbit around the Earth in 90-100 minutes, and make several orbits around the earth in a given day.

Byu Rocketry: 2024 Irec & Spaceport America Cup, Casey Gooch, Spencer Stowell, Taylor Anderton, Aidan Rice, Zach Lyman, Haylee Sevy, Nathan Butler, Brad Hornfischer, Tyson Butterfield, Joshua Taylor, Gabe Slade, Barry Creighton

Utah Space Grant Consortium

BYU Rocketry competed in the 2024 IREC competition at the Spaceport America Cup in June 2024 in the 10,000 ft commercial motor category. The 12.5 ft and 67 lb. rocket, Alta, beckons to BYU Rocketry's past while honoring some of Utah's most towering peaks.