Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Set The Tone With An Inclusive Syllabus, Alison Sloat

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Inclusive and equity-minded syllabi help welcome students, set positive and encouraging tones on the first day of class, and improve the chances of success for all.

Research Skills: Identifying Peer-Reviewed Scientific Articles, Catherine Brotman, Sharon Jalene

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Students entering into college are exposed to a variety of new academic experiences, challenges, and expectations. Of these, developing proper research skills is one of the most difficult yet essential skills for students to master. Specifically, identifying and differentiating between primary and secondary research along with being able to properly reference and cite scientific articles. During Assignment 2, students in the Kinesiology Milestone class, KIN 350, learn how to search for peer-reviewed scientific articles using the UNLV library website. Students are then required to identify types of articles (e.g., original research and literature reviews) and their components (i.e. abstract, introduction, …

Unlv Teaching And Technology Model, Nicole Hudson, Ted Weisman

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The teaching practice is UNLV's Online Teaching and Technology Model which incorporates asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities.

Learning Retention Through Glossary Development, Haroon Stephen

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The teaching practice is to engage students in glossary development. It is adopted to increase student learning retention of civil engineering terms. Learning retention is the process of transferring new information into long-term memory. This teaching practice was implemented in two courses during summer and fall 2021. The benefits of this practice were assessed using a post-semester survey. The survey responses revealed that this teaching practice increased understanding of the technical terms of 87% of the respondents and increased conceptual understanding of 83% of the respondents.

Toward Building Science Literacy, Kathryn Rafferty

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Reading scientific literature is a critical science competency that proves difficult to “teach.” Students enter our classes with varying science vocabularies, and many suffer imposter syndrome when reading technical reports because they do not yet identify as capable scientists. The “Science Literacy” assignment guides students to develop and expand strategies to read science articles. Over the semester, students read 5 to 6 articles ranging from peer-reviewed manuscripts to popular science magazines to science blogs about sequencing Ozzy Osbourne's DNA. In Canvas Discussion boards, they a guiding set of questions and then respond to their peers. This assignment is a low-stakes …

Online Small Groups And Student-Faculty Connections, Sheila Janofsky

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When classes moved online to protect community health, many students felt disconnected from their teachers and peers. To address this lost sense of connection, I restructured a live remote class. Rather than teaching this 400-level class live via WebEx with some breakouts for active learning assignments, I pre-recorded the lectures for each week and asked the students to watch these on their own time. I assigned the students to small (5-6 person) discussion groups and broke out our assigned class meeting times into multiple small group meetings. We meet in these small groups every week to discuss questions prepared by …

Informed Self-Assessment And Peer Evaluation To Foster The Development Of Adaptive Learners In Online Education, Tiffany Barrett, Jen Nash

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Functioning in an online education model, we find ourselves refocusing on the best way to engage learners in academic content and professional development. For example, physical therapy students have shown difficulty engaging in self-reflection.¹ Yet, we know that self-assessment helps practitioners recognize, interpret, and be moved to action.² Research has suggested that self-assessment is vitally important during the assessing phase of becoming a master adaptive learner.³ It has also been shown to increase students’ understanding and promote the implementation of patient-centered practice.⁴ We aimed to adapt previous modes of assessment to the online environment. We did …

An Intensive Course: Benefits For Non-Traditional Students In A Practice-Based Discipline, Lisa Nicholas, Necole Leland, Jennifer Pfannes, Jovi Dumangan, Hope Hinchman, Gretchen Little, Angela E. Silvestri-Elmore

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Intensive courses: compressed, condensed, or accelerated courses deliver content within a shortened period of time. An intensive course is not meant to be a copy and paste of a traditional full-semester course.

Students will:

• Meet more frequently for a shorter period of time for class activities, discussions, and group work.

• Have increased number of out-of-class, self-study commitment hours for pre intensive course preparation.

Intensive courses provide a different modality to the higher educational environment. Non-traditional students, such as second-degree-seeking, desire to return to school while keeping pace with their daily responsibilities and therefore require non-traditional methods of instruction. This type …

Promoting Equity And Engagement With Randomness, Aaron Saiewitz

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Classroom discussion is a key aspect of learning, but class discussion is often dominated by extroverted students. Further, research shows that students from underrepresented groups are often less likely to participate in classroom discussion. While instructors may attempt to broaden participation by calling on students to participate, instructors are often subject to unconscious biases which cause them to call more often on students with certain characteristics. To address these issues, I recommend a random calling technique using a random number generator to create an advance list of students to call on during class. This random approach addresses the issue of …

Remote Learning, Van Whaley, Dustin Davis

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• One instructor presents live, virtual, synchronous lectures while another instructor builds engagement and support using the live chat feature.

• An engaging way to highlight concepts and explain key figures, pictures, and drawings using shared screens.

I share my screen and move through the e-textbook to discuss the most important topics from each week’s chapter. During each discussion, I intersperse my drawings of body structures on Google Jamboard. While I present, Dustin works in the chat to ask recall and application questions, answer students’ questions, and link resources such as educational YouTube videos and practice quizzes. Our DVDs address two key …

The Return Of Labor-Based Grading Contracts, Erica J. Marti

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Despite best attempts, grading can be very subjective when it comes to determining quality. For certain courses, the process is just as important as the product, but often the grade is based mainly on the quality of the product and doesn’t take the labor or process into account. One alternative to standard grade systems is labor-based grading or contract grading. In this system, students meet certain requirements to earn a certain grade. If students meet the criteria for the assignment, it counts toward the contract. If not, they can revise, reflect and resubmit. With this format, students can focus on …

Mural: An Online Space For Co-Creating Meaning And Understanding, Kimberly James

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Building an online community around learning has been challenging throughout the academic and artistic disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. In order to promote remote interaction and educe student contributions, I utilized MURAL, a virtual, collaborative whiteboard, several times during AY2020-2021 to co-create meaning and understanding of common pedagogic topics that are applied in my studio. This practice allowed all participants to contribute ideas, make revisions, and enjoy new “aha” moments in real-time with far less pressure and concern for feeling “called out” or being “wrong.”

These activities benefitted the students and the overall wellness of the student participants …

An Integrative Approach To Teaching In Precalculus And Calculus Classes, Aleksei Talonov

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We would like to present practices of using problem-based learning activities in Mathematics classroom. We mostly concentrated our attention on Precalculus and Calculus classes which have had low success rates and retention. During the last couple of years, we developed a set of course specific materials in the form of lecture notes and inclass and out-of-class assignments. Each major assignment is accompanied by clear and coherent guidelines explaining what kind of skills will be attained by practicing this assignment, how it can be done, what amount of time can it reasonably take, when is it due, and where to get …

Inclusiveness In Teaching : Aligning Culturally Relevant Journal Articles With Course Content, Jacimaria Batista

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The practice focuses on Inclusiveness in Water/wastewater Engineering Teaching. Upon reviewing the ethnic (Fig. below) and gender diversity (24% women) of her 57- student course on water/wastewater treatment, the Instructor replaced previously assigned articles with the reading of articles focusing on water issues affecting minoritized communities in the U.S (see references).The goal was to make students aware of water/wastewater issues facing minority communities in the US. Often, the media portrays Africa or South America as places where safe water is not available, ignoring the needs of minoritized communities in the US. A second goal was to evaluate the interest of …

Preparing Students For Their Future! A Virtual Career Development Practice, Jenna Heath

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This is a simple practice for faculty to integrate into their courses to enhance career and professional development for their students. The “virtual document review” is an effective way for faculty to provide students a great resume, without the faculty having to be a career and professional development expert, and without the faculty having to edit each individual resume that comes in. All faculty should utilize the Career Services resources, especially right now as there are new and innovative ways to move resources online. Students resumes were significantly better after the use of this tool.

Applied Learning During A Pandemic, Roberta Jo Barnes

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Applied learning is a critical component of the Hospitality College curriculum. This teaching practice examines the development of a course providing a meaningful substitution for internship during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Using Children's And Young Adult Literature In College Classrooms, Christine A. Draper

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Using a children’s book or YA novel as an introduction, or a piece to draw students’ attention to a particular topic can harness the power of emotions help our students connect with, learn, and retain course material more deeply (Cavanagh, 2016).

While the plot-line of children’s books may appear simple, the issues addressed can be quite complex. The newest wave of children’s literature addresses a wide range of socially sensitive topics such as racism, poverty, death, gender identity, police brutality, war, and immigration (Johnson, 2014) and often does so in a way that invites discussion rather than foreclosing it.

Though …

Using The Reverse Case Study To Meet Clinical Outcomes In A Practice-Based Discipline, Angela E. Silvestri-Elmore, Lisa Nicholas

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted curricular plans at UNLV and nursing schools across the nation, and clinical instruction and evaluation were notably impacted. Nursing faculty are accustomed to direct observation of student performance in the clinical setting to inform student evaluation in clinical. Due to the pandemic, many clinical requirements are completed virtually because of clinical displacement of students. With reverse case study use in a remote clinical learning environment, the UNLV SoN has successfully met clinical learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reverse case studies differ from the traditional case study in that students are involved with the development …

Survey For Rapport, Allison Mcswain

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Survey questionnaires can be used as a tool to build rapport with students. This serves a few key purposes: 1. It allows instructors to connect with their students more deeply. 2. It gives students another way to communicate with instructors and makes them feel cared for as people. 3. It allows instructors to learn about patterns within the classroom to guide the curriculum of the course.

Science In Your Naturehood, Alison Sloat

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Engaging students in hands-on scientific research in their NatureHoods, or local neighborhoods, improves student outcomes, learning, and success in remote learning environments.

Reflections Drive Online Course Quality, Nicole Hudson

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The teaching practice that the department found helpful was self-guided reflection and assessment of professional development needs to improve course design and delivery. Professional development opportunities included cohort experiences, webinars, and self-paced trainings on online best practice including: course organization, student engagement, content delivery and assessment.

• 630 UNLV faculty participated in the Summer Course Improvement Program. The first step was to self-assess their online teaching practices and identify their professional development needs and goal. 262 chose to enhance a skill and 368 chose to incorporate a new strategy in their course
• 523 UNLV faculty attended one or more professional development …

Teaching Challenging Texts And Encouraging Inquiry Remotely, Aisha Ratanapool

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Creating a culture of inquiry in non-research based courses helps students enhance their skills in critical thinking, reading, writing, collaboration, and argumentation. In English 101, some students feel like not having all of the answers about a text after a first read is unacceptable. This practice is designed to help college students understand and confidently discuss complex texts in a remote course.

Engaging Remote Students Through Planning And Play Using Shared Google Docs, Julian Kilker

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Like many faculty teaching remotely, I faced challenges with student engagement, participation, and feedback, as well as balancing planned and impromptu course activities. In response, I explored using Google Docs to create productive and playful collaborative spaces inspired by Marie Foulston’s informal “Party in a Shared Google Doc” social experiment.

Web-Based System For Students Engagement In The Math Remote Learning Classes, Aleksei Talonov

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

We would like to present practices of using Web-based systems to enhance interactive learning activities in the Math Remote Learning Classes. We mostly concentrated our attention on PreCalculus and Calculus classes. During the last couple of years, we developed a set of course specific materials in the form of lecture notes and out-of-class assignments. Each major assignment is accompanied by clear and coherent guidelines explaining what kind of skills will be attained by practicing this assignment, how it can be done, what amount of time can it reasonably take, when is it due, and where to get help. Speaking of …

Covid-19, Distance Education, And Students Needs, Shahla Fayazpour

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COVID 19 was an unexpected situation, and it has a negative impact on students. College students' education has been an increasing concern especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Research shows the vital need to develop interventions and preventive strategies for all students including college students (Son et al., 2020). Many instructors had to adapt their teaching strategies with little preparation. Having a clear syllabus, creating new assignments based on students' needs, engaging students for more participation, and providing a positive communication have been essential factors in rapid transition to distance education especially during the Pandemic.

It's Like A Video Game: How To Use Twine To Create Scenario Based Learning Online, Amanda Mapel Belarmino

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How can you engage students online by utilizing the online environment? Solution: a choose-your-own adventure style game. As an Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management, I teach a class in Strategic Management where I used a software called Twine to create a choose-your-adventure type scenario where the students make their own decisions for a business scenario and then see the consequences of their decisions.

Using Discord To Facilitate Student Engagement, David Schwartz

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With the move to remote instruction, many students feel disconnected if there is no synchronous component, while others feel self-conscious about using WebEx as a group discussion platform, particularly if they have to turn on their camera.

Additionally, streaming platforms like WebEx do not yield a permanent record of the chat discussion.Instructors must rely on students taking notes or email them pertinent material afterwards.

Discord is a platform that originally came to prominence in video game communities for its adaptability and ease of use. Many students already have accounts and are adept users.

Incorporating a synchronous Discord element into your …

Build It In The Chat: Using The Chat Function In Online Platforms To Facilitate And Improve Student Writing, James Altman

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Helping college students “find their voice” as writers is challenging even without the isolation necessitated by the Pandemic. Shyness, lack of comfort with the subject matter, and fear of using the wrong word or phrase, can all keep students from expressing their ideas as fully as they, and we, would like. This can lead to non-completion or plagiarism of assignments If a student is also a non-native English speaker and/or has physical and/or cognitive difficulties, the situation can appear insurmountable. Building student writing thought by thought, line by line, paragraph by paragraph addresses the problem by allowing individuals to express …

Remote Teaching Of Research Methods, Manoj Sharma

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Research Methods (PBH 360-1002) offered by the School of Public Health was taught remotely by Manoj Sharma to undergraduate students (primarily from public health) in Fall 2020. The specific teaching techniques that were used in teaching this course were delivery as remote learning, organizing the entire course in Canvas and making it available from day 1, recording all lectures beforehand in Panopto, utilizing cases studies, employing WebEx and its breakout sessions, and having skill-building activities in each module that were sequential. In this course, the fourth-generation multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change was utilized from a pedagogical perspective to …

Engaging Students In Online Discussion Boards, Natalie Pennington

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My best teaching practices offers four tips for engaging students in online discussion boards in the digital classroom. By identifying several ways to improve upon this commonly used classroom tool, the poster highlights how to engage students in learning in the course.