The Art of Communication: A Professional Development Course Model

Kristen Bowen, University of Alabama at Birmingham

More and more employers are looking for interpersonal skills related to teamwork, self-efficacy, and communication. This poster session will walk through how we integrated a professional development seminar into our master’s level program focused on the art of communication. This three-prong approach starts with students’ self-exploration through an individual development plan and learning their strengths. The second unit is focused on community building and how one interacts with others. The final unit focuses on preparing students for the next step: mock interviews, resume building, and application tips.

Achieving Teaching Success: Lessons Learned from Early Career Investigators

Chioma Kas-Osoka and Elizabeth Stewart, Meharry Medical College

Balancing research and graduate-level teaching can be challenging for early career faculty. In addition to the expectation to publish, secure funding, and establish a research program, instructors must develop innovative strategies to engage students and assess their understanding of course content. The goal of this project is to present lessons learned in the teaching environment as an early career faculty member. We identified four lessons learned: (1) become acquainted with your online learning management systems early on; (2) delegate tasks; (3) engage in supplemental teaching focused programs and networks; and (4) administer mid-semester and end-of-semester course evaluations.

Advancing Inclusive Teaching: Faculty Development in Trauma-Informed Pedagogy

Karen Gordes, University of Maryland Baltimore

This poster will describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a multi-discipline/multi-school faculty development program designed to generate a pipeline of faculty trained in the principles of trauma-informed pedagogy. Evaluation data demonstrating positive impact across Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation will be shared. Specifics on the impact of the training at the individual faculty level (changing instructional practices) and the collective program level (reformed policies, practices, and culture) to reflect trauma informed principles will be highlighted.

AIRBAS Model for Generative AI Integration in Teaching and Learning

Manal Saleh and Ute Fiedler, Nova Scotia Community College

Over the past two years, the discourse on AI in academia has emphasized the need to rethink assessment and evaluation, centering on student-focused approaches that ensure authenticity and relevance. As business instructors at a Provincial Community College in Canada, we developed and piloted strategies to bridge the growing gap between AI adoption in industry and post-secondary education, equipping students with the skills needed for a rapidly evolving labor market. Our session will guide participants through our process of rethinking course design using backward learning design, with GenAI as a teaching assistant and students at the core.

Art and Science: Integrating Art into Nursing Education

Kelsey Scott and Ashley Kinder, Alliant International University

Nursing is both an art and a science, but can those two disciplines be used together in nursing education? This poster will showcase the use of guided creative notetaking in prelicensure nursing education. Studies show taking notes in color can increase the likelihood that information is stored and retrieved successfully. Drawing a concept engages visual, kinesthetic, and semantic memory, and guided notetaking has been shown to improve memory recall. After implementation, undergraduate nursing students reported increased engagement and understanding of complex concepts when using this method in multiple courses. This dynamic approach is scalable and adaptable to multiple disciplines.

Building Academic Resilience Through Self-Care

Melinda McIsaac, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

This poster will provide relevant information on proven ways to maintain personal well-being by managing stressors, maintaining one’s health, and developing self-care techniques for lasting resilience. The importance of self-care is directly related to physical, mental, and emotional health, which can affect one’s ability to do their job successfully if those areas are neglected. Handouts will be provided that contain additional information and resources for self-care techniques.

Course Dynamics that Affect the Emotional Health of Online Students

Susan Snellgrove and Lori Gatling, Arkansas State University

Online course dynamics may affect the emotional well-being of students. The purpose of this descriptive study was to better understand faculty actions and course characteristics that energize or exhaust online students emotionally. A survey was sent to approximately 1,000 students enrolled in online nursing programs. The survey included demographic information and items exploring online course characteristics that contributed to or prevented learning and emotional wellness. Findings included student perceptions regarding faculty actions that promoted student belonging or isolation in the online environment and the effect of course dynamics on increased or decreased emotional health.

Course Podcasts and Instructor Presence in Hybrid Humanities Courses

Stokes Schwartz, Michigan State University

This poster presentation will highlight the use of brief audio podcast episodes embedded within each online course module for a hybrid literature, drama, and film course. The aim is twofold: to establish instructor presence and provide additional 24/7 support to students should they seek it. Where face-to-face contact is limited to one meeting per week in a hybrid setting, podcast audio provides an easy way to connect with students outside of course meetings and encourage their engagement, paving the way for a more positive approach to course materials and tasks. The latter point is a key consideration given the sometimes less than positive attitude with which students view their general education courses. While there are many ways to establish and maintain instructor presence in the digital age, routine production of brief, albeit high quality podcast episodes, can help us build and maintain rapport with our students.

Embedding Scholarly Activity into Your Teaching Life

Zach Jones, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

This work describes a two-semester complementary course series where students using interactive GIS, satellite, and ground data design, sample, analyze, and present real-world ecological science. To sample student perspectives of Great Plains rangelands, both pre- and post-course surveys were given to 54 students across three semesters. Students strengthened their perception that 1) they understand what a rangeland is, 2) that fire is a positive thing in rangelands, and 3) rangelands have value to urban communities. In tandem with teaching, I describe how the courses are designed to increase scholarly productivity while generating assessment data that improve teaching effectiveness.

Enhancing Well-Being Through Weekly Nature Investigations and Mindfulness Practices

Cyna Schuster and Molina Walters, Arizona State University

This study explores how weekly nature investigations and mindfulness practices affect college students’ observational skills, well-being, and environmental connection. Based on Vygotsky’s social-cultural theory and Kaplan and Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory (ART), 50 ASU undergraduates practiced outdoor journaling and mindfulness. Using thematic analysis of journals and pre- and post-surveys (PSS, NR – Nature Relatedness Scale), findings show improved detail awareness, reduced stress, and a stronger connection to nature. The study highlights the mental health and sustainability benefits of incorporating nature-based mindfulness practices in higher education.

Exploring the Use of AI-Based Instruction to Increase Student Understanding

Ann Wheeler, Texas Woman’s University

Attendees will learn about how AI-based technology tools, specifically ChatGPT, MagicSchool AI, and Snorkl, can be utilized in their classrooms to help increase student understanding of class content. Specific AI-based assignments from two STEM-based undergraduate courses and a non-STEM based graduate grant project will be shared, including prompts and pacing schedule. Findings from student work and written reflections will also be detailed, which consist of sample student work and students’ opinions about the AI tools. Helpful hints and future modifications to the assignments will provide attendees with further knowledge about how to implement these tools into their own courses.

How to Learn: Embed Learning Skills in Any Course

Jessica Cannon, University of Central Missouri

Students often need help with effective learning skills, regardless of their backgrounds. This poster presentation details a module-based method to build inclusive learning spaces and embed the development of learning strategies into any course and any delivery modality. Attendees learn design process and delivery practices for this method, and they will leave with digital access to content, sample assignments, cohort-building tools, and an AI-chatbot that supports just-in-time student learning 24/7. With a 97% positive feedback record over several semesters, this successful approach is both scalable and adaptable for faculty with all levels of prior instructional design/UDL training.

Increasing STEM Literacy and Confidence with a New Course Design

Jono Anzalone, Joshua Havelin, and Allison Moloney, Thomas College

This poster describes a team-taught course where students earn six total credits, three in math and three in science. This course is similar in structure to Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs); however, the research topics studied are not required to be novel and the students in the course a predominantly non-STEM majors. This model provides more time to train students in lab, research, and data analysis skills than an average four-credit lecture/lab course. By the end of the semester, students work independently to design experiments, analyze, and communicate scientific data. The goals of this course are to increase scientific literacy and increase student confidence in science and math.

Investigating the Impact of Clinical Practica on Critical Thinking

LaDonna Moreland, Rush University

This poster is a summary of a research study conducted in a health science program. The poster consists of the introduction, study design, methodology, results, conclusion, limitations, and future studies. In any healthcare profession, critical thinking, problem-solving and clinical reasoning skills are essential for appropriate clinical decision making. The goal of the study was to inform improvements in education and provide implications for enhancing critical thinking in other healthcare professions and educational settings. Clinical practica, internships, and externships in any profession are crucial for students to learn practical skills and understand professional norms, values, and responsibilities, including critical thinking.

Navigating the Digital Landscape: Tech Tools to Enhance Learning

Megan Fixen and Beverly Fleishman, Minot State University

Technology tools have become essential to teaching and learning in modern education. Students are comfortable with technology and enjoy technology-based teaching over the traditional teaching methods. The use of technology in the classroom encourages collaboration, engagement and communication between students and instructors in real time. Additionally, technology-based tools can lead to improved student outcomes and an increase in motivation. This poster presentation will outline six technology tools that can be used to increase engagement in the classroom.

Student AI Use: How, When, and Why?

Shelby Lejeune, Brianna McCartney, and Jacob Stroman, Southern Arkansas University

With the rise in generative AI tools like ChatGPT, concerns about accuracy, ethics, and overreliance have emerged. While AI offers benefits, such as efficiency and accessibility, it also poses risks to critical thinking and academic integrity. This study focuses on understanding how, when, and why students use AI tools in coursework. Situational factors, including course interest, perceived course value, procrastination tendencies, GPA, and perceptions of degree pursuit, will be analyzed as predictors of AI use in brainstorming, content creation, proofreading, and more. Findings aim to inform policies that balance innovation with ethical and effective education.

Teaching for Thriving: Promoting Mental Well-Being and Resilience in Students

Tami Shadduck, University of South Florida

Faculty are uniquely poised to support the mental well-being of students in a direct and consistent manner. At USF’s College of Public Health, undergraduate faculty proactively employ strategies in three areas of influence: student support, course policies, and university culture. Student support describes actions that connect students with resources and assistance. Course policies encompass syllabus policies and guidelines. University culture includes both verbal and nonverbal communication that creates an open and supportive environment. This poster will describe specific actions faculty can take to provide mental well-being support to students taking online and in-person courses.

Unpacking the Untruths: Encouraging Critical Thinking in the Classroom

Ani Matt and Cerisa Reynolds, Aims Community College

Course resources are full of statements connecting various behaviors, illnesses, and treatments to specific groups of people. However, these statements are often highly problematic. For example, identity-based categories often aren’t inclusive, biologically real, and/or don’t account for all of the complex identities (cultural and biological) that we humans have. Furthermore, many of the studies are based on incomplete and/or biased data. Given that they impact how our students think about the world, we must challenge both these statements and our students. Here, we’ll model how you can do this in the classroom, encouraging curiosity, critical thinking and empathy in ourselves and students.

Using Formative Evaluation to Improve Engagement in Online Courses

Susan Snellgrove and Lori Gatling, Arkansas State University

Online courses are becoming prevalent in education. Faculty are often unprepared for the fast-paced, complex instructional methodology. Whether synchronous or asynchronous, student engagement is more difficult to achieve without the traditional face-to-face interaction. Further complicating the issue, many students opting for online education are non-traditional with work and family obligations. This presentation offers information for faculty on how to improve faculty and student engagement in online courses.