UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

UNLV's Best Teaching Practices Expo highlights great ideas from UNLV's teaching community.

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Best Teaching Practices Expo 2020

Melissa Bowles-Terry

UNLV Instructors will share mini-workshops on topics including in-class polling, leading discussions on difficult topics, and more. Join us for refreshments, check out the new Faculty Center space and learn from colleagues.
Are We There YET? The Power of Yet for Adult Students

Michelle Arroyo

I teach college students about having a Growth Mindset and using the “Power of YET” in not only their college courses, but their everyday life. A growth mindset is how students perceive their abilities and the role that plays in their motivation and achievement. (Dweck, 2015). Teaching college students strategies and chances for reflective collaboration encourages them to learn from productive feedback, embrace challenges, rethink failure, and ultimately find success at the university level. UNLV is dedicated to increasing student retention as well as success rates. Growth Mindset has been widely studied and implemented in education, however, it has not been widely implemented in the college classrooms. (Yeager & Dweck, 2012). I have found that by implementing it in my teaching, my students are less frustrated, more likely to ask for help, and find greater success in not only my course, but others as well.
Framework for Improving Interprofessional Communication Through Shared Learning Experiences

Tiffany Barrett

Healthcare is in the midst of change. It is shifting to a more collaborative approach that requires professionals to interact closely. This has required education to evolve to meet the students need for communication skills and to strengthen professional identity. Healthcare students who are encouraged to develop interprofessional communication skills through simulation-based learning activities can be expected to gain confidence and enter the workplace better prepared. UNLV students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program (n=48) participated in a minimum of 6 different Interprofessional Education (IPE) learning activities within their first 2 years of didactic material. The activities varied in 3 different categories: 1) Small group interaction (in-person and virtual) with 4 different disciplines. 2) Large group activities (Participation in UNLV IPE Day). 3) Real-world application during clinical rotations. Creation of these innovative activities expanded beyond traditional pedagogy to enhance professional development in the learner.
Creative Assignments for Real-World Course Application

Emma Bloomfield

My teaching practice is a series of 4 papers I call "Creative Assignments." During the semester, students have to engage with material outside of class and relate it to course topics in 3 pages. They are called creative assignments because students have a wide latitude of what "external" material they can pull from. For example, students can watch a documentary, listen to a podcast, attend a campus talk, visit a museum, interview someone, or propose their own (roughly 1.5 - 2 hour) alternative. Students cannot do the same option more than twice, so are encouraged to engage with real-world material in a variety of ways. In the assignment, students summarize the ideas in the external material and relate it to two course readings. This idea addresses the need of having students see the relevance of course material and of having students apply what they learn in practical and specific ways.
An Evidence-based Intervention to Address Students’ Understanding of Assignments and Improve Faculty Teaching Evaluation Scores

Mary Bondmass

Background: Previous research with college students has provided evidence for the efficacy of a simple intervention called a transparency. A transparency is an evidence-based tool, consistent with adult learning theory, which provides the what, why, and how of course assignments and demonstrates the connections of these components with the course objectives. While faculty may have their course objectives in mind when creating course assignments, this may not be evident to students and may result in a decrease in students’ learning and dissatisfaction ratings on course evaluations. Moreover, faculty promotion criteria are often highly dependent on their students’ course evaluation scores; however, when students do not perceive the clarity of course content, specifically assignments, they often provide negative feedback on end-of-course evaluations. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using a transparency to improve students’ understanding of course content and associated course assignments.
Cultivating Contemplative Mind in the Classroom

Chia-Liang Dai and Ching-Chen Chen

In Fall 2019, we showed video interviews of successful (i.e., graduated) alumni to first-year seminar students in the hope that incoming students would be inspired to adopt similar success strategies leading to increased retention and completion of their UNLV degree. The Academic Success Center filmed interviews with ten UNLV graduates who took our first-year seminar, COLA 100E. These COLA 100E Success Stories were then edited into three videos, each focusing on a particular theme, such as the first-year transition, the major selection process, and the key tips for graduation. The goal was that these successfully-graduated students would serve as motivational role models for UNLV’s diverse first-year student population. Though the alumni echoed concepts taught in the class, we imagined these peers would be more relatable than the instructor alone, encouraging students to identify with and potentially adopt new approaches to and perspectives of success early in their college careers.
Overheard: Connecting Verbal Language to Visual Meaning

Ashley Doughty

Words are symbols — visual representations of verbal language. The meaning behind a word is dependent on several things, including the origin language and the context in which the word is used. Visual messages that use words as the primary vehicle of information are most effective when the representation of meaning goes beyond the letterforms themselves. This entails making connections between the verbal characteristics of the words (cultural meaning, dialect, inflection, etc.) and the intended meaning when the words were used. The ability to make these connections is incredibly valuable to those who use text to communicate with others, especially when unaccompanied by verbal explanations. In order to help students better understand these complexities, they must become interpreters of the language being spoken around them. The “Overheard” project prompts graphic design students to do just that. To get them started, students are asked to listen intently to what is said to them and around them, recording the most interesting statements they hear, over the course of one week. Ultimately, they must choose one statement to analyze more fully and translate into a visual interpretation of the statement. This project can be adapted to a short exercise to assist students in any course that involves visual presentations, including business, marketing, history, sociology, anthropology, and communications.
Active Learning: An Integrative Learning Approach for Adult Learners

Rachell Ekroos, Johan C. Bester, and Sandhya Wahi-Gururaj

In order to appeal to adult learners, the Analytics in Medicine course utilizes active learning methodology to foster self-directed learning, critical thinking, communication skills, and acquisition of knowledge. The modified flipped classroom model requires weekly assigned reading and a written reflection exercise completed several days before face-to-face class time. The reflections are used to better inform course instructors regarding areas needing further explanation in person. In the weekly 2-hour class, students explore topics in-depth by incorporating active learning methods. Examples include think-pair-share or small group activities requiring movement, discussion, and reflection focusing on question prompts or application of principles (e.g., carousel method). The instructor continuously circulates to ensure student engagement and grasp of the material, allowing for areas of clarification to be immediately identified. Instructors often involve peers to coach one another as a method of continued active learning without going into “lecture mode.”
The Research Article Show and Tell Presentation

Erika Engstrom

In the Research Article Show and Tell Presentation, students make a 5-minute presentation in class in which they present the purpose, method, and results of an academic research journal article of their choice related to the course topic. The article must be from a peer-reviewed academic journal; students choose three possible academic journal articles using the UNLV Library Database, and make a final choice in collaboration with the instructor. Students then create a one-page handout for classmates which summarizes the article's purpose, findings, and research approach; the handout must include both text and graphics (photos, clip art). Students use PowerPoint or Prezi during their oral presentation. Needs met include: (1) learning how to search for information in databases using key terms; (2) being able to communicate written information creatively; and (3) being able to present information clearly and concisely to others in a public speaking setting.
Tapping into Global Competencies Using Canvas “Outcomes”

Nicole Espinoza and Erin Rosenberg

Using Canvas "Outcomes" to Create Competency-Based Rubrics: Many instructors know how to use Canvas rubrics in their courses but did you know that you can link them directly to standards, learning objectives, UULOS, and other accreditation-required competencies across a college for more specific quantitative data? School of Public Health is accredited by CAHME, an accreditation body for Master's of Healthcare (MHA) students. We have taken the competencies required by this accreditation body and reflected them into universal "Canvas Outcomes" to create competency-based rubrics. This collaborative change with academic and administrative faculty is being piloted in Fall 2019 in MHA Courses with some interesting preliminary outputs, data, and results. Hopefully in continuing these competency-based rubrics through semesters, we will be able to reflect growth for students and ultimately helping to reflect this for our accreditation bodies.
Using Discord to Improve Student Communication, Engagement, and Performance

Jorge Fonseca Cacho

Discord is a proprietary freeware VoIP application and digital distribution platform designed for video gaming communities, that specializes in text, image, video and audio communication between users in a chat channel. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and in web browsers. Using Discord, instructors and teaching assistants can interact and help a student at any time including outside of regular business hours with a students homework assignment. It also allows students to help each other while under the supervision of an instructor. It also increases engagement and fraternizing between everyone involved. While UNLV Canvas and other discussion boards already allow student interaction. The technology of message boards and threads is outdated and a very slow way to exchange information which is why social media has transcended to using instant messaging systems like Discord.
Effectively Utilizing Undergraduate Teaching Fellows for Optimal Learning Environment

Patrick Gorman and Meena Barikzi

Undergraduate Teaching Fellows focus on working with students in class and outside of class in efforts of boosting confidence in study techniques and learning objectives in the curriculum. Knowing that there is another person who is not only close in age, but in their undergraduate pursuit, provides more comfort in being able to discuss concerns on the coursework. It allows for students to be more active in their academics and promotes an inclusive environment in the classroom. In class, UTFs have the capability of applying creativity in producing lesson plans and activities that allow students to be interactive, allowing for more retention of the material. Many students in our introductory math classes do not know how to be the best college student, but with the help of our UTFs, these students have a mentor who will help them through any obstacles they will face in their undergraduate career.
Technology in Hybrid Learning: Improving ScienceEducation at UNLV

Jennifer Guerra

Our campus has a diverse and unique range of learners. Flipping the classroom offers a greater opportunity for student success. I have converted the Introductory Chemistry course, CHEM 108, into a Hybrid learning format. The driving force behind this pedagogy, is accessibility. Taking the traditional lecture out of the classroom and putting it into an interactive video format gives students more flexibility with their schedules and allows them to learn the content at their own pace. Additionally, by utilizing H5P interactive classroom features, students are able to get meaningful feedback during the video lecture to help gauge their understanding of the content they are learning. Finally, flipping the classroom experience and working through the more challenging concepts in the face-to-face setting reinforces the foundation put in place by the video lecture.
Using Interactive Slides and Videos to Engage Students

Sarah Harris

We learn best by interacting with the material we are trying to learn. I have developed a suite of materials for engaging students in learning digital design and computer architecture. These materials include a textbook, exercises, hands-on labs, and lectures that use interactive ink annotations. I have also developed online materials (video lectures, practice exercises, quizzes, etc.) to support online teaching of the material. Instructors may use one, several, or all of these materials. During lecture, students benefit from pre-drawn figures on the slides so that they can focus on understanding (instead of just copying down) the material. However, with the annotation tool, the instructor and students can add ink-based notations during the lecture to interact with and modify the provided designs and circuits in real-time. This interactive classroom learning is supplemented with readings, written exercises, and hands-on labs where they can explore and practice the principles they learned during lecture at their own pace.
Using Captioning in my Course Videos

Karyn Holt

Providing closed captions to my instructor created videos, is the “right thing to do”. While it is also part of our compliance with SeCctions 504 and 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is most compellingly what our students want. Why? They say they want to be able to turn the sound off the video but still get coursework done after their children have been put to bed, because English is not a native tongue, because they are riding public transportation, and because their significant other is watching television. 80% of television watchers use closed captions for reasons other than hearing loss.
Motivating Automomous Knowledge Exploration

Yvonne Houy

Flow Learning Design: Autonomous Knowledge Exploration The feeling of “Flow” — forgetting time — while exploring online media is common: As online instructor & instructional designer I want to encourage Flow in my students as they interact with my online learning materials. Inspired by research on student motivation and autonomous learners, I developed learning activities allowing students to choose learning paths with increasing freedom, while emphasizing core disciplinary skills and student learning outcomes. In an online social history course, I emphasized high interest topics such as the devastating effects of the Black Plague, and how sugar, coffee, and syphilis changed Europe. To understand these topics, students have to explore related, less scintillating, topics. For each topic students read an overview with links to clearly marked primary sources, scholarly secondary sources, and curated-for-quality popular secondary sources. Students then engaged in online discussions about their interests and further questions, citing information learned from each source type.
Videos Impact Learning!

Nicole Hudson

The specific teaching practice is the use of video in the classroom. Video can take the form of introduction videos, student assignment, instructor feedback and peer-to-peer engagement. At the Office of Online Education, we utilize the Community of Inquiry Model and Online Teaching Competencies (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000) that identifies three teaching presences: teaching, cognitive and social. The use of video can impact teaching presence (establishing and maintaining an active learning community and providing direct instruction) and social presence (the ability of the learner to project themselves socially and affectively in a community of inquiry.
In-Class Hard-Copy Worksheets

Ed Jorgensen

This teaching practice is the use of hard-copy in-class worksheets for guided note taking and simple practice exercises primarily targeted for lower division classes. The worksheets are done in hard-copy requiring the student to actually write an answer which helps reinforce the topic or concept. All answers are provided to the students (either as part of the lecture or after a brief discussion). As such, the worksheets help highlight key topics and familiarize the students with how questions on the topic are asked and how they should be answered. Depending on the topic, most worksheets include simple exercises which are completed in class. Such exercises are typically worked at the end of class and students are allowed and encouraged to work together and help each other as needed to ensure they understand the problem and the approach used to obtain the solution. This encourages peer-to-peer interaction especially when a student is unclear regarding how to approach the problem. Based on availability, the Teaching Assistant (TA) is often in class to help students which provides an introduction to the class TA which facilitates follow on questions regarding the more complex assignments. This addresses a common issue in technical classes where a student feels they understand the material yet lack the experience in applying such knowledge to practical problems. In all cases the final correct answer is provided. The worksheets provide key additional study material for tests. As the semester progresses, students are able to gain experience and build confidence applying skills to practical problems prior to test situations. Additionally, the worksheets provide an informal attendance mechanism allowing attendance to be tracked and encouraged in a more meaningful manner.
The Case Cover Sheet – A tool used for integration during Problem Based Learning (PBL) tutorials

Rosalie Kalili

An integrated medical school curriculum requires planning and coordination by the various course directors and teaching faculty to ensure seamless execution and avoid missed opportunities for interweaving. The UNLV School of Medicine preclinical curriculum includes various disciplines of medicine – Emergency response, Population health, Organ system-based basic-science, Problem-based Learning (PBL), Community outreach, Bioethics, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology. PBL comprises 20% of the curriculum, and it’s cases are written to reference material presented in all courses. PBL Facilitators, who are clinicians in practice, need notification of the students’ curricular activities in order to prompt and emphasize discussion that would allow for synthesis and application of concepts learned from the various courses. Thus, a concise graphic case cover sheet was created to summarize the students’ weekly course topics. The PBL Facilitators are encouraged to review this case cover sheet to help provide opportunities for discussion that intentionally integrates concepts learned from the various courses.
Scaffold Large Assignments Using Forms

Julian Kilker

Title: Structuring excellence: Use Google forms to plan, manage, and improve multi-stage assignments This practice takes a technique I’ve used since 2017 (and introduced at the 2019 poster expo) and extends it by addressing the much more difficult challenge of helping students progress through a multi-part cumulative project. These projects are difficult to assign, manage, and for instructors to provide personalized support. My solution: Structure the project using detailed online forms that walk students through topic identification, useful contextual resources (in collaboration with our excellent resource librarians—Urban Studies Librarian Susie Skarl assisted me in this example), and self-assessment regarding resources, project concerns, and assistance requirements. This approach results in clearer assignments, improved collaboration with our reference specialists, and rapid identification of student trends, successes, and bottlenecks. It also generates useful data for course evaluation and revision.
Interactive Teaching and Learning

Necole Leland and Karyn Holt

Interactive learning is becoming the standard in higher education courses. A primary reason is self-directed constructivist learning employing technology to enhance student learning. Students want to remix what they know with what they just learned to create a broadened knowledge base of their own, directed by themselves, not fed to them by instructors. (Paloff and Pratt, 2013, Marin & Bolliger, 2018). Time efficiency is a second reason interactive learning is a promising practice. By assigning pre-class work, my face to face class time can be used to apply new knowledge rather than introducing it (Educause, 2012). Materials can be provided in many different formats, such as power presentations, voice recordings, or videos. Classroom time can be spent on clarifying misconceptions or misunderstandings. Using class time in this way makes this class student centered-learning the way they want to learn while still making me responsible for delivering the course content.
Framework for Integrating Service Learning Projects into Healthcare Curricula

Jen Nash

Service learning projects (SLPs) have been shown to be an effective method for students to garner real-world learning, enhance students’ knowledge and attitudes related to professional issues, and foster commitment to service while offering meaningful service to their communities. During the didactic portion of PT education, students are often limited to classroom experiences and practicing with classmates, which is not an authentic representation of the intricacies of the older adult population. SLPs give students the opportunity to improve their skills and develop professionally while also generating a positive impact within the community. This reciprocity is an underlying premise of service learning where both the needs of the server and those being served must be addressed. PT programs have integrated SLPs to enhance professional values, cultural awareness and independent learning.
Building Early Confidence in a Practice-based Discipline

Lisa Nicholas, Angela Silverstri-Elmore, and Tricia K. Gatlin

Front-loading coursework is an area that has little exploration and yet has many possibilities that may benefit beginning or entry-level students in academic practice-based programs. For the purposes of this proposal, front-loading is an educational approach to allow for a course to be reconstructed to focus first on skill attainment prior to entering the clinical setting. The premise of front-loading skills is to allow learners to engage in experiential learning, or learning by doing, which creates a frame of reference and context that can be drawn upon once the student moves to the clinical setting. Creating a frame of reference will help promote confidence and decrease anxiety allowing the student to exemplify skills in the clinical setting and begin to move from novice to expert within the students’ frame of reference. The confidence-building model can be applied to any practice-based program in preparing learners for their discipline.
Teaching Post Secondary Critical Thinking Skills to Neurodiverse Learners

Maria Pena

How to create course curriculum for Students with Neurodiversity to enhance critical thinking skills in all learners: In 1998 Judy Singer coined the term "Neurodiversity" in her graduate thesis, and inspired a movement. Neurodiversity (Neurodivergent) refers to "a paradigm shift; Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, Neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning." (Armstrong, 2011) Faculty understanding of Thomas Armstrong's Eight Principles of Neurodiversity combined with the seven skills of critical thinking can provide professors with better insight into creating curriculum designed for all diverse learners.
On-Line Anatomy Review Modules for Dental Residents

Joshua Polanski

There is an inherent difficulty in teaching to dental residents, that of knowing at what level to make your lectures. How do you balance lectures so that residents fresh out of dental school aren’t bored, while those who’ve been practicing for years before returning to school aren’t overwhelmed. I have used Articulate Storyline to create anatomy review modules that allow the students to work at their own pace. Unlike traditional or recorded lectures, these modules involve active learning. Students interact with the slides to bring up new layers, each containing additional information about the subject. They also allow you to create quizzes, giving you the ability to assess student learning as the student uses the module. Modules can also interact with Canvas, so that the quiz grades are automatically uploaded to the “Grades” section.