Peer-Reviewed Entry

Competency-based education (CBE) is an alternative modality of learning. Instead of courses, a CBE program is comprised of competencies and rigorous assessments. Students progress through the program by successfully passing competency assessments. CBE is a valuable option for non-traditional students who have work experience. With prior knowledge of a specific competency, a student may choose…

Education in nursing has evolved from traditional classroom and clinical rotations to integration of simulated experiences.  Simulated experiences that mirror clinical situations, are a pedagogical approach for enhancing knowledge, skills and self-confidence, thus positively impacting the learning process (Araújo et al., 2018).  There is a growing interest to integrate virtual reality (VR) in nursing education. …

Study abroad experiences are known to benefit students in numerous ways, including personal development (Luo & Jamieson-Drake, 2015), cultural appreciation (Holtbrugge & Engelhard, 2016) and professional growth (Kronholz & Osborn, 2016).  Citing 2020 as a “turning point around which education abroad was transformed,” leaders in the field recognized the need to pioneer new  options, including…

Quizzes are a well-established method for testing student understanding, in both forms of summative and formative assessments. To ensure that the quizzes are impactful for students, intentionality is required (Ebner & Efron, 2012). Instructors must consider that the timing, modality, and approach all influence its effectiveness. When using quizzes in alignment with learning objectives, results…

Traditionally, student learning has been recognized and stored through the official transcript. However, transcripts are limited to credit hour instruction and formal learning. Digital badges are a form of digital credentialing that recognizes learning in a range of learning environments and often smaller increments of learning. They have become increasingly popular as a way of…

This strategy consists of sharing content-related announcements (either via email or through the Learning Management System) to help students see how topics being addressed at various points throughout the term are connected. 

Description The digital powerups strategy provides an innovative way for instructors to engage students in higher-order online discussion by humanizing and personalizing the discussion. This strategy should be used to allow students to engage in online discussions in relevant and authentic ways. Online discussions can “allow students to participate actively and interact with students and…

Description Case-based learning is often used in social science classes, as well as in other disciplines. This can be challenging to implement online. By dividing a class into smaller groups, and assigning a separate discussion board to each group, the groups can do their planning asynchronously and completely online, while the instructor has a complete…

If one of the central goals of higher education is “deep and meaningful learning” as Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, and Archer suggest (1999), it is important to consider how to best capitalize on the ease and abundance of interaction in online courses to facilitate this type of learning (p. 3).  In their Community of Inquiry Model,…

Traditionally, feedback on student work is a one-way communication from instructor to student. Due to the inherent complexity of unilateral feedback, students may feel emotional and psychological impacts, a lack of power or autonomy, or demotivation. Re-engineering this process to include student-instructor dialogue in order to break down one-way flow provides space for interactive exchanges…