2022-2023 Funded Projects
STaR Academy: Exploring the impacts of metacognitive interventions on faculty and students
Tonya C. Bates, Jennifer Byrd, Catherine Fuentes, and Ellen Wisner
Abstract: Initiated in Summer 2021, the Top 40 STaR Academy is a faculty professional development workshop with a focus on exposing faculty to practices that will improve student’s transition to and retention (STaR) at the university. Approximately 70 faculty have participated in the STaR Academy since its inception. Faculty participants are expected to revise their courses to instill a growth mindset, teach metacognitive learning strategies, and create motivating learning environments. To do so, the academy’s central instrument is Dr. Saundra McGuire’s Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies
You Can Incorporate into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognitions, Study Skills, and Motivation (2015). Faculty implement the strategies outlined in the book with the goal of improving academic success and retention rates and decreasing equity gaps. In this project, our aim is to determine to what extent faculty implement STaR changes in their classrooms. More specifically, this project explores the short- and long-term effects of these strategies on STaR Academy faculty and students. We propose a mixed methods approach with online surveys and one on one interviews to learn how faculty implement the strategies in the McGuire text and how these changes support student’s transition and retention in their first year. Our results will inform and refine future iterations of the STaR Academy. The ultimate goal is to transform the culture of teaching and learning at Charlotte as more faculty effectively implement these best practices.
Full Proposal: STaR Academy: Exploring the impacts of metacognitive interventions on faculty and students
A Mixed Methods Analyses of Student Knowledge, Perceptions, and Application of Universal Design for Learning
Holly Johnson and Shawnee Wakeman
Abstract: Given the diverse learning needs of students in today’s classrooms, general education teachers’ have an increased responsibility to ensure learning for all students, including students with disabilities. While a majority of teachers understand the benefit of meeting the academic needs of all of their students, research suggests that preservice and in-service general education teachers often do not feel as though they have been adequately prepared with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively work with diverse learning needs. One suggested way to increase preservice teachers candidates’ perceptions of self-efficacy when working with these student populations is to more effectively prepare them to apply principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Planning with UDL in mind allows teachers to proactively embrace the diversity in their classrooms and effectively plan instruction that creates more inclusive opportunities and allows all students to successfully achieve their learning goals. This evaluative study is being conducted to replicate similar previous research using coursework and candidates at UNC Charlotte. This practical research can be used to inform programmatic content and experiences of all general education teacher candidates within the Cato College of Education (CCOE). In alignment with the University and CCOE’s strategic plans, this study seeks to use a mixed methods design to evaluate how students’ participation in EDUC 4290: Modifying Instruction to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners helps to produce educators who know how to create educational equity by effectively planning accessible and inclusive learning experiences for all learners.
Full Proposal: A Mixed Methods Analyses of Student Knowledge, Perceptions, and Application of Universal Design for Learning
Graduate Students’ Conception of Educational Research and Teacher-researcher Identity: Impact of Participatory Action Research (PAR) Curriculum
Jae Hoon Lim and Xiaoxia Newton
Abstract: This project aims to examine COED graduate students’ conceptions of educational research and explore key demographic and programmatic factors that shape their learning experiences and outcomes in RSCH 6101 classes. The RSCH 6101 is an introductory research methods course required of all master’s students in COED. Despite the emphasis placed on the research competency of all education professionals, many COED graduate students struggle to find meaning, connections, and motivation in their research methods courses and consider them one of the most challenging—and least pragmatic—courses in their graduate programs. To address this problem, we created a new section of RSCH 6101 that incorporated Participatory Action Research (PAR) in 2020. As the PAR section has been offered three times and stabilized, it is time to assess the impact of the PAR-based curriculum innovation and to identify other programmatic factors that influence students’ learning experiences and outcomes in multiple sections of RSCH 6101. Understanding that students’ conception of research and teacher-researcher identity are two critical factors, we will first examine these two constructs using a survey measure and evaluate the impact of key demographic and course-related factors (including the PAR curriculum innovation). Secondly, we will explore relationships across students’ conceptions of educational research, RSCH 6101-course experiences, and professional identities through qualitative data. This project will help us better understand the impact of the PAR-focused curriculum innovation and identify other instructional strategies that will positively impact students’ experiences and learning outcomes in the RSCH 6101 classes.
Evaluation of Concept Map Use on Nursing Students’ Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgement
James Montegrico and Susan Lynch
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether students’ critical thinking (CT) and clinical judgment (CJ) skills improve after using concept mapping (CM), a new teaching strategy implemented at the School of Nursing for all clinical courses before the COVID-19 pandemic. CT and CJ in nursing are critical attributes when providing safe patient care. The development of CT/CJ among nursing students through the use of active learning strategies, such as concept mapping (CM), in both classroom and clinical settings is a major thrust in nursing education. Beginning April 2023, the revised National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) test plan, the required exam for nursing licensure, will highlight the use and measurement of CJ. The revision in the NCLEX-RN test plan significantly impacts nursing education as teaching and assessment strategies must strengthen the development and measurement of student’s CT/CJ skills. Using a retrospective comparative research design, we plan to conduct a secondary data analysis of student Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) CT/CJ scores at multiple test points during the nursing program to evaluate whether CM improved students’ CT/CJ scores. ATI data of nursing graduates from Spring 2017 to Spring 2021 will be analyzed. Independent t tests will be used to determine differences in CT/CJ scores among students who used and did not use CM. Analysis of variance will be used to investigate the differences in CT/CJ mean scores at multiple points in the nursing program.
Full Proposal: Evaluation of Concept Map Use on Nursing Students’ Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgement
Evaluating Clinical Educator’s Training and Support on the Use of the Candidate PreService Assessment of Student Learning
Tisha Perkins Greene, Anne Cash, and Ann Jolly
Abstract: In the shift to practice-based preparation, it appears that clinical educators (CEs), mentor teachers to student teaching candidates, have been left behind and may be unprepared for their important role (Hoffman et al., 2015). Clinical educators play an important role in teacher preparation during field experiences in preservice teacher education. Providing training for CEs that leads to greater enactment of teaching practices may improve preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) perceptions of having participated in high-quality preparation for teaching (Lafferty, 2018). Additionally, PSTs have reported feeling more prepared in some domains of instruction when CEs modeled more effective teaching and offered coaching in the form of stronger instructional support (Matsko et al., 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a training for CEs to build: a) CE knowledge in the areas of assessing PSTs pedagogical and dispositional behaviors and b) CE skills to support their PSTs development in these areas. The CE training will cover content on the PreCPAST/CPAST instrument and on coaching strategies (feedback and crucial conversations, relationships). The researchers are interested in how to best prepare CEs to work with student teaching candidates around giving feedback, connecting theory to practice, and utilizing the student teacher instrument to observe and evaluate their student teacher. Challenges for education preparation programs (EPPs) developing teachers include addressing the concerns of new teachers who often feel ill-prepared to teach and may leave, or consider leaving, the teaching profession early in their career (Fantilli & McDougall, 2009).
Full Proposal: Evaluating Clinical Educator’s Training and Support on the Use of the Candidate PreService Assessment of Student Learning
Exploring the Relationship Between Teaching Presence and Shared Metacognition to Enhance the Quality of Online Learning Across Disciplines
Ayesha Sadaf and Sijia Zhang
Abstract: With the rapid growth of online education and increasing interest in socio-cognitive views of education, there is a need to develop students’ shared metacognition– skills to monitor and regulate cognitive processes of self and others–within online collaborative learning environments. Many instructors, however, struggle to support their students in developing metacognitive skills in their online courses. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison et al., 2001) offers insights for addressing these issues though its three components: social presence (SP), cognitive presence (CP), and teaching presence (TP). TP specifically has the potential to provide guidelines for instructional design, facilitation of learning, and feedback to promote students’ metacognitive skills. Although metacognition is an important intellectual skill, research on how metacognition is established in online learning environments is limited. In this survey-based research, we will investigate how TP can promote students’ metacognition in online courses across different disciplines. We will collect data through the TP construct of the CoI survey and the metacognition questionnaire. The predictive effects of students’ perceived TP on their metacognition will help online instructors use pedagogical strategies to design and facilitate courses, thus benefitting students in higher education across diverse fields of study to achieve better learning outcomes. Project’s overarching goal is to maximize the quality of teaching and learning in online courses at UNC Charlotte across disciplines. Online instructors may use this knowledge as a guideline to enhance their TP and best practices in course design, facilitation, and feedback to promote shared metacognition in online courses.
Optimizing Interprofessional Team Collaboration in the Recognition and Management of Human Trafficking Victims: The Role of the Nurse Practitioner
Katherine Shue-McGuffin and Kathleen Jordan
Abstract: The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate best practices in teaching Nurse Practitioner (NP) students at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to identify and implement appropriate interventions for victims of human trafficking. NPs in outpatient and inpatient settings demonstrate low levels of knowledge related to identification of victims of human trafficking. Effective healthcare training includes the identification of signs of trafficking, trauma-informed interventions to ensure the safety of the victim(s), and valuable community resources for the provision of appropriate medical and socioeconomic care following the exit from their trafficking situation. Yet, this content is not included in graduate education. This pilot study will address this gap by examining the effect of a targeted novel education intervention on identifying and implementing appropriate interventions for victims of human trafficking. This study will be conducted in two phases, using a mixed method research design with repeated measures. The study will use the validated H.O.P.E. Training modules as the education intervention with a pre-test, post-test design. Students will then participate in focus groups using a phenomenological approach. Students will also participate in an interprofessional simulation. Student- centered outcomes including an improvement in knowledge and confidence level will be measured. The results of the study will provide essential information to NP faculty and general providers regarding the best method of incorporating human trafficking education into NP curricula. This study will add to the body of knowledge, guide NP education, and address the healthcare needs of the greater Charlotte region and beyond.