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Elizabeth Zwilling

My Approach to Teaching and Learning

The teacher-scholar model promotes effective teaching and learning. I use multiple evaluation methods as a tool to enhance learning. This data allows me to implement innovations that will assist students in learning. Teaching improvement requires vigilance and reliance on data and supports innovation and reflection. A constant cycle of teaching, assessing, and reflecting on the results is never finished. Using evidence-based teaching strategies and crafting new learning activities evolve with the needs of each new generation of students. Authentic learning comes from active methods. Active learning techniques in the classroom are essential to understand how to apply knowledge to real-life situations. As a nursing professor, I must bring the patient to the classroom to help the student practice care planning and safe decision-making.

My Teacher-Scholar Journey

Nursing is an ever-evolving field. I teach because I want to send highly competent nurses into the complex world of health care to promote wellness and make safe clinical judgments. I strive to improve myself as a professor and seek and implement evidence-based practices for the classroom and clinical learning environments. Students are highly motivated, caring individuals who I am honored to teach. I aim to foster caring and critical thinking in my classes and clinical experiences. I ask many questions and challenge students to think about the big picture and how their actions affect patient outcomes. Educational innovation is essential in nursing education. Professor-made, guided-reading podcasts are one innovation I have implemented in my courses. These podcasts assist students in mastering the textbook and learning what information is critical for them to understand. Along with completing class preparation assignments, it assists students in coming to class ready to apply information to practice nursing. These active methods foster clinical judgment skills and promote optimal patient outcomes. Another innovation is my work to help implement a standardized patient program at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University. Standardized patients are lay people trained to portray patients. Standardized patient simulations are an innovative way to advance learning in a safe simulation space that enables students to build the skills of empathy and therapeutic communication in a controlled environment before caring for actual patients.

Knowledge is Power

“As a junior faculty member, I feel supported to implement active teaching strategies in the classroom. Participation in the New Faculty Teaching Enhancement Program from the Center for Teaching Excellence assisted in implementing best-teaching practices.”

Education

D.N.P. Northern Kentucky University
M.S.N. University of Phoenix
B.S.N. University of Cincinnati

More About Me

"I have been a registered nurse in Ohio for 26 years, teaching pre-licensure nursing students for 15 years, and joining ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University in 2021. I teach medical-surgical and mental health nursing. I am working to implement a sustainable, standardized patient program with the help of a Transformational Teaching Grant award."