Scholars Showcase 2018: Innovations in Leadership and Learning

Follow

• 

  Assessing College Students’ Foundational Skills: Communication and Critical Thinking

  Yuerong Sweetland and Michael Klingler

  Communication and critical thinking are foundational skills for college students, which have been strongly emphasized by employers, along with other skills (Hart Research Associates, 2015). Foundational skills are often reflected in general education outcomes, which are not only taught in General Education courses but also reinforced and assessed in major area courses. Assessment of communication and critical thinking skills are conducted in both major area courses and general education courses. This poster presents findings on student performances through work products created in senior level major area courses. Performances are also compared between F2F and online sections

• 

  The Problems of Teaching and Applying Critical Ethics

  Isidoro Talavera

  To foster the development of ethical, responsible, and engaged citizens, it is important for students to learn to modify or correct belief molded by personal interest, motivated thinking, upbringing, and/or indoctrination. Critical ethics comes into play whenever a systematic attempt to get around the limitations of personal belief is sought to get to what ought to be done. Accordingly, I examine the problems associated with teaching and applying critical ethics—where critical thinking takes some ethical argument apart, via analysis, and evaluates whether some derived conclusion follows from the evidence to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do (enter applied ethics).

• 

  Strategy Execution Improvement Requires Institutional Change

  Jon Umstead

  Successful business strategy execution remains a significant challenge, with failures rates over 60%. Only 48% of respondents said that Project Management Offices (PMOs) play an integral part in meeting goals. 80% of small to mid-sized business (SMBs) start-ups survive the first year, but odds of success sharply decline in subsequent years

• 

  NHL Hockey Players Point Outcome Predictions

  Josh VanAusdale

  This study is done to create a regression prediction model that regresses several variables of data involved with NHL players from the 2018 season in order to predict the players’ point outcomes. By use of regression statistics, variables not meeting the criteria are filtered out of the model. The variables used in the model are those that are highly correlated with the outcome variable and meet the statistical requirements for model inclusion.

• 

  Academic Success: ​A Collaborative Case Study

  Constance E. Wanstreet and Jasmine Suber

  Coordinate multiple initiatives of a large-scale, multi-year, interdisciplinary academic project funded under a federal Title III grant to promote undergraduate. student retention and graduation.

• 

  Ready or not, here they come: A college prepares for food allergies

  Kelly Evans Wilson

  According to the national organization FARE (Food Allergy Research Education), researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans, including one in 13 children, have food allergies. In fact, a 2013 report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number of children with food allergies in the U.S. increased 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. Food allergy reactions send someone to the emergency department every three minutes, resulting in more than 200,000 emergency department visits in the U.S. per year. (FARE, n.d.).

• 

  Leading Through Chaos to Survive Market Instability Among​ Community and Technical Colleges in West Virginia

  Davida Wolfe

  The problem is the West Virginia's community and technical colleges (CTCs) are experiencing a decline in enrollment. Therefore, higher education institutions are learning that they need to become more adaptable to the unpredictability and uncertainty when the institution encounters a decline in student enrollment. West Virginia’s CTCs appear to have seen a decrease in student enrollment of 19.4 percent from 2012 to 2016 to a 4.7 percent from 2015 to 2016. Chaos Theory and the complexity can provide a unique perspective to understanding the present educational system, which includes the methods and approach to how each institution is ready to make a change and the dynamic system that is influencing those individuals to make the necessary adjustments and changes. The effects and impact of declining enrollment on the CTCs in West Virginia show how Chaos Theory is changing the environment in various West Virginia institutions, such as changes to courses offered and even the removal of programs due to the declining number of students enrolling and budget reductions. Enrollment expectations have created various forms of chaos within the institutions which involves the education establishment, stakeholders, students, employees, communities, and the economy. Furthermore, the institutions are working to increase the student enrollment through a variety of certification and changes to include specific programs to meet the needs of the local communities. Thereby achieving the requirements and needs of the institutions in West Virginia’s CTCs can counteract the present chaotic environment and maintain the institution’s mission, vison and values will they remain competitive and sustainable in the higher education industry. IN particular, the Relationship among the institutions and stakeholders requires the development of mutual trust to work together in revolving the issues based on fact and together all the necessary information needed to benefit the higher education institutions. Furthermore, CTCs, presidents, academic administrators, division chairs, employees, and students much understand the expectations of setting goals for the nine CTCs in Wester Virginia. The purpose of this study to primarily focus on the declining student enrollment at the nine CTCs in West Virginia. The mixed methodology study will provide a unique perspective from each participant to why they believe their institution is experiencing a decline in student enrollment. Therefore, how the institutions can adjust the various program and course schedules offered to the student population. During the mixed-methodology approach to understanding the driving force of declining student enrollment through in-depth interviews and focus groups with the presidents, administration, academic deans, and division chairs during the qualitative phase. The full-time and adjunct faculty from the nine CTCs in West Virginia conducted through online surveys will gain the perspective in why the student enrollment is declining in the quantitative phase of the study. In conclusion, the student will provide answers to the way the various CTCs in West Virginia can adapt to the declining student enrollment without negatively impacting the sustainability and competitive advantage in the higher education industry.

• 

  Becoming an Expert Instructional Designer

  Rob L. Wood

  Instructional design requires practitioners to integrate best practices, use appropriate tools, and strategically apply current and emerging technologies to meet clients’ and organizations’ needs. Many practitioners achieve high levels of technical expertise in this way. However, the author of this poster suggests that, to become a leader in instructional design, practitioners must develop as experts through a process of acquiring horizontal expertise via two concepts described by Engeström, Engeström, & Kärkkäinen (1995). Polycontextuality describes how experts accomplish multiple simultaneous tasks within multiple communities of practices. Boundary crossing occurs when two different activities are linked together.