Showcase of Innovative Teaching Strategies

Natasha Nurse-Clarke, RN, PhD

I have created various innovative online teaching strategies that I have shared at conferences and local events. This page provides brief overviews of many of these activities that were excerpted from lengthier presentations. Primarily, many of the strategies shared come from what I call my "Innovative Online Teaching Toolbox" which is a "go-to" tool that helps me to create new activities in future courses. 

My Instructional Design philosophy centers on the premise that learning can be fun and engaging for all learners. My design process is learner-centered, focusing on the needs of the learner and providing opportunities for them to interact with the content in a variety of ways. I believe that all learners are different, and it is important to provide multiple ways for them to engage with the content in order to promote deep learning.  

THE CONGRESSIONAL SQUARES

In this brief video, I demonstrate an innovative teaching assignment I developed called The Congressional Squares. It is a play off of the old TV game show, The Hollywood Squares.

THE RESEARCH IS RIGHT

In this activity, I created a game-based quiz that plays off of the game show, The Price is Right. This game is called The Research is Right. This is a self-paced, ungraded quiz that students can take many times.

NURSING ROLES

In this activity, I use the tool VoiceThread and a Jeopardy-style board that lists out different nursing roles that students can pursue. Students share the specific responsibilities of this nurse and also share whether they can see themselves in this role.

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

This video highlights a debate activity I do in my online class with a twist. In this activity, students debate a controversial topic and fight to make the concept they are fighting for become a law in our class. Students take on the roles of Congressional Senators and Representatives and cast votes to push their agendas.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU BINGO

Have you ever wondered how you can help students socialize and form relationships in your online course? The Getting to Know You BINGO assignment helps students do just that. They must identify classmates that have the indicated characteristics and complete the BINGO card for this activity.

WHICH NURSE ARE YOU?

In this video, I demonstrate an example of a branching scenario/Choose Your Own Adventure type activity called, Which Nurse Are You?

SYLLABUS QUIZ

This activity is an example of another self-paced, ungraded quiz created using Google Slides. This activity helps students become familiar with important points on the course syllabus.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF HUMANISM

In this activity, I highlight the power of images when teaching difficult concepts. This activity uses the tool VoiceThread and asks students to upload a picture of what humanism means to them. This can be a difficult concept for students to grasp, so this type of activity helps students make their ideas more tangible.

THE HEALTH POLICY NEWSFEED

In this activity, I demonstrate a scrolling newsfeed I embed in my Learning Management System to help students easily navigate current news related to health policy, They select a topic to summarize and then share their opinions on the issue.

THR BLUEPRINT TOURNAMENT PUZZLE

This is a detailed overview of a fun activity I implemented in a synchronous online course that served as a review before the final exam. Students enjoyed this activity and were enthusiastic about participating.