Evidence of Teaching

Curriculum/Course Development
2009-2010 Academic Year
Due to changes in the College of Undergraduate Studies Liberal Arts Core, I led the department
in the development of new courses that would meet the core requirements for Exercise Science. These
new courses provided options for students beyond the EXS 101, Personal Fitness and Wellness course. A
course from the past, EXS 103, What Every Woman Needs to Know, was restructured and added to the
options. EXS 102, American Red Cross First Aid and CPR was changed from a PED course to an EXS
course with the inclusion of additional academic units. New courses included EXS 104 Mens Health
Issues and EXS 105, Consumer Issues in Fitness and Wellness. During the creation of these courses, I
worked with faculty members to select a textbook and create learning objectives and activities.
One major revision occurred in my coursework this year. The EXS 310, Practicum course was
lacking in student assessment. Students completed self-evaluations and completed multiple work reports,
but were never provided with a structured opportunity to self-reflect on the activities that were occurring
at their internship sites. A set of weekly reflections were added to the course to allow students to
critically think about their performance and the acts of others around them in various professional and
ethical scenarios.
This academic year also included major growth in the department. The Movement Science
concentration of the Exercise Science major was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education
(PDE). In addition, the initial proposal for an Athletic Training major was passed by full faculty and the
board of trustees and submitted to PDE for review.
2010 - 2011 Academic Year
During the 2010-2011 academic year, the EXS 404: DPT/OT Seminar was taught for the first
time to our first cohort of Thomas Jefferson Affiliation students. As the instructor of this course, I created
a curriculum that was based on professional development, critical thinking, review of current literature,
and creation of a research project. In addition, the EXS 308, Exercise Program Management course

included Pre-Occupational Therapy students for the first time. This required me to rework the curriculum
to include their professional organization and aspects of their field of study into the curriculum.
The main endeavor this year was the development and approval of the Athletic Training
Education Program. This included the creation of course descriptions, objectives, syllabi and assessment
tools. Since the goal of this program is accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic
Training Education, a great deal of time was spent determining in which courses the required athletic
training competencies would be placed.
2011-2012 Academic Year
The 2011-2012 academic year marked our first class of athletic training majors and the first
offering of a course within the curriculum. As Athletic Training Education Program Director, I developed
and taught the ATEP 201, Foundations in Athletic Training course. This course introduces students to the
field of athletic training and the professional organization, while teaching them the code of ethics and
bylaws that govern the profession. Students become certified in First Aid and CPR and learn many
foundational skills in the field of athletic training.
2012-2013 Academic Year
The 2012-2013 academic year focused on the preparation of the Commission on the Accreditation
of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) self-study documentation. A completed application was
submitted to the CAATE in June 2013. As the program progressed this year the ATEP 301/302
Lower/Upper Extremity Evaluation and ATEP 303/304 Therapeutic Exercises/Modalities course
sequences were introduced into the program. My focus was on the curriculum development and
implementation of the Lower and Upper Extremity courses.
2013-2014 Academic Year
During the fall semester, the department prepared for the CAATE site visit that took place in
February 2014. This successful visit resulted in awarding of initial accreditation in June 2014 for a fiveyear period. To round out the athletic training curriculum, the final courses of ATEP 305 Athletic Training
Administration, ATEP 306 Pathology and Pharmacology in Athletic Training, ATEP 401 Introduction to

Research, and ATEP 403 Athletic Training Seminar were taught. As the instructor for the ATEP 401/403
sequence I mentored the students through individual research projects. This included the development of
a research question, search of the literature, development of sound methodology, completion of Research
Ethics and Review Board applications and a research proposal in the fall semester. During the spring
semester, I assisted students in data collection, statistical analysis, interpretation of the results to write a
thorough discussion and completion of a poster for presentation to the university.
In addition, as program director I assisted adjunct faculty in the development of new courses
within the curriculum. I also encouraged changes in various courses based on the feedback received from
both course and program evaluations. One specific change that was implemented in the ATEP 301/302
Lower & Upper Extremity Evaluation courses was the mandatory use of a lab manual. Prior to this
implementation the students were given handouts and were not held accountable for accurate and
thorough completion. This year the students were provided with the laboratory manual at the start of the
semester and received a grade for it at the conclusion. This manual could then serve as a resource for
them during future clinical education experiences and as a study guide for the Board of Certification
examination.
2014-2015 Academic Year

No new courses were added to the curriculum this year, but adjustments were made to
courses based on feedback from our formal evaluation process. In the ATEP 301/302 Lower &
Upper Extremity Evaluation courses a homework manual was required. This was to ensure that
the students read the material prior to class and had a baseline level of knowledge prior to
entering class. This resulted in the students becoming more active in their own learning. They
asked more questions and we could spend more time in discussion rather than lecture of basic
material. In addition, three units of the ATEP 302 Upper Extremity Evaluation course were
created in the flipped classroom format. This experiment required the students to listen to the
lecture for homework while completing their required pages in the homework manual. We began

class by answering student questions and clearing up any confusing topics. The flipped
classroom format allowed for more time to be spent in the laboratory setting and provided the
students with more hands on practice time. It was also noted that the students asked more in
depth questions during these units. It is unclear if this was due to the flipped classroom format,
the topic of inquiry or simply being in the second half of the semester
In addition to these changes in the athletic training program, I taught the FYE 110 Honors
Keystone Seminar. This is the freshmen seminar course for honors students. It was my second
time teaching the course, but the required readings and many of the activities were different since
the last time I instructed the course. The focus created in my section was developing leadership
skills to prepare for the future. Through online discussion boards, student presentations, a
Shark Tank product development presentation, and other classroom activities the students
bonded as a class while transitioning to college life and preparing for their futures.