In health professions education, real-life demonstrations are a common method for teaching psychomotor skills on campus. However, they present challenges such as limited visibility and time constraints. For Generation Z students, who prefer visual learning environments, demonstration videos offer a promising alternative, benefiting from the ease of production, sharing, and access to video-based content. Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning provides a foundational framework for designing instructional videos, emphasizing multimedia principles to enhance learning. However, the concrete application of these principles to demonstration videos for psychomotor skills in health professions education remains underexplored. This design case details the design and production process of demonstration videos for novice nursing and midwifery students to learn new psychomotor nursing skills, such as venipuncture. We developed a series of videos that integrate multimedia principles to minimize cognitive overload, optimize essential processing, and support generative processing. The challenges encountered during this process are discussed, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with audiovisual experts for technical support and content experts for refining scriptwriting and recordings of the skill demonstrations. Through this design process, we gained insight into how multimedia principles were operationalized within the development of psychomotor skill demonstration videos. We developed a series of videos informed by multimedia principles to reduce cognitive overload and support meaningful processing. The resulting checklist continues to guide our ongoing video production and informs our internal evaluation of design decisions.
This design case presents a series of exploratory faculty development workshops created in response to institutional uncertainty about how to meaningfully engage with generative AI. Developed at a teaching-focused university in the United States, the workshops were grounded in constructionist pedagogy and emphasized playful prompting, peer interaction, and the creation of contextually relevant artifacts. Rather than offering training or technical guidance, the design aimed to cultivate GenAI literacy through hands-on experimentation and reflection. Participants surfaced misconceptions, tested tool limitations, and adapted outputs to their pedagogical needs. Some found the open format empowering; others desired more conceptual grounding. This tension underscores broader challenges in applying constructionist methods to faculty learning. The case traces the pedagogical commitments and design logic behind the workshop series, while reflecting on key facilitation choices and unexpected outcomes.
This design case documents the development, implementation, and refinement of a structured 360-degree video observation activity for preservice teachers learning about formative assessment practices. The activity was designed and tested across two semesters in an undergraduate Classroom Assessment course with 53 total students. Through an iterative design process, we developed a scaffolded observation protocol that leveraged the unique affordances of 360-degree video technology. Student feedback revealed that the immersive format enhanced observation capabilities by providing comprehensive classroom views, multiple perspectives, student-centered observation opportunities, and greater autonomy in directing attention. Our design process highlighted important design decisions: the need for explicit technological modeling, structured guidance balanced with exploratory freedom, and the importance of high-quality recording.
This design case focused on creating and implementing a five-day summer camp to enhance students’ expressive language development through robotics-based storytelling. The camp used VEX GO robotics and storytelling elements to promote language skills. Participants, aged six to ten, engaged in structured lessons, game-based activities, and group projects to create stories and animate their characters. Student feedback indicated high levels of engagement and enthusiasm, particularly for the hands-on activities and collaborative projects. While the camp was successful, we identified areas for improvement, including clearer guidelines for the final project and better integration of expressive language skills into daily activities.
Historically, traditional preservice teacher preparation programs have been crafted in such a way that limits accessibility for certain subgroups of students. This article highlights a recent hybrid degree pathway created to support childcare workers in our state who would otherwise be unable to pursue a bachelor’s degree and subsequent teaching certification. With a specific focus on Early Childhood and Special Education (ECSE), we describe a new, innovative university program redesign undertaken to support childcare workers who are currently employed at accredited childcare centers. As part of a larger grant-funded project, an accessible degree pathway, coined ‘ECSE Access’, has been forged so that childcare workers can remain employed in their centers while simultaneously earning their degree in ECSE by offering courses at night in a part-time configuration. We present three artifacts to demonstrate our redesign: a side-by-side comparison that clearly evidences the difference between the newly designed hybrid pathway (ECSE Access) and the traditional ECSE program; a revised degree completion plan for ECSE Access students; and a flowchart highlighting steps undertaken with our Faculty Academic Center for Excellence in Teaching (FACET) to vet the redesign of each individual course. The design process summary includes a description of the redesign of all coursework for the online platform, an overview of the redesign of the traditional teaching internship component, as well as obstacles encountered during all redesign processes.
