Faculty and staff in the Academic Skills Center support Walden University’s mission of social change. Our center’s peer tutors, peer mentors, instructional specialists, and staff work to make a difference in our local communities.
ASC Annual Conference Archives
The Impact of Cultural Competence and Community Dimensions of Practice on Hunger and Childhood Obesity
Cultural competence involves understanding and responding to diverse needs. The application of this skill has impacted obesity rates among the toddlers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Obesity Prevention Program. Community dimensions of practice include evaluating and developing relationships within the community and maintaining and advancing partnerships and community involvement.
View the recording via Adobe Connect.
Learner-Centered Strategies for Moderating Student Success
In this session, a contributing faculty member and a recent graduate of Walden University shared ways they impacted social change by incorporating learner-centered strategies into a mentoring program for first-generation minority males and females at a community college in North Carolina. The strategies facilitated identification and moderation of non-cognitive barriers to academic success while engaging students, staff, and faculty in collaborative, multidisciplinary activities.
View the recording via Adobe Connect.
The Role of Multicultural Competence in Generating Collaborative Social Change Efforts<
Culturally competent social change agents consider their own cultural identities, participants' identities, as well as power, privilege, and oppression dynamics when initiating social change projects. In this presentation, we discussed the role of multicultural competence in generating appropriate interventions and collaborative plans of action that contribute to the empowerment and engagement of diverse communities.
View the recording via Adobe Connect.
Crisis Management: Uncovering the Fourth Component of Student Success and Persistence
According to van der Zanden, Denessen, Cillessen, and Meijer (2018), there are three components of first-year student success: academic achievement, critical thinking skills, and social-emotional well-being. We propose a fourth component of student success and persistence - crisis management.
Comfort During Chaos: Applying Skills to the Service of Others Exposed to Tragedy
Recent events highlight a need for support of victims, families, uniformed personnel, and first responders’ well-being and access to services following a tragedy. In this session, two graduate students will describe how they are using their skills honed through Walden University to enact positive social change in their communities after mass casualty events in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Toronto, Canada.
Edited Recording: Comfort During Chaos: Applying Skills to the Service of Others Exposed to Tragedy (YouTube)
Polarities of Democracy: The Role of Theory in Effecting Social Change
This session explores the Polarities of Democracy Theory (POD) of positive social change in a scholar-practitioner’s work, tracing the experience of the presenters’ use of theory inside and outside academia.
Edited Recording: Polarities of Democracy: The Role of Theory in Effecting Social Change (YouTube);
Synthesizing Research to Impact Social Change
Online students are often required to read and synthesize literature in their coursework. In this session, we examined ways in which synthesizing the research is not just a homework task, but is a skill that can be used to impact social change in a variety of settings. The benefits of research as well as an overview of how to effectively synthesize and share findings were discussed.
Edited Recording: Synthesizing Research to Impact Social Change (YouTube)
Online Etiquette: Presenting Your Best Self in the Online Classroom
In an age of online interactions, people are increasingly concerned about the impressions they leave online and what those impressions reveal about themselves. In this session, students learned tips for monitoring their digital footprint and ensuring an accurate and positive personal representation at Walden.
Edited Recording: Online Etiquette (YouTube)
Tips to Master the Writing Process
In this presentation, Walden writing faculty introduced students to the components of an effective writing process and two journaling techniques to eliminate writer’s block and improve your writing.
Edited Recording: Tips to Master the Writing Process (YouTube)
Savvy Strategies for Academic Reading
Bogged down in reading? Graduate study naturally involves analyzing many research articles, theoretical texts, and other complex materials. In this session, students learned how to boost their comprehension, speed, and ability to navigate and extract meaning from research articles.
Edited Recording: Savvy Strategies for Academic Reading (YouTube)
Research Questions to Results: Statistical Analysis and Steps to Success in the Doctoral Capstone
From research questions to results, Drs. Matt Jones, Dr. Pat Dunn, and Dr. Zin Htway explained the steps to success in statistical analysis for a doctoral capstone. Topics covered included:
Edited Recording: Research Questions to Results (YouTube)
Using Statistics for Quantitative Reasoning
In this instructional session, statistics tutors from the Academic Skills Center offered insight into the role of statistics for the purpose of quantitative reasoning. The presenters discussed specifics of descriptive, inferential, and biostatistics, and offered application examples of each.
Edited Recording: Using Statistics for Quantitative Reasoning (YouTube)
Collaboration Skills for Professionals and Academics
Skills in communication, collaboration, and team building are necessary for professional and academic success. This presentation provided students with the tools and resources to engage project team members, share information, and achieve positive outcomes.
Edited Recording: Collaboration Skills for Professionals & Academics (YouTube)
Feeling Like You Don’t Belong as a Doctoral Student? Tips to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome
Ever feel like you don’t belong in your doctoral program? Do you struggle with perfectionist tendencies and self-imposed high standards? If so, you are not alone! Presenters discussed the definition of the imposter syndrome, how it can impact you as a learner, and what you can do to overcome it.
Support Services for International Student Success
Walden’s international student body brings with it a wide variety of academic, professional, and personal experiences. In return, Walden has worked to provide a variety of support services to meet the unique needs of our international student body. During this session, members of the International Student Advising Team discussed: your responsibilities as a student at Walden, how to order your course materials, what to expect from your Student Success Advisor, understanding the Walden grading scale, contacting your instructor, academic, professional, and other support services available for students, reading your student bill and knowing your payment options, and, other tips for a successful Walden program.
Edited Recording: Support Services for International Students (YouTube)
Walden University International Club: Who We Are!
We shared the information about the Walden University International Club, objectives about the club, our club goals and initiatives, etc. We had some statements from students in the club and how joining the club has helped them. The international club works and achieves both of these goals.
Edited Recording: Walden University International Club: Who We Are! (YouTube)
Practical Tips to Successfully Write in American Academic English
In this instructional interactive session followed by Q/A, students learned some practical tips to successfully write in American Academic English. Although the session was more geared toward students, faculty found the ideas useful to help understand some common struggles of multilingual writers, and the topics discussed in the session may help inform feedback provided to students.
Edited Recording: Practical Tips to Successfully Write in American Academic English (YouTube)
Research as a Global Student: Challenges and Success Strategies
This session was designed to highlight the challenges that global students face as researchers, and to discuss how the Walden Library can help our global students be successful scholars. With so much scholarly literature coming out of a Western perspective, and the limitations sometimes present when trying to obtain full-text materials, our global students face unique challenges that can be met with the help of the Walden Library. Librarians are on hand to assist in finding course readings and other scholarly materials, and to offer suggestions for research that global students are conducting.
Topics covered during this session included how to obtain full-text materials (articles and books), what to be aware of as a global student conducting research, and what the Walden Library can do to help you as a global scholar.
Edited Recording: Research as a Global Student: Challenges and Success Strategies (YouTube)
Cultural Differences and Teaching Philosophy: Recommendations for Practice
In this presentation, the presenters discussed cultural difference in the classroom with respect to how students learn and operate in an online environment. Presenters also discussed how culture can impact classroom dynamics, student engagement, and perspectives towards learning.
Edited Recording: Cultural Differences and Teaching Philosophy: Part 1, Cultural Dimensions (YouTube)
The session also described how teaching philosophy might impact international students’ learning experiences.
Building Academic Bridges Connecting Faculty and International Students
Together, we looked to see how stellar instructors facilitate learning for international students while enhancing our classroom experience for all students. Some classroom tools include the use of interactive maps in the Class Café, inclusion of ebooks and point-of-need materials, and time zone decoders. As a group, we explored the way that Academic Integrity interpretation varies outside of the United States. We described how some academic practices are anchored in domestic assumptions, and we tried to unpack some of those assumptions as a group.
Edited Recording: Building Academic Bridges Connecting Faculty and International Students (YouTube))
Presentation: Matching Variable Types to Common Statistical Tests
The key to answering your research question is selecting the right statistical test, and the key to performing that test is having the right variable types. This presentation addressed the types of variables that are required for common statistical tests. This information will help students in designing their data collection methodology, and prevent mistakes that can occur when the right test is selected, but the wrong variable types are measured. For doctoral students working on their proposals.
Edited Recording: Matching Variable Types to Common Statistical Tests (YouTube)
Roundtable: Avoiding Potential Statistical Pitfalls of Quantitative Studies
During this informal roundtable discussion, Sarah Inkpen and Patrick Dunn discussed common pitfalls students experience when conducting a quantitative dissertation study, and how to avoid them. For doctoral students conducting (or thinking about conducting) quantitative research.
Edited Recording: Avoiding Potential Statistical Pitfalls of Quantitative Studies (YouTube)
Presentation: New to Stats? An Introduction to Statistics and SPSS for Walden Students
This session covered basic SPSS usage and statistical concepts and provided a brief overview of Walden’s tutoring services program for statistics support. For students who are new to using SPSS and statistical tests for level one statistics. Students learned how to access the ASC Tutoring website, its learning resources, and navigating the scheduling system to be able to make tutoring appointments. Students also learned SPSS basics such as downloading and working with simple data for the most popular types of statistical analysis.
Edited Recording: New to Stats? An Introduction to Statistics and SPSS for Walden Students (YouTube)
Roundtable: Statistical Testing for Doctoral Dissertation
When it’s time to determine which statistical tests will yield the most appropriate results, sometimes it is difficult to know which type of test to run. During this roundtable discussion, Dr. Zin Htway and Dr. Pat Dunn spoke about types of variables, and how proper identification of variables informs statistical testing. For doctoral students conducting (or thinking about conducting) quantitative research.
Edited Recording: Statistical Testing for Doctoral Dissertation (YouTube))
Panel Discussion: Career Services Center Panel - Statistics in the Workplace
How can knowledge of statistics impact your career? Walden Career Services staff, students, and alumni as we explored the broad gamut of career fields that require statistical knowledge. In this session, the panel discussed how statistics can be used across multiple fields, the relevance of statistical knowledge in the workplace, and how Career Services supports students in marketing their skills.
Edited Recording: Career Services Center Panel: Statistics in the Workplace (YouTube)
Presentation: Polish the Paper - Capstone Writing Resources from the Academic Skills Center
In addition to statistics and SPSS tutoring, the Academic Skills Center offers a number of resources for students in their capstones. This session gave an overview of the other ASC resources for students in their capstones, such as the doctoral writing workshops and the capstone course visits. For doctoral students who are in or nearing proposal stage.
Edited Recording: Polish the Paper: Capstone Writing Resources from the Academic Skills Center (YouTube)
Presentation: Matrix Correlation for Nursing and Biostatistics
This presentation and discussion focused on how to read and identify variable in a matrix. During the presentation, Heather Walzel discussed what a matrix is, how to identify variables in a matrix, and how to read a matrix. For all students interested in learning more about matrix correlation. Content covered was on general topics, with some discussion and application related to nursing and biostatistics.
Edited Recording: Matrix Correlation for Nursing and Biostatistics (YouTube)
Invited Presentation: Using Existing Data in Research
Existing quantitative datasets contain data collected for previous research projects or administrative purposes. These data are frequently the result of complex sampling designs and are a potential treasure trove for scholarly research. Using this data affords researchers the opportunity to answer new research questions and construct untested hypotheses utilizing existing samples. This session covered: strategies for locating existing data, types of existing data, aligning existing data with your research, and the associated strengths and limitations of using existing data. This presentation was targeted toward anyone that has an interest in understanding the potential opportunities of using existing data.
Edited Recording: Office of Research and Doctoral Services: Using Existing Data in Research (YouTube)
All the Skills You Need to Succeed.