High-Impact Teaching: Applying Lessons from Simulation Across the Curriculum

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High-Impact Teaching: Applying Lessons from Simulation Across the Curriculum

December 2, 2026

Designed for nursing faculty who teach across classroom, clinical, and simulation settings, this workshop is an immersive day for educators ready to take evidence-based simulation pedagogy beyond the simulation lab. Grounded in the 糖心少女vlog Essentials and INACSL Standards, participants will explore how purposeful design of the learning environment, professional identity formation, and competency-based assessment work together to support clinical judgment and practice readiness.

Across the day, participants will design learning experiences, cultivate environments for experiential learning, and explore how assessment - structured as repeated cycles of observation - supports rigorous evaluation and evidence-informed decisions about learner competence and progression.

Participants will leave with practical, evidence-based strategies for designing, assessing, and scaffolding learning across the curriculum.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Apply evidence-based simulation pedagogy principles to teaching across classroom, clinical, and simulation contexts.
Design learning environments that cultivate psychological safety, engagement, and conditions for experiential learning.
Use narrative, reflection, debriefing, and coaching conversations to support professional nurse identity formation.
Design authentic, competency-based learning experiences and assess learner clinical judgment, competence, and practice readiness.
Scaffold learning and assessment across the curriculum using a coherent, integrated framework aligned to desired outcomes.

Conference Venue

10 S West Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

See Hotel & Travel page for details.

Agenda

December 2

7:00-8:00 a.m.	Registration & Breakfast

8:00-8:15 a.m.	Welcome and Framing the Day Introductions Overview of workshop goals and outcomes Getting the most out of the day Facilitator: Mary Fey, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety, Harvard Center for Medical Simulation

8:15-9:00 a.m.	Learning Reimagined: Myth-busting and Mindset Shifts in CBE This panel discussion will address common misconceptions about applying simulation-based pedagogy across diverse educational settings and illuminate the mindset shifts faculty need to implement it effectively. By establishing shared language and clear expectations, the session will foster a cohesive mental model that anchors simulation principles and supports their transfer beyond the simulation lab into diverse learning environments. Panel Moderator: Susan Corbridge, PhD, FAANP, FCCP, FAAN Chief Education Innovation Officer, American Association of Colleges of Nursing Panelists: Carol F. Durham, EdD, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAAN, FSSH, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing Mary Fey, PhD, Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety, Harvard Center for Medical Simulation Marie Gilbert, DNP, RN, CHSE-A, FSSH, Director, Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing, California State University, Fresno Kate J Morse, PhD, CHSE-A, FAAN, Clinical Professor of Nursing, Drexel University Penni I. Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, FNAP, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN Professor, Associate Dean for Technology & Innovation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

9:00-9:45 a.m.	Session 1: Simulation-Based Learning — Core Principles That Transfer Simulation-based learning has given nursing education a rigorous, evidence-informed framework for how adults learn in high-stakes environments — and these principles don't stop at the simulation lab door. This session introduces the foundational pillars of simulation-based pedagogy: psychological safety, intentional experience design, preparation and briefing, readying learners to receive feedback, real-world clinical grounding, and debriefing as formative assessment. Together we'll examine what each principle looks like when translated across classroom, clinical, and skills lab settings — and through facilitated discussion, explore where faculty are already enacting these principles and what barriers stand in the way of applying them more consistently. Facilitator: Penni I. Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, FNAP, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN Professor, Associate Dean for Technology & Innovation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

9:45-10:00 a.m.	Beverage & Networking Break

10:00-11:00 a.m.	Cultivating the Learning Environment for Engagement and Deep Learning Competency-based education demands more than content delivery — it requires an environment where learners feel safe enough to take risks, learn from mistakes, and grow. This session examines how faculty intentionally cultivate that environment across classroom, clinical, and skills lab settings, with frequent formative assessment as the engine driving learning forward. Participants will explore concrete strategies for fostering risk-taking and learner growth. The session closes with a case-based small-group activity in which faculty develop a concrete script or environmental plan tailored to their own teaching context. Facilitator: Mary Fey, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety, Harvard Center for Medical Simulation

11:00-11:05 a.m.	S-T-R-E-T-C-H Break

11:05 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Developing the Professional Nurse, Part 1: Authentic Assessment (i.e., measuring what matters) Midterms, finals, and single-point clinical evaluations were designed to measure knowledge — not professional competence. This session challenges faculty to reframe assessment as repeated cycles of observation across settings, building defensible judgments of learner readiness over time rather than at isolated checkpoints. Participants will examine the limitations of single-point evaluation, explore strategies for rigorously aggregating evidence, and apply these ideas through a practical mapping activity that identifies assessment opportunities across their own teaching contexts. Facilitator: Marie Gilbert, DNP, RN, CHSE-A, FSSH Director, Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing, California State University, Fresno

1:00-2:00 p.m.	Developing the Professional Nurse, Part 2: Professional Identity Formation Clinical competence is only part of what it means to become a nurse. This session focuses on the less visible — but equally essential — work of professional identity formation, and the pedagogical strategies faculty can use to support it. Participants will explore how narrative and reflection create opportunities for meaning-making, how philosophical and ethical dialogue builds moral reasoning, and how deliberate techniques for promoting thinking and clinical reasoning can be woven into everyday teaching. The session also examines the often-underestimated power of faculty role modeling in shaping who learners are becoming. Facilitator: Carol F. Durham, EdD, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAAN, FSSH Professor Emerita, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing

2:00-2:15 p.m.	Beverage & Networking Break

2:15-3:00 p.m.	Coaching Conversations: Debriefing as Formative Assessment Feedback is only as powerful as the conversation around it. This session repositions debriefing not as a simulation-specific technique but as a versatile coaching stance applicable across all teaching contexts. Participants will examine classroom formative assessment techniques alongside clinical coaching strategies — including in-the-moment coaching and how to get more out of post-conference — then practice these skills directly through video-based scenarios designed to build confidence and fluency in real learning conversations. Facilitator: Kate J Morse, PhD, CHSE-A, FAAN, Clinical Professor of Nursing, Drexel University

3:30-3:35 p.m.	S-T-R-E-T-C-H Break

3:35-4:15 p.m.	Designing High-Impact Learning Experiences This culminating session is a working session. Participants will have the opportunity to step back, take stock of the day's principles, and do the real work of redesign — transforming something they already teach into a richer, more intentional learning experience. The session opens with a brief framework for backwards design and scaffolding, with attention to how communication and coordination across faculty and courses supports learner readiness over time. Then participants get to work. Using a structured worksheet as a guide, faculty will choose a lesson or clinical experience they currently teach and redesign it through the lens of today's principles — considering how to prepare and brief learners, ensure appropriate scaffolding and integration, measure what matters, touch on professional identity, and close with meaningful debriefing as formative assessment. Facilitator: Mary Fey, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety, Harvard Center for Medical Simulation

4:15-4:30 p.m.	Closing Reflections and Evaluation This closing session reflects on today’s learning and looks ahead. Participants will reflect on the day, identify three concrete action items — individual or collaborative — to carry back to their programs, and complete the workshop evaluation. Time will be held for final questions and shared reflections across the group. Facilitator: Carol F. Durham, EdD, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAAN, FSSH Professor Emerita, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing

Speakers

Carol F. Durham, EdD, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAAN, FSSH

Professor Emerita
Chapel Hill School of Nursing
University of North Carolina
Mary Fey, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety
Harvard Center for Medical Simulation
Marie Gilbert, DNP, RN, CHSE-A, FSSH

Director
Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing
California State University, Fresno
Kate J Morse, PhD, CHSE-A, FAAN

Assistant Dean, Simulation and Innovation
Clinical Professor of Nursing
Drexel University
Penni I. Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, FNAP, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN

Professor, Associate Dean for Technology & Innovation
The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Pre-Conference Experience

Simulation Workshop

Created for faculty teaching across classroom, clinical, and simulation environments to share strategies and shape the future of simulation-based education.

Registration Fees

Simulation Workshop	Early Ends Nov. 3	Standard Starts Nov. 4
糖心少女vlog Members	$299	$399
糖心少女vlog Non-Members	$399	$499
Students	$249	$299

You may substitute your registration to another individual within your organization. This must be done by contacting the 糖心少女vlog Conference Department via email at conferences@aacnnursing.org
If a substitution is not possible, you can cancel your attendance up until November 19, 2026 to obtain a refund minus a $90 non-refundable administrative fee.
No refunds will be given after November 19, 2026 nor will refunds be given for no-shows.
Your cancellation request must be submitted in writing to conferences@aacnnursing.org and confirmed by 糖心少女vlog.

Please note: 糖心少女vlog will issue refunds within a 2-week time period of receipt of written cancellation notice.

Event Cancellation by 糖心少女vlog

糖心少女vlog reserves the right to modify, postpone/reschedule or cancel this conference and any related group activity for any circumstance beyond 糖心少女vlog's control, including but not limited to emergency, acts of God, government regulations, disaster, strike, and non-fulfilment of minimum group requirements. If 糖心少女vlog cancels an event, every attempt will be made to reschedule or provide a modified virtual offering, and registration fees will be applied to the rescheduled/virtual event. If a cancelled event cannot be rescheduled, 糖心少女vlog will issue a full refund of the registration fee(s). Any travel, lodging, or incidental expenses incurred related to a cancelled/postponed event cannot be refunded under any circumstances as 糖心少女vlog resumes no responsibility for such expenses.

Continuing Education

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Participants may earn up to 6.5 credits for Nursing Continuing Professional Development.
There are no relevant financial relationships for any of the planners and presenters for this activity.
Sponsors have not been involved with the planning of content for sessions awarding contact hours.
For sessions awarding contact hours, participants must attend in entirety and complete an evaluation after the conference. A continuing nursing education/nursing continuing professional development certificate will be provided.
There are no known conflicts of interest concerning planners and presenters.

For questions, contact the 糖心少女vlog Conference Team today!

Phone: 202-463-6930 | Email: conferences@aacnnursing.org | Website: www.aacnnursing.org/conferences

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