The teaching and learning of nursing theory, at all program levels, is challenging due to the complexity and abstract nature of its content, the dry nature in which the study of theory often is approached, a perception of disconnect from practice, and faculty discomfort and avoidance of the subject matter. Adapting creative educational strategies to the online environment is an ongoing challenge for educators. Role-play relates well to the constructivist basis of creating personal meaning based on the individual's experiences. This article examines the use of role-play as an educational strategy for teaching nursing theory in an online baccalaureate program. In a core professional issues course, students adopt the persona of a specific nursing theorist, interacting with other “nursing theorists” played by their peers. Student engagement and active learning reflect excitement and interest, and course evaluations have been extremely positive for this content and method.

Effective leadership is reflected by evidence-based attributes, competencies, and behaviors. The Future of Nursing Report (2011) identified a gap in leadership knowledge, recommending development of creative and innovative strategies to strengthen nursing leadership curricula. These results provided an impetus and charge for nursing education to reexamine and revise leadership content. This mixed methods study analyzed baccalaureate and masters nursing students’ development of their leadership knowledge and skills. Through reflections, undergraduate (n=60) and master’s (n=52) students identified their perceived priorities and tips for success for nursing leaders across the healthcare continuum. Qualitative content analysis aligned students’ comments with the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Executive Competencies (2015). Descriptive data provided the summaries of which leadership competencies were represented. Alignment to the competencies varied, commensurate with the level of educational program: BSN-level management skills vs. MS-level executive skills. Common responses across both programs prioritized communication, professionalism, and leadership behaviors. The results provide an opportunity for students’ synthesis of leadership skills and practices, may guide educators in the design of multi-level leadership curricula, and support development of clinical leaders in practice. This study was prospectively registered with the Campus Institutional Review Board on January 23, 2023, protocol code: 0086-001.

College faculty faces decisions about how to provide feedback on written work. We compared the quality of student writing and student impressions of feedback from both full and minimal markup methods. There was only one significant difference in the quality of writing or content between full and minimal markup. Students scored the functionality of the two markup methods consistently in their ability to improve their writing skills. Student comments were overwhelmingly positive for both markup formats. We encourage teachers to make use of the approach that fits the best with the teaching and learning strategies and designs in their classes.