The purpose of this paper is to provide a project overview for the implementation of a disability training module and simulation experience offered to university school of nursing faculty to increase faculty knowledge and empathy related to nursing students with learning disabilities. The number of students with learning disabilities in the postsecondary education setting has tripled in the past decade (Orr & Hammig, 2009). This growing student population makes faculty preparation essential in order to effectively meet the needs of these students. The literature indicated that best practices include disability training, faculty support, student support, inclusive strategies such as Universal Design, and positive relationships. A Gap analysis indicated deficiencies related to best practices which supports the need for and benefit of disability training for faculty at project site university school of nursing. Offering faculty a disability training module and simulation experience provides faculty with the opportunity to increase knowledge related to the American Disabilities Act (ADA), required accommodations, learning disabilities, and Universal Design strategies. The simulation was designed to simulate the experience of a student with a learning disability. The Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (Lombardi, Vukovic, & Sala-Bars, 2014) is a validated tool which was used to measure faculty knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions pre and post disability training. The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (Chen, Kiersma, Yehle, & Plake, 2015) was used to measure empathy in the pre and post simulation experience.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this paper is to provide a project overview for the implementation of a disability training module and simulation experience offered to university school of nursing faculty to increase faculty knowledge and empathy related to nursing students with learning disabilities. The number of students with learning disabilities in the postsecondary education setting has tripled in the past decade (Orr & Hammig, 2009). This growing student population makes faculty preparation essential in order to effectively meet the needs of these students. The literature indicated that best practices include disability training, faculty support, student support, inclusive strategies such as Universal Design, and positive relationships. A Gap analysis indicated deficiencies related to best practices which supports the need for and benefit of disability training for faculty at project site university school of nursing. Offering faculty a disability training module and simulation experience provides faculty with the opportunity to increase knowledge related to the American Disabilities Act (ADA), required accommodations, learning disabilities, and Universal Design strategies. The simulation was designed to simulate the experience of a student with a learning disability. The Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (Lombardi, Vukovic, & Sala-Bars, 2014) is a validated tool which was used to measure faculty knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions pre and post disability training. The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (Chen, Kiersma, Yehle, & Plake, 2015) was used to measure empathy in the pre and post simulation experience.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kushner, Jodi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)","degree_level":"Project","degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Juli Maxworthy","Elena Capella"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-12-15T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-12-15T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:13Z","subjects":["Learning Disabilites","Universal Design Strategies","Nursing Students","Disability Training","Faculty","Empathy","Nursing"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/109","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Juli Maxworthy","Elena Capella"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kushner, Jodi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-12-10T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Project"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Learning Disabilites","Universal Design Strategies","Nursing Students","Disability Training","Faculty","Empathy","Nursing"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/109"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this paper is to provide a project overview for the implementation of a disability training module and simulation experience offered to university school of nursing faculty to increase faculty knowledge and empathy related to nursing students with learning disabilities. The number of students with learning disabilities in the postsecondary education setting has tripled in the past decade (Orr & Hammig, 2009). This growing student population makes faculty preparation essential in order to effectively meet the needs of these students. The literature indicated that best practices include disability training, faculty support, student support, inclusive strategies such as Universal Design, and positive relationships. A Gap analysis indicated deficiencies related to best practices which supports the need for and benefit of disability training for faculty at project site university school of nursing. Offering faculty a disability training module and simulation experience provides faculty with the opportunity to increase knowledge related to the American Disabilities Act (ADA), required accommodations, learning disabilities, and Universal Design strategies. The simulation was designed to simulate the experience of a student with a learning disability. The Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (Lombardi, Vukovic, & Sala-Bars, 2014) is a validated tool which was used to measure faculty knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions pre and post disability training. The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (Chen, Kiersma, Yehle, & Plake, 2015) was used to measure empathy in the pre and post simulation experience.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Increasing Faculty Knowledge and Empathy Related to Nursing Students with Learning Disabilities"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Juli Maxworthy","Elena Capella"],"dc:creator":["Kushner, Jodi"],"dc:date.available":["2017-12-10T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this paper is to provide a project overview for the implementation of a disability training module and simulation experience offered to university school of nursing faculty to increase faculty knowledge and empathy related to nursing students with learning disabilities. The number of students with learning disabilities in the postsecondary education setting has tripled in the past decade (Orr & Hammig, 2009). This growing student population makes faculty preparation essential in order to effectively meet the needs of these students. The literature indicated that best practices include disability training, faculty support, student support, inclusive strategies such as Universal Design, and positive relationships. A Gap analysis indicated deficiencies related to best practices which supports the need for and benefit of disability training for faculty at project site university school of nursing. Offering faculty a disability training module and simulation experience provides faculty with the opportunity to increase knowledge related to the American Disabilities Act (ADA), required accommodations, learning disabilities, and Universal Design strategies. The simulation was designed to simulate the experience of a student with a learning disability. The Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (Lombardi, Vukovic, & Sala-Bars, 2014) is a validated tool which was used to measure faculty knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions pre and post disability training. The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (Chen, Kiersma, Yehle, & Plake, 2015) was used to measure empathy in the pre and post simulation experience.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/109"],"dc:subject":["Learning Disabilites","Universal Design Strategies","Nursing Students","Disability Training","Faculty","Empathy","Nursing"],"dc:title":["Increasing Faculty Knowledge and Empathy Related to Nursing Students with Learning Disabilities"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nursing"],"thesis:degree_level":["Project"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:13Z"}