NCFR members Ashley Landers, Ph.D., LMFT, and Rachel Arocho, Ph.D., CFLE, SFHEA, were each recognized with a Cognella Innovation in Teaching Award for Family Science at the 2024 NCFR Annual Conference. 

Publisher Cognella and NCFR partnered to create the award, which recognizes outstanding instructors in the Family Science discipline who go above and beyond to introduce cutting-edge teaching practices that engage their students and advance the discipline.

Demystifying Diagnosis in Couple and Family Therapy and Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Clinic

The first place honor goes to Ashley Landers, Ph.D., LMFT, associate professor of human development and Family Science in the couple and family therapy specialization in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University. The judging panel was impressed with how Dr. Landers redesigned the diagnosis in couple and family therapy and family therapy practicum course to better serve and inform her students. When Dr. Landers first developed the course in 2022, she noticed that students viewed the diagnostic manual as a dictionary reference wherein equal attention was given to each work, rather than seeing the diagnostic manual as both a dictionary that defines diagnoses and a thesaurus that identifies areas of convergence and divergence in diagnoses.

Due to the complex nature of diagnosis and to help her students better understand the material, Dr. Landers redesigned the course, devoting time each week on a particular chapter. She did so using a concept called "major players" — referring to the most common diagnoses by chapter. Not only were Dr. Landers' students able to identify the "major players" by the end of the course, but by incorporating this concept, this aided her students' ability to develop a diagnostic decision tree — another tool to help them assess diagnoses from the most common to the rarest. Dr. Landers' students were also able to develop a cumulative decision tree which supported them in conducting differential diagnosis across chapters. Students were also exposed to live/video examples of families impacted by the disorders emphasizing how families impact disorders and how disorders impact families. Dr. Landers' students were also privy to guest lectures from clinicians who work with these populations. Another innovation was live demonstrations of diagnostic assessments used to highlight the symptomology of disorders. Her students were also given the opportunity to apply what they learned and obtain feedback from their peers.

The panel believes Dr. Landers' innovations are bridging the gap between clinic and classroom and well preparing the next generation of couple and family therapists to provide competent and compassionate care to their future clients.

Integrating Metacognition and Game-Based Learning to Energize Research Methods in Family Studies

The second place honor goes to Rachel Arocho, Ph.D., CFLE, SFHEA, associate professor of Family Science and department chair of social & behavioral sciences at Utah Valley University. The judging panel was impressed by how Dr. Arocho has implemented metacognition and principles of game-based learning [through Qualtrics] to encourage intrinsic motivation and positive affect in her courses, especially in research methods. Recognizing that students are generally not enthused to take research methods, Dr. Arocho applied a metacognitive framework, building in steady formative feedback and opportunities for students to reflect. These opportunities built her students’ appreciation for why research is important and confidence in conducting meaningful research.

During the pandemic, Dr. Arocho programmed an online, instant-feedback game for her research methods course, incorporating fun challenges and personalized learnings—hallmarks of game-based learning. Dr. Arocho has presented the games she’s developed to her university and professional community, which has resulted in new professional relationships and dissemination of innovative teaching practices. Students remarked about Dr. Arocho's approach, seeing it as a new toolkit for research. Her passion and the way in which she prepares the course encourages her students to learn, changed their view of research and opened them up to its relevancy. Dr. Arocho is recognized for creating and nurturing an environment that encourages students to learn and feel at ease sharing their ideas.

The panel believes Dr. Arocho’s innovative teaching methods will inspire family studies students to recognize and embrace the power of conducting research and contributing to existing scholarship in the discipline.

To learn more about the recipients' unique contributions and innovations, read their profiles on the Cognella website.