Areas of Expertise
Test Development
Having been in education for over 20 years, Dr. Schroeder has worked with many nursing programs and in her own classes to perfect principles of test development based on evidenced-based practice.
Test Analysis
Once test are administered - it is important for faculty to be able to collect data from each question as well as the over test on reliability and validity. Dr. Schroeder confirmed her knowledge about test analysis by successfully passing the Nurse Educator Certification administered through the National League of Nursing. She has also provided training to nursing faculty throughout the nation on these concepts.
Consulting Services
Because of her vast experience in curriculum development and testing, Dr. Schroeder brings to nursing programs the opportunity for a wide variety of training to nursing program directors and faculty
Item writing
Having been an item writer for NCLEX and on the review board for NCLEX as well. She is currently being trained for item writing for Next Gen testing for NCLEX. She has assisted many nursing programs on best practices for item writing to prepare students for course exams and for standardized testing.
Teaching Online
Dr. Schroeder completing courses in her PhD studies at Capella University on concepts of effective online teaching, She then took those principles and applied them to courses taught through Colorado Community College Online (CCCOnline) where she has been an instructor and course developer for over 15 years. She also applied those principles in the development of an aging course taught online to Platt College School of Nursing BSN students. After that she took those principles to Regis University’s nursing program where she taught and was course resource faculty for the graduate online MS program.
Learning about NGN
Next Generation NCLEX and Clinical Judgment are two terms that are moving nursing ahead in both the educational settings and in the clinical setting. The NGN questions will appear in the 2023 NCLEX examination, so it is imperative that nursing programs begin the process of training faculty about incorporating this into didactic, and clinical settings. Dr. Schroeder has trained nursing faculty at Regis University on this process and has written NGN test questions for a national publishing company. She has attended workshops and conferences to become proficient in this process.
Student Success
As a Retention Coordinator for a Community College nursing program, she worked with at-risk students on test taking and succeeding in nursing school through the development of learning modules for each of these topics. She also conducted Student Success workshops for 1st semester students where they learned these principles. .Dr. Schroeder has published an article that confirmed the use of higher level learning questions will improve student success on NCLEX.
Writing Testing Guidelines
One of the things developed through the completion of her dissertation was the creation of a Testing Guidelines Manual for nursing programs to use to guide new and current faculty in the program’s processes of testing - both internal/course testing and external/standardized testing. The guidelines serve also as a training tool for new faculty. Many workshops have been provided to nursing schools and at national conferences on the process of writing a Testing Guidelines Manual. A template for the Testing Guidelines is available for purchase on this website.
Creating a business
The startup and small business marketplace is still a new and fierce frontier that can be daunting to newcomers. As an experienced entrepreneur, Dr. Schroeder has created two successful consulting business during her career as a nurse educator. Her first business led to having 10 employees and provided continuing education programs for nurses across the state of Kansas. Her second business venture led to consulting with nursing programs across the United States on testing and other needs. She would be glad to share her experiences with you.