Open Textbooks

The Open Textbook collection includes open textbooks created by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty. It includes works created for classes taught at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga developed as a part of the Affordable Course Materials Initiative, as well as works developed by faculty independently.

Creating Open Textbooks increases the lasting impact of your work by facilitating discovery and re-use. If you would like to deposit Open Textbooks in UTC Scholar, please contact or email directly.

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[Coming Soon: Exploring Diversity with Statistics: Step-by-step Jamovi Guides]

Ruth Walker

These resources were created to complement our undergraduate statistics lab manual, Applied Data Analysis in Psychology: Exploring Diversity with Statistics, published by Kendall Hunt publishing company. Like our lab manual, these Jamovi walk-through guides meaningfully and purposefully integrate and highlight diversity research to teach students how to analyze data in an open-source statistical program. The data sets utilized in these guides are from open-access databases (e.g., Pew Research Center, PLoS One, ICPSR, and more). Guides with step-by-step instructions, including annotated images and examples of how to report findings in APA format, are included for the following statistical tests: independent samples t test, paired samples t test, one-way ANOVA, two factor ANOVA, chi-square test, Pearson correlation, simple regression, and multiple regression. Additionally, you will find instructor resources added with our Summer 2023 update. Please feel free to use our added instructor PowerPoint slides highlighting additional research focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion topics. If you are new to incorporating diversity-focused research, you may benefit from some of the resources shared in our newly added instructor resources list. If you are interested in partnering with us to adapt these resources for other statistical software programs, have suggestions for revisions or additions, or would like additional information on how to best integrate these materials into your courses, please contact ruth-walker@utc.edu
Playing the policy game: basic knowledge and skills for effective policy process participation

Marcus D. Mauldin

Many of us have likely heard the expression “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Yet, it is the people who are often excluded from the public policy process. Citizen engagement is typically reactive rather than proactive and passive as opposed to active. Voting and protesting are not the only ways that governments hear the voices of the people. Voting allows citizens to choose individuals who represent their interests, yet their interests are not always represented in ways they desire. Protesting brings attention to issues but doesn’t always lead to problems being solved. This book aims to empower readers to be active participants in the policy process rather than centering elected officials, appointed officials or bureaucrats as the only sources of policy power. This book is written in the spirit of equity. In order to have equitable public policies the voices of those who are impacted by these policies need to be heard as “gaps exist between the services governments deliver and what citizens want or need” (Mintrom & Luetjens, 2018, pg. 122). This is not simply a matter of contributing to policy discourse, but perhaps more importantly, a matter of contributing to the design, development and evaluation of public policy. Further, it is about holding policy makers and other decision makers accountable for their actions and the results of the actions. This book draws from lessons learned from my practical experiences, teaching and research. It is my hope that it equips those on the front lines of public policy and social equity with the tools needed to be effective producers and consumers of public policy ideas.
Simulation scenarios for nurse practitioner educators: A faculty guide

Priscilla Simms-Roberson, Amber Roache, Jenny Holcombe, Laurie Allen, Farron Kilburn, Leslie Moro, Megan England, and Natalie Owsley

Simulation provides a safe environment for students to practice clinical and communication skills needed in advanced practice nursing. Faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) formally incorporated simulation into the nurse practitioner (NP) program curriculum. The UTC NP simulation program was developed utilizing the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM, Simulation Guidelines and Best Practices for Nurse Practitioner Programs, and the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) Standards of Best Practice (SOBP) (International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning [INACSL], 2021; Lewis, 2017; Lioce et al., 2020a). The 15 simulation scenarios were developed and integrated into the UTC NP program curriculum plan to ensure consistency and standardization across faculty members and cohorts. The purpose of this text is to share the logistics and scenarios of the UTC NP simulation program so that other NP programs can implement similar plans. This text provides 15 complete simulation scenarios in a template format for the following populations: pediatric, women, and adult. Also included in this text are how to conduct pre-briefing and debriefing sessions, faculty planning for pre- and postsimulation, faculty and student evaluation tools, and incorporating simulated patient actors (SPAs). It is the intent of the authors that those using this text will be able to incorporate the simulation scenarios and other content into their NP programs to help students meet learning objectives and practice clinical and communication skills using a variety of patient situations.
Strategies for Early Learners

D.R. Meece

Welcome to learning about how to effectively plan curriculum for young children. This textbook will address: • Developing curriculum through the planning cycle • Theories that inform what we know about how children learn and the best ways for teachers to support learning • The three components of developmentally appropriate practice • Importance and value of play and intentional teaching • Different models of curriculum • Process of lesson planning (documenting planned experiences for children) • Physical, temporal, and social environments that set the stage for children’s learning • Appropriate guidance techniques to support children’s behaviors as the self-regulation abilities mature. • Planning for preschool-aged children in specific domains including o Physical development o Language and literacy o Math o Science o Creative (the visual and performing arts) o Diversity (social science and history) o Health and safety • Making children’s learning visible through documentation and assessment
What Can I do with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology?

Ruth Walker and Drew C. Appleby

This poster presents a list of common job titles for students who have graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology. The original poster dimensions are 48"x36".
Exploring Diversity with Statistics: Step-by-step JASP Guides

Ruth Walker, Ashlyn Moraine, Hannah Osborn, Kristen J. Black, Asia Palmer, Kendra Scott, Leigh Humphrey, Julie Madden, and Erin Prince

These resources were created to complement our undergraduate statistics lab manual, Applied Data Analysis in Psychology: Exploring Diversity with Statistics, published by Kendall Hunt publishing company. Like our lab manual, these JASP walk-through guides meaningfully and purposefully integrate and highlight diversity research to teach students how to analyze data in an open-source statistical program. The data sets utilized in these guides are from open-access databases (e.g., Pew Research Center, PLoS One, ICPSR, and more). Guides with step-by-step instructions, including annotated images and examples of how to report findings in APA format, are included for the following statistical tests: independent samples t test, paired samples t test, one-way ANOVA, two factor ANOVA, chi-square test, Pearson correlation, simple regression, and multiple regression. Additionally, you will find instructor resources added with our Summer 2023 update. Please feel free to use our added instructor PowerPoint slides highlighting additional research focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion topics. If you are new to incorporating diversity-focused research, you may benefit from some of the resources shared in our newly added instructor resources list. If you are interested in partnering with us to adapt these resources for other statistical software programs, have suggestions for revisions or additions, or would like additional information on how to best integrate these materials into your courses, please contact ruth-walker@utc.edu
Teacher's guide to using literature to promote inclusion of people with disabilities

Bruce Menchetti

The Teacher’s Guide to Using Literature to Promote Inclusion of People with Disabilities has been designed to assist teachers who wish to use literature to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. The Guide consists of two parts. Part 1 is a rubric for evaluating how short stories, books, poems, TV programs, movies, digital media, and other forms of literature portray characters with disabilities. Part 2 of the Teacher’s Guide to Using Literature to Promote Inclusion of People with Disabilities is a curriculum guide with learning objectives, lesson activities, and strategies for outcome evaluation. The curriculum guide is a resource for teachers who wish to design lessons using literature to teach about disabilities.
A quick, free, somewhat easy-to-read introduction to empirical social science research methods

Christopher S. Horne

A free, brief textbook to introduce students to the core concepts of empirical social science research methods. This textbook has been used as the main textbook in an undergraduate social science research methods course (supplemented by many in-class exercises and research reports) and as the basis of a review in preparation for graduate-level study in research methods and program evaluation. A note to instructors: If you use this text in any way, whether as the primary text, a supplemental text, or a recommended resource, I ask only two small favors: (1) When you make it available to students, please always include a link back to the text’s download site, https://scholar.utc.edu/oer/1/. While you are free to download and distribute the text under the Creative Commons 4.0 license, my preference is that you point students to this website to download it themselves. Seeing the download numbers tick up is a treat, and I plan to add additional appendices over time, so the download file will be updated occasionally. (2) Please send me a quick email at Christopher-Horne@utc.edu letting me know you’re using it. I welcome your feedback as well. Thank you, and best wishes for successful research methods instruction.