Beyond the Lecture: Advancing Critical Thinking at Lewis University

The Program

The Radiography program at Lewis University has changed hands twice in the past three years. In 2021, the program’s long-time home, Resurrection University, became Oak Point University. When Oak Point University abruptly closed in April 2024, Lewis University absorbed the Radiography program. Despite this journey, the two-year program awards an average of 20 B.S. degrees each year and maintains 100% program completion and job placement rates.

“The videos do a fantastic job of explaining complex concepts in a succinct and interesting manner. No matter where students are in the program, Clover has something for them.” - Jennifer Beese, MSRS, RT(R)(ARRT), Assistant Professor of Radiologic Sciences at Lewis University.

The Challenge

Build students' critical thinking skills without burning out educators.

Located in Oak Brook, a suburb of Chicago, the Radiography program of Lewis University attracts a diverse mix of learners. Some are recent graduates from associate programs, while others are adult learners looking for a career change. Despite their differences in age and life stage, these students often find critical thinking to be a challenge and find it difficult to extrapolate concepts learned in class to new scenarios. Program educators work diligently to support their students, and this effort shows in the program’s 96% first-time registry exam pass rate. But overtaxing faculty risks burnout and attrition in program staff, jeopardizing the success of their students.

The Solution

Integrate Clover Learning to provide new perspectives asynchronously.

Jennifer Beese, MSRS, RT(R)(ARRT), understands both sides of this equation. After graduating from what was then Resurrection University’s Radiography program, Beese remained connected to the program, first as a tutor, then as adjunct faculty, and now as an Assistant Professor. She has seen first hand the impact of Clover Learning’s engaging, byte-sized video lessons on both the program’s students and faculty. She recalls, “From tutor to teacher, I would have been lost without Clover!”

In 2018, during its days as Resurrection University, the Radiography program faculty began integrating Clover Learning into their registry review course to address individual learning gaps. But by the time Beese joined the faculty two years later, the benefits for students were so great that instructors began integrating Clover Learning into every course.

Now, students watch Clover Learning video lessons after most lectures and complete the short, post-lesson quizzes to reinforce or dig deeper into topics discussed in class. Her students like the flexibility of being able to re-watch any lesson, pause it, and revisit difficult concepts outside of synchronous class time. Beese specifically highlights how the explanations included with the quiz questions help students look at the material in a new light.

“If they can read why this is the right answer or the wrong answer, it helps them remember that - yes, they did learn it, but the question is having them focus on the material or look at it in a different way.”

The Result

Personalized support without 1:1 tutoring.

Clover Learning has made it possible for Beese and her colleagues to provide students with individualized support without adding to their prep time. “A lot of students will come to the next class and say that they didn’t understand the lecture - I refer them back to a Clover video first before I re-explain it to them, and then they get it.” Beese also saves some of the video lessons, especially on topics related to Image Production, for individualized remedial work if students don’t pass a quiz or exam. Clover Learning’s video lessons have also been a helpful resource for program instructors to refresh their knowledge on specific topics from time to time.

The Future

Time saved developing registry mock exams and tracking student performance.

Beese is excited about the potential for Clover Learning to save Lewis University’s Radiography faculty even more time with the rollout of new ARRT-style Radiography mock exams and data reporting features. As one of the co-instructors for the registry review course, Beese describes the significant time instructors spend developing mock registry exams and tracking student performance data from their attempts. In June, Clover Learning launched a brand new bank of ARRT-style Radiography exam prep questions and two new mock exams, all prepared by leaders in the Radiography education field. This November, Clover Learning will also release a revamped version of its reporting tool, Pulse, that will provide an easy and intuitive way for educators to track student progress data.

Jessica Silverman

Chief Learning Officer