2025 NELNE Fall Conference and Annual Meeting - "Educator as Guide: Brain Science-Based Teaching Approaches to Help Learners Reach Summits of Practice Readiness"

Dr. Michelle Moulton serves as an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in the Master’s Entry into Nursing Program. Dr. Moulton celebrates over 22 years in nursing and 14 years of academic teaching experience at the state and national level. At the national level, Dr. Moulton served as the Senior Manager at the National League for Nursing (NLN) in Washington D.C. and collaborated with global partners to develop teaching and learning strategies that provide novice nurses opportunities to rehearse and advance clinical judgement and decision-making in the context of complex patient care. Dr. Moulton’s doctoral work focused on implementing simulation-based education to improve nurses’ response to patient deterioration using situational awareness skills. In all roles, Dr. Moulton strives to co- create a psychologically safe environment and promote transformational and durable learning experiences that translate to nursing practice excellence.

Dr. Onello is recognized nationally as an expert in evidence-based teaching practices grounded in the cognitive science of learning. Her work in shaping the development, facilitation, and evaluation of national faculty development initiatives has contributed to advancing the art and science of good teaching across learning environments. With a focus on educational design, Dr. Onello seeks to build nurse educators’ skills in implementing best practices of teaching and learning that transforms student thinking and promotes excellence in teaching. She has taught in baccalaureate, entry-level master’s, and graduate programs since 2008, focusing on designing, implementing, and evaluating didactic, clinical, and simulation-based education. She teaches across online, classroom, and clinical learning environments, integrating evidence-based neuroscience principles in teaching and learning pedagogy with a focus on psychological safety. Dr. Onello received training in psychological safety, simulation, and debriefing through Harvard’s Center for Medical Simulation and the Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation, Education, and Research.