Our robust list of conference speakers is supported by a diverse group of Emotional Ingelligence practitioners and collegiate staff who will be presenting posters and sharing their EI expertise on the evening of October 2.

Building Emotional Intelligence in Freshman Students
Barbara Kirkwood and Susan Keck

When students fail, it is not because they don’t have the intelligence to do course work in college, but more often because they lack basic skills related to Emotional Intelligence. They become overly critical of themselves, or blame others for their failure. Introducing college students to EI can improve student success and persistence by encouraging systematic personal evaluation and supporting students through their coursework and into the world of work.

Barbara Kirkwood and Susan Keck present results from a study at IPFW examining remediation vs. a course on EI, demonstrating strategies to help students find their inner locus of control, motivate themselves, recognize emotions that drive their behaviors, and learn a more productive means to accomplish their goals.

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Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement in Higher Education
Felicia Bradshaw

There is a growing demand by stakeholders in academic institutions to demonstrate accountability and transparency in terms of institutional goals and student learning outcomes. As educators become more reliant on academic activities as a means to achieving curricular and institutional goals, there is a greater emphasis on outcome indicators in the realm of Emotional Intelligence and academic achievement. Felicia Bradshaw provides curriculum development, teaching strategies, advising techniques, and service learning modalities grounded in the philosophy of Emotional Intelligence, fostering discussion on emotional and social competencies that are directly related to field experience and international travel courses. The transformation of student experiences in emotional and social competencies, resulting from classroom and experiential learning activities, may be captured through a template for guided reflection that provides a clear structure for self-exploration and assessment.

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement in Undergraduate Students
Sveltiana Holt

Sveltiana Holt shares the results of empirical research illustrating the relationship between the academic success of community college students in Southern California and their levels of Emotional Intelligence, as measured by Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. This analysis illustrates the contribution of EI to cognitive abilities and academic performance. Using proven quantitative tools, the research suggests the necessity of adding EI assessment to the admissions process and discusses how incorporating EI training into secondary education curricula benefits the students.

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Leadership: An exploratory Study of College and University Presidents
Corina N. Mihai

Corina N. Mihai presents a study on Emotional Intelligence and academic leadership and its findings, including data on the total EQ-i scores and demographic data for each college and university president, as well as key findings from interviews on the relationship between effective leadership and EQ. Mihai also shares external data relevant to effective leadership within higher education institutions.

Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Learning Styles
Estelle Codier

Cognitive Learning Style has been of increasing interest in academic settings as a way of focusing teaching methodologies on demonstrated learning capabilities of students. One such learning style model, the KOLB Model, focuses on emotional processes and learning phenomena. Estelle Codier presents the results of a pilot research study whose goal was to explore the relationship between cognitive learning styles and EI in a population of Masters level Health Care students. Codier discusses the findings of the study with an exploration of the implications of further study on EI and Cognitive Learning Style.

Emotional Intelligence and Student Success in the Workplace
John Liptak

Employers are growing increasingly concerned about the skill gaps in students looking for employment upon graduation. Recent studies reinforce the notion that employers are very interested in the Emotional Intelligence skills possessed by college graduates. Therefore, many universities are now beginning to educate students using a broad, holistic approach that combines “hard” subject-related knowledge and skills with “soft” EI skills. John Liptak presents research which indicates that higher education professionals need to teach EI skills to students transitioning into the workplace, demonstrates the use of the Job Survival and Success Scale, and explores the results of a Radford University study on the Emotional Intelligence skills of college students entering the workplace. Liptak also illustrates how Radford University is beginning to teach EI skills to students transitioning into the workplace.

Emotional Intelligence Assessment in an Architectural Engineering Curriculum
Angela Lewis, Robert Leicht and David Riley

Typically an engineering curriculum is focused largely on technical matters and problem solving. However, as students participate in team projects and enter into the industry, “soft skills” become more important. These needs are underscored by shifts in the construction industry to the more team-oriented and collaborative business models required to deliver green buildings. Unfortunately, students and industry members alike find that under-developed soft skills can be a detriment to the success of individuals and project teams. One way to teach soft skills is through teaching Emotional Intelligence competencies. Angela Lewis, Robert Leicht, and David Riley use EI concepts to develop a composite EI mapping diagram which combines the work of Goleman, Bar-On, Darnell, and Magent. The mapping diagram helps to develop a common language between the fields of Psychology, Architectural Engineering, and Construction Management. Lewis, Leicht, and Riley provide an overview of recent developments within Penn State’s Department of Architectural Engineering to research the benefits of Emotional Intelligence to students.

Emotional Intelligence in Nursing: Inside the Student Mind
Lisa Ball

Lisa Ball exhibits preliminary findings from her mixed method grounded theory study aimed at generating a new Emotional Intelligence model. This model explains the use of EI in nursing by a sample of 27 nursing students enrolled in an accelerated baccalaureate of science program. Data collected include rich, qualitative data from individual and focus group interviews, and demographical EI scores based on the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso EI Test. Learning objectives relate to developing an awareness of the applications of EI. Implications for student success in higher education and further research in this area will be discussed.

Emotional Intelligence, Learner Autonomy, and Online Ph.D. Retention
Jane Waddell

Research regarding the retention of online students has been limited to undergraduate and master’s level students. However, less than 50% of online doctoral candidates will complete the program. Therefore, it benefits college administrators to identify barriers to successful completion of doctoral programs. This pilot study was developed to determine whether the Emotional Intelligence (as measured by the EQ-i) of online doctoral students was above average as compared with the general population, and there were statistically significant relationships found between EQ-i and Learner Autonomy Profile (LAP) scores of online doctoral students. Jane Waddell conducts a data analysis of EQ-i and LAP scores revealing significant correlations between the scales.

Emotional Intelligence Principles and Application to Create Classroom Engagement
Lori LaCivita, Will Wilson, and Donna DiMatteo-Gibson

Academic achievement continues to be an area of concern and focus. The development of faculty is one of the more effective ways to enhance academic achievement through faculty evaluation and performance. An optimal learning climate, established through engagement and an enhanced sense of community, has been shown to drastically improve academic achievement in the classroom. Faculty development based on Emotional Intelligence principles and application provides the opportunity for faculty to develop these highly engaged classrooms, providing a compelling methodology for faculty, organizational, and systemic growth and change.

Integrating Emotional Intelligence Curricula in Fluency Disorders Courses
Isabella K. Reichel

Isabella K. Reichel describes how an Emotional Intelligence curriculum was integrated into her three fluency disorders graduate courses, discussing the rationale for exploring the EI construct in graduate courses. Reichel presents the content of the curriculum (which includes conceptual framework, models of EI, EI in the management of stress and anxiety, and cognitive-emotional interactions) and discusses the outcome of EI training in graduate classes.

Promoting Emotional Intelligence: A Graduate Level Curriculum
Paulette Couf and Nicole Brown

Paulette Couf and Nicole Brown present a curriculum based on the five factors of the Widener Emotional Learning Survey (WELS), a self-report Emotional Intelligence questionnaire developed at Widener University. These factors are Awareness of Emotions in Self and Others, Perspective Taking and Behavioral Flexibility, Tolerance, Relationship Skills, and Self Management. The curriculum incorporates didactic and experiential activities drawn from the literature on social and Emotional Intelligence, as well as educational resources and peer-reviewed journals. While this curriculum has not been implemented yet, plans are underway to employ it in the near future, and preliminary results will be discussed. After attending this presentation, attendees will understand the WELS model of EI; will learn about ways in which EI can be enhanced; and will be able to apply these enhancement strategies in other institutions.

Self-Awareness & MBA’s: The Foundation for Emotional Intelligence Development
Rebecca Haskett

Leading MBA programs are recognizing the importance of developing the Emotional Intelligence of students. Rebecca Haskett provides an overview of a successful method to incorporate EI development into the curriculum of an MBA program or corporate training program.

Social and Emotional Learning in Freshman Seminars
Jenny Wyatt and Geraldine Bloemker

Jenny Wyatt and Geraldine Bloemker present five factors of social and emotional learning that have been integrated into an existing Freshman Seminar curriculum for greater student success in higher education. Freshman Seminars help students transition into college by teaching academic and social success skills. Social and emotional learning is readily integrated into the framework of a Freshman Seminar course as a means to enhance student success in academic and social settings.

Student Retention and Success
Tamira Harris

Nursing School faculty noted that students who received grades of C- or lower in the sciences had difficulty in achieving academic success in the didactic portion of the nursing program. Students experienced difficulty in transitioning from learning via rote memorization to engaging in critical thinking and often could not transition between first, second, and third year course levels. This prompted faculty to review options and develop a series of actions designed to facilitate student success. Tamira Harris discusses how undergraduate nursing faculty used an EI framework to develop a strategic plan for facilitating student success and program completion.

Successful Transitions: Using EI to Make the Successful Leap from High School Classroom to College Dorm Room
Bob Anderson

Bob Anderson presents critical EI success factors for high school seniors making the transition to college. By identifying pressures and demands facing the college freshman, Bob demonstrates the intra- and interpersonal EI skills that can make or break the first year college experience. Using six years of post-freshman experience from students he has served as Dean of Students, Bob will inspire any professor, parent, dorm leader, coach, or administrator involved with college freshman to use the theories, ideas, and skills from this session to improve the academic, social, and athletic effectiveness of college freshmen everywhere.

Supporting Leadership Capacity – Building in the Community Services Sector
Rose-Marie Nigli and Luna Ramkhalawansingh

The Emerging Leaders Program participants are diverse in terms of their racial and ethnic backgrounds, educational and employment histories, and life experiences. They also represent a wide spectrum of community service agencies in the Greater Toronto Area. Leaders who are high in EI seem to be better equipped to develop stronger teams, to communicate more effectively with others, and to build a real social fabric within their agency. Over the course of the program these Emerging Leaders learn and grow together as a community, illustrating how both technical and emotional abilities add value in the workplace. They also show by example how leaders must be able to think accurately and clearly about emotions in order to anticipate, cope with, and effectively manage constant change.

The Emotional Quotient of Student Leadership
Elizabeth Templeman and Cindy James

Elizabeth Templeman and Cindy James share early results of their research on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and student leadership effectiveness of students in the context of an SI-type program of academic support. Also included is new data which addresses the effect of leadership upon a student’s EI. Templeman and James share their research design and methodology, along with the initial findings, and will discuss potential implications and benefits of their findings.

The Most Dominant Emotional Intelligence Abilities and Skills of Project Managers
Grazyna Maria Gasiorowska

Grazyna Maria Gasiorowska presents a study investigating what type of Emotional Intelligence abilities and skills are dominant in the professional life of experienced project managers. Two specific questions were posed:
1. What are the most dominant EI abilities of highly experienced project managers according to MSCEIT outcomes?
2. What are the most dominant EI skills of highly experienced project managers according to EQ-i outcomes?

The Role of EQ in Dealing with Low Academic Performance on a Post-Graduate Level
Fredelene Elie and Tshepiso Matentjie

Prospective students for the Bachelors Degree in Educational Psychology Honors program (Bed Psych. Hon) go through a rigorous selection process. High caliber students are selected based on academic achievement, life-experience, and personal attributes. But despite their high academic achievement during their undergraduate program, the feedback they recieve through the formative assessment process at the post-graduate level is usually a shock to them, as their academic performance drops due to the demands of the BEd Psych. Hon program. An added dimension to this dilemma is that students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds display even higher levels of challenges with this program and therefore higher drop–out rates.

Fredelene Elie and Tshepiso Matentjie contemplate EQ’s role in facilitating academic resilience in post-graduate students. A comparative case study analyzing the EQ competencies of post-graduate students who cope with the program as well as those who experience difficulty is presented, concluding with an argument for the necessity of incorporating EQ into the formal training and supervision of both undergraduate and post-graduate students.