NU Editorial Contributors
National University Editorial Contributors include writers, editors, and academic professionals who are experts in creating high-quality educational content that is timely, accurate, informative, and easy to understand. All contributors who develop content for National University follow strict guidelines to ensure they provide credible and authoritative information that is independent, free from advertiser influence, and aligns with the high standards our readers and students expect from National University.
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Articles by NU Editorial Contributors
- October 12, 2021
The California Teacher Shortage and COVID-19
Years before pandemic restrictions upturned the U.S. education industry, California was already struggling with a state-wide teacher shortage that even today remains frequently cited as one of the nation’s worst. However, the socioeconomic devastation wrought by COVID-19 — which has, as of March 2021, claimed more lives in California than any other U.S. state — ...
- October 5, 2021
SEL for Middle School Teachers
Social Emotional Learning for middle schoolers must account for the rapid physical and emotional changes of early adolescence, making targeted SEL strategies that build emotional vocabulary, stress regulation, and empathy particularly important during this developmental stage, organized around the five CASEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
- September 30, 2021
Why is Leadership Important in Business Administration?
Leadership is the force in business administration that converts strategy into execution, providing the vision, alignment, and motivation that determine whether an organization achieves its goals or fails to coordinate effectively around them. Research consistently shows that leadership quality is the single most significant driver of employee engagement.
- September 28, 2021
Skills Needed to Be an Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurial success depends on a combination of strategic, commercial, and interpersonal skills that allow founders to identify opportunities, build resilience through setbacks, and scale organizations effectively. The four skill clusters: core adaptability (problem-solving, resilience, and the capacity to test and pivot quickly); commercial acumen (sales, financial literacy, and marketing); people and leadership skills (communication, networking, and delegation); and strategic management (time management and long-term vision).
- September 23, 2021
7 Autism Behavior and Communication Strategies
Effective autism behavior and communication strategies are grounded in one foundational principle: all behavior is a form of communication, and challenging behaviors most often signal an unmet need, for sensory relief, task avoidance, attention, or a way to express something the individual cannot yet articulate verbally. Evidence-based communication strategies include honoring all forms of communication (gestures, sounds, AAC devices, and picture systems) as equally valid to spoken language; applying the 6-to-10-second processing rule, waiting at least six to ten seconds after a prompt before repeating, to reduce pressure and allow full processing; keeping language clear and direct while avoiding sarcasm and multi-step instructions; and using visual supports such as schedules and picture aids to reduce anxiety and clarify expectations.
September 21, 20214 Best Teaching Strategies for Students with Autism
Effective teaching strategies for students with autism center on creating predictability, reducing sensory overload, and tailoring communication to how autistic students process information, accommodations that lower anxiety and increase academic engagement without requiring separate curriculum. Five evidence-based instructional strategies are most consistently supported: visual schedules using picture cards, charts, or digital tools to communicate routines and reduce transition anxiety; concrete and direct language that avoids figurative expressions and breaks complex tasks into smaller sequenced steps; the 6-second rule, waiting at least six seconds after a verbal prompt before repeating, to allow full processing without pressure; structured work systems that organize physical classroom space to minimize distractions and clarify task expectations; and integration of the student's special interests into lessons and reward systems to sustain motivation and engagement.
September 21, 2021Reading Improves Memory, Concentration, and Stress
Regular reading produces measurable cognitive and emotional benefits, improving memory, building concentration, and reducing stress, through neurological mechanisms that researchers have documented across multiple study designs. A recent study found that just six minutes of reading reduced participants' stress levels by up to 68%, more effectively than listening to music, taking a walk, or drinking tea, by engaging the imagination and slowing the heart rate and muscle tension associated with stress.
September 15, 2021Multimedia Design Principles: What Are They, How to Use Them
Multimedia design principles are evidence-based guidelines derived primarily from cognitive science, specifically Richard Mayer's 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning, that dictate how to present information through combinations of words and visuals to maximize learning and minimize cognitive overload. The principles organize into three categories: reducing extraneous processing (Coherence, Signaling, Redundancy, Spatial Contiguity, and Temporal Contiguity principles), which eliminate unnecessary elements and keep related words and images physically and temporally aligned; managing essential processing (Segmenting, Pre-training, and Modality principles), which break information into learnable chunks, establish prerequisite knowledge, and present words as audio narration rather than on-screen text when accompanied by graphics; and fostering generative processing (Multimedia, Personalization, Voice, and Image principles), which encourage deeper engagement through word-and-graphic combinations, conversational tone, and natural human narration.
- September 14, 2021
Healthcare and Cybersecurity
The number of reported healthcare breaches is significant, and even just one breach of a person’s confidential medical records could reasonably be considered alarming. In 2019 there were 41.2 million healthcare records exposed, wrapped up in 505 data breaches that crossed industries and regions. The cost of each breach, according to an IBM report, was ...
- September 2, 2021
The Psychology of Business
Business psychology applies psychological science to the workplace and marketplace, improving productivity, employee satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, and consumer decision-making by integrating behavioral science with organizational and business strategy. The field organizes into three primary domains: industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology, which focuses on employee motivation, team dynamics, leadership development, and organizational culture; consumer psychology, which uses cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to understand how customers make decisions, respond to messaging, and build brand loyalty; and entrepreneurial psychology, which helps business owners identify cognitive blind spots, manage decision-making under pressure, and develop the growth mindset needed to navigate uncertainty.
- August 31, 2021
How to Be a Creative Leader
Creative leadership is less about generating the best ideas yourself and more about building the conditions where others can do their best creative work, shifting from individual contributor to environment architect.
- August 26, 2021
What is Creative Leadership?
No business, team, or organization can thrive without effective leadership — and to maximize their efficacy, leaders must think, act, and problem-solve creatively. As we will explore in this article, leaders who are able to successfully innovate and “think outside the box” often reap career and financial benefits, while simultaneously fostering personal growth in their ...
- August 24, 2021
What is EdTech (Education Technology)?
A sports psychology degree applies psychological principles to athletic performance, motivation, mental resilience, and injury recovery, with career pathways that vary significantly depending on the credential level pursued. A bachelor's degree provides foundational knowledge in psychology and kinesiology for entry-level roles in coaching and sports administration; a master's degree enables graduates to pursue the Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) credential through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), the gold standard for non-clinical performance consulting work with athletes, performing artists, and executives; and a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) is required to use the title "psychologist," diagnose and treat clinical mental health conditions, and hold licensure for independent practice.
- August 19, 2021
Types of Psychological Therapy
Psychological therapy, also called psychotherapy, is an evidence-based treatment in which a client works collaboratively with a licensed mental health professional to identify and change troubling thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, with the goal of alleviating symptoms, building coping skills, and improving overall functioning. The American Psychological Association recognizes more than 50 distinct therapeutic approaches, though research consistently identifies a small number of modalities as having the strongest and broadest evidence base across presenting concerns.
- August 17, 2021
Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist: What’s the Difference?
The core difference is medical training and prescribing authority: a psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD or DO) who can diagnose and treat mental health conditions through a combination of therapy, medication, and medical interventions, while a psychologist holds a doctoral degree in psychology (PhD or PsyD) and focuses primarily on psychotherapy, psychological testing, and behavioral interventions. Psychiatrists complete medical school and a four-year psychiatry residency, approximately eight to ten years of postgraduate training, and because they attend medical school alongside future surgeons and physicians, they are trained to understand the whole body before specializing in mental health.
August 10, 2021Helping Students Overcome Social Anxiety in School [Updated 2026]
Helping a student with social anxiety at school requires a coordinated approach across school, home, and the student's own coping toolkit, with gradual exposure to social situations being consistently more effective than avoidance, which reinforces anxiety over time.
- August 3, 2021
ABA Psychology and Autism
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a psychology-based therapy widely used to support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), applying learning theory to improve communication, build essential life skills, and reduce challenging behaviors through positive reinforcement and individualized intervention plans designed and supervised by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs).
July 30, 2021What is Sociological Imagination?
Sociological imagination is the ability to connect personal experiences to broader social, historical, and structural forces, seeing how individual circumstances are shaped by the society and historical moment in which a person lives. The concept was coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills, who argued that neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be fully understood without understanding both together.