The foundational knowledge built in a pediatrics course requires nursing students to learn developmental milestones, common childhood conditions, safe decision‑making, and much more. As Florida International University (FIU) faculty took students through this content, they wrestled with a recurring problem: Traditional learning resources were so dense that students weren’t using them.

Prior to summer 2025, FIU relied on a pediatrics content platform that provided an electronic text with videos and lesson plans. The material was fragmented and lengthy, and students struggled with it.

As Ivette Hidalgo, PhD, APRN, PPCNP‑BC, Vice Chair of Undergraduate Nursing and Lead Faculty for Pediatrics at FIU, described it: “The chapters were 35 to 37 pages long. It was information overload.”

This mismatch between content and real-life learning needs took a toll. Students did not consistently complete readings, Dr. Hidalgo said. They defaulted to relying on instructors’ PowerPoints, which pushed classroom time toward lecture and limited the opportunities to apply knowledge.

Taking a Streamlined, Active-Learning Approach

In 2025, Dr. Hidalgo sought a more streamlined pediatric content resource that focused on what students truly need and avoided extra content that diluted attention and increased cognitive load.

She talked with fellow faculty about their experience with the Engage Series, which was already in use for the Fundamentals, Adult Medical-Surgical, and Mental Health courses at FIU. Dr. Hidalgo decided to pilot ATI Engage Pediatrics in summer 2025.

During the pilot, Dr. Hidalgo worked through the modules alongside students to confirm that the content was clear and explained information adequately. She found it concise and specific, with built‑in checks for understanding, and praised it for supporting information retention. FIU fully implemented Engage Pediatrics the following semester.

From Module to Classroom: Active Learning in Action

As she integrated Engage Pediatrics, Dr. Hidalgo introduced a flipped classroom model to help ensure students arrived prepared. A primary goal was to spend the majority of class time applying and reinforcing learning.

She provided three examples of how she achieved this:

• Preclass preparation with Engage modules. Students complete Engage modules before class and receive credit for that reading. Dr. Hidalgo follows ATI-recommended time expectations to reinforce accountability for preparation.
• Low‑stakes knowledge checks. At the start of class, students take a 10‑question quiz based on assigned Engage module content. This quick checkpoint creates immediate feedback loops for both students and faculty, Dr. Hidalgo said.
• Brief lecture followed by active learning. Dr. Hidalgo gives a short, targeted lecture and follows it with active learning activities such as a case study or Kahoot game.

Faculty Support and Time Savings

Transitioning to full implementation of Engage Pediatrics was seamless. Dr. Hidalgo said the faculty resources provided in Engage Pediatrics help educators increase student engagement without adding significant prep time.

“Engage provides us with case studies and the answers — everything is pretty much planned out,” she said. “These teaching resources are a helpful starting point that save faculty time.”

Engage provides embedded remediation and comprehensive, proactive faculty support. This includes expert-led onboarding, ready-to-use teaching tools, and real-time insights. This high level of support and resources frees instructors to devote more time to teaching and spend less time on rote or repetitive tasks.

Better Engagement, Clinical Readiness and Assessment Performance

1. Classroom engagement increased.

• Participation patterns changed compared with prior terms. "I have seen engagement in the classroom, which I did not see with the other platform," Dr. Hidalgo said.
• Students are now contributing to class rather than waiting passively: "Students are actually adding to the discussion."
• The shift is reflected in student feedback. As one student wrote in a Qualtrics survey, "I love that class time is spent on cementing the information I have read."

2. Student confidence improved.

• Dr. Hidalgo has observed a notable change in how students approach both content and class discussion. Students who previously stayed silent now volunteer answers and ask substantive questions — a shift she attributes to greater familiarity with the material.

3. Standardized assessment scores improved.

• Since adopting Engage Pediatrics, Dr. Hidalgo has seen incremental increases in level achievements on ATI assessments: “I see more level 3 results than before, and much fewer level 1s.”

4. Preparedness for clinical and simulation improved.

• Students are better prepared for patient care: “Our clinical faculty tell me that students are more prepared coming into clinical and simulation than before.”

5. Understanding of growth and development content increased.

• Knowledge of growth and development, a subject area in which students often struggle, is improving: “Students have a better grasp of this because the information is more condensed and manageable in Engage.”

Bottom Line: 'It's Going to Streamline Your Entire Course'

After more than three semesters of teaching pediatrics with the help of Engage, Dr. Hidalgo is glad she made the switch.

“The content is very specific, and it’s very condensed,” she said. “Students enjoy Engage, and it gives them exactly what they need — not anything more. It doesn’t have fluff.”

An FIU professor who teaches obstetrics recently asked Dr. Hidalgo whether she should adopt Engage for her maternal health classes. “I told her that yes, it can initially be scary to change. But once you have Engage, it’s going to streamline your entire course,” she said. “It’s going to simplify what you lecture on.”

One of the strongest features of Engage is that it fosters student learning prior to class, she said. “Then, what we do in class cements their learning.”

Dr. Hidalgo also pointed out that Engage supports multiple learner preferences because it delivers information in a variety of ways.

“You have the podcast, you have the virtual simulation scenarios,” she said. “It actually has specific learning tools for different types of learners — not just reading, reading, reading.”

Why This Matters for Program Leaders

Florida International University’s implementation of Engage Pediatrics illustrates a practical path to solving common challenges experienced by academic programs. Key benefits include:

• Students arrive prepared because modules and quizzes create accountability before class.
• Active learning becomes consistent because class time is structured around application, not repeating information from the reading.
• Assessment and instruction align because students learn within the ATI environment and become familiar with the question style early.
• Outcomes improve because students are more thoroughly prepared for assessments and clinical.
• Faculty efficiency increases with ready‑to‑use course materials, AI‑assisted quiz development, and 24/7 study support for students.

Support Your Faculty and Improve Student Performance

For programs evaluating ways to implement active learning more consistently — without asking faculty to build courses from scratch — the Engage Series is a proven solution. It provides a unified multimodal learning environment where students can prepare, practice, and remediate. It also equips faculty with teaching resources and student performance feedback that simplify their workload.

Find out how the Engage Series can fit into your curriculum redesign and faculty workflow. Connect with an ATI representative today.