scholarly journals Supporting Holistic Student Development Through Online Community Building

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Borowiec ◽  
Deoksoon Kim ◽  
Lizhou Wang ◽  
Julie Kim ◽  
Stanton Wortham

Faculty members abruptly transitioned to online course delivery during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Unfortunately, the isolation of learning online had the potential to damage students’ well-being during an already stressful pandemic. Furthermore, many faculty members had little experience with online modes of instruction and few effective strategies for building community online. This exploratory sequential mixed methods study uses data from 37 individual interviews with faculty across diverse disciplines, course evaluations from 13 of the 37 interview participants, and survey data from 347 faculty to answer the following research question: How did faculty foster a sense of community online to support students’ holistic well-being during the COVID pandemic? What strategies can faculty use to create community and foster well-being in online courses? Results show that successful strategies centered around intentional and purposeful course design, establishing clear expectations for faculty and students, and fostering supportive and trustworthy online learning environments.

2020 ◽  
pp. 084456212098242
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lapum ◽  
Megan Nguyen ◽  
Suzanne Fredericks ◽  
Sannie Lai ◽  
Julie McShane

Background The severity of the COVID-19 health crisis has placed acute care nurses in dire work environments in which they have had to deal with uncertainty, loss, and death on a constant basis. It is necessary to gain a better understanding of nurses’ experiences to develop interventions supportive of their emotional well-being. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how nurses are emotionally affected working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments. The research question is: What is the emotional experience of nurses working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments? Methods We employed a narrative methodology that focused on participants’ stories. Twenty registered nurses, who worked in six hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, participated in interviews. A narrative analysis was conducted with a focus on content and form of stories. Results We identified three themes about working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments: the emotional experience, the agency of emotions, and how emotions shape nursing and practice. Conclusion In moving forth with pandemic preparations, healthcare leaders and governments need to make sure that a nurse’s sacrifice is not all-encompassing. Supporting nurses’ emotional well-being and resilience is necessary to counterbalance the loss and trauma nurses go through.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Roulston ◽  
Kathleen DeMarrais ◽  
Trena M. Paulus

Teaching in online spaces requires new roles and competencies. Presented as autoethnographic narratives, three faculty members describe their journeys into online graduate instruction in qualitative research methods. Areas of growth included effective course design and planning and strategies for building community. Challenges included keeping up with the technology and finding adequate resources. These narratives provide potential issues for consideration by faculty new to online instruction.


PRiMER ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Nutting ◽  
Kari Nilsen ◽  
Anne Walling ◽  
Elaine Level

Background and Objectives: In 2020, approximately 47% of family physicians reported burnout. For physicians, professional burnout is implicated in damage to relationships, increased rates of alcohol and/or substance abuse, depression, and suicide. Professional isolation can be a major contributor to burnout. Organizational interventions targeted at promoting workplace community and collegiality have been effective in decreasing professional isolation. This study sought to decrease professional isolation and promote collegiality among family medicine faculty through an origin storytelling group.  Methods: Family medicine faculty of a residency program in the Midwestern United States were invited to participate in an 8-week origin storytelling group. At the end of the study, individual interviews were offered for participants to reflect on the perceived impact of the process. Additionally, 1 year poststudy, open-ended email responses were invited to assess lasting effects of collegiality.   Results: Fifty percent (12/24) of eligible faculty members participated in the study. Participants who completed one-on-one structured interviews shared their perspectives of the study, which allowed for the importance of the study and next directions to be identified. One-year postcompletion of the study, participants described continued changes they experienced from these groups, via open-ended, email response.  Conclusion: Storytelling groups can provide acceptable, valuable, and easily-implemented contributions to initiatives that enhance physician faculty well-being.


Author(s):  
Carrie Williams Howe ◽  
Kimberly Coleman ◽  
Kelly Hamshaw ◽  
Katherine Westdijk

Many key resources in service-learning literature offer tools and advice to faculty members for designing effective service-learning courses; these materials typically focus on integrating service-learning effectively into a syllabus, fostering reciprocal partnerships, and using reflection to analyze experience. In addition, a number of research studies have explored the impact of participation in service-learning on student development outcomes. However, very few resources “flip” this equation—that is, there is less information in the literature on how student development theory can inform the effective design of service-learning courses and curricula. This article utilizes an extensive review of student/adult development and learning theory to propose a three-phased model for service-learning course design. Informed by the authors’ experiences working with faculty members and departments, the article provides examples illustrating the potential impact of this approach for individual courses or sequential curricula.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Lisa Øien ◽  
Ole Greger Lillevik

The article describes how personal qualities in the helpers are important measures to prevent aggression and violent behaviour from adolescents living in childcare institutions. Our research question was: In what way does personal competence make a difference in the prevention of violence, and how is this ‘personal competence’ expressed? Through six semi-structured individual interviews and one focus group interview with staff from five state-run childcare institutions in Norway, we found that the helpers’ attitude is of great importance to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Our study indicates that staff who search to find the reason behind aggression, and who are deeply concerned about the well-being of the young people tend to ease conflict, rather than trigger it. We see their attitude as a choice of perspective in their work with adolescents, and we see it as a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. This perspective is an integral part of the child-care workers’ personal competence, and implies recognition of the perspectives young people have on their own situation. The importance of personal competence to prevent aggression and violent behaviour is evident, and the ability of mentalisation is argued to be significant in these child-care workers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Siti Muhibah Hj Nor ◽  
Zetty Nurzuliana Rashed

This article in a paper concept that discusses the roles and challenges faced by special education teachers in educating and enhancing hearing impaired students quality of life. This is consistent with the aspiration of the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) also focuses on student personal development to the future nation’s progress. In terms of student development, academic excellence in not the only main aims, but students must be educated holisticly to produce Malaysian citizens who are responsible; knowledgeable; have honourable manners, and be able to achieve personal well-being. Therefore, students with hearing impairments require special education system to suit their different necessities. Special education teachers should prepare themselves with various knowledge, expertise and skills to accomplish the national aspiration. In addition, cooperation, collaboration and support from parent, school management, medical expert and community are significantly required. Abstrak Artikel  ini  merupakan kertas konsep  yang akan  membincangkan  mengenai peranan dan cabaran guru-guru Pendidikan Khas  dalam  membentuk  kemenjadian  murid-murid  masalah  pendengaran.  Ia  selaras  dengan  kehendak  Tranformasi Nasional  2050  (TN50)  yang  memberi  fokus  untuk  melahirkan  kemenjadian  murid  sebagai  salah  satu  aspirasi  untuk memacu negara  di  masa  akan  datang.    Dalam  membentuk  kemenjadian  murid,  pencapaian  akademik  yang  cemerlang bukanlah  merupakan  fokus  utama  tetapi  murid  perlu  dididik  secara  holistik  untuk  melahirkan  warga  negara  Malaysia yang  bertanggungjawab,  berpengetahuan,  berakhlak  dan  mampu  mencapai  kesejahteraan  diri.  Dalam  aspek  ini  murid-murid  masalah pendengaran  memerlukan pendidikan  yang sesuai    mengikut tahap kemampuan  mereka.  Justeru guru-guru  Pendidikan  Khas  perlu  mempersiapkan  diri  dengan  pelbagai  pengetahuan,  kepakaran  dan  kemahiran  untuk mencapai  aspirasi  negara.  Selain  itu,  kerjasama,  kolaborasi  dan  sokongan  daripada  ibu  bapa,  pentadbir  sekolah,  pakar perubatan dan masyarakat amat diperlukan.


Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.


Author(s):  
TJ Ó Ceallaigh ◽  
Aoife Ní Shéaghdha

While research on Irish-medium immersion education (IME) has heralded benefits such as cognitive skills, academic achievement and language and literacy development, many studies have also identified challenges to its successful implementation. Immersion-specific research-validated tools can help school leaders navigate the school self-evaluation journey, critically review and evaluate the quality of aspects of their school’s provision and plan for improvement. This paper reports on one theme, leadership, from a larger study, Quality indicators of best practice in Irish-medium immersion (Ó Ceallaigh and Ní Shéaghdha, 2017). Qualitative in nature, the study was guided by the following research question: What are IME educators’ perceptions of best practices in IME?. The study explored 120 IME educators’ perceptions of best practice in IME to inform the development of IME quality indicators. Individual interviews and focus group interviews were utilised to collect data. Data analysis revealed particular themes related to best IME leadership practices. Findings in turn informed the design of an evidence-informed school self-evaluation tool for IME settings. The various functions of the tool will be explored with a particular emphasis on building teaching and leadership capacity in IME through the school self-evaluation process.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e047353
Author(s):  
Henry Aughterson ◽  
Alison R McKinlay ◽  
Daisy Fancourt ◽  
Alexandra Burton

ObjectivesTo explore the psychosocial well-being of health and social care professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignThis was a qualitative study deploying in-depth, individual interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used for coding.ParticipantsThis study involved 25 participants from a range of frontline professions in health and social care.SettingInterviews were conducted over the phone or video call, depending on participant preference.ResultsFrom the analysis, we identified 5 overarching themes: communication challenges, work-related stressors, support structures, personal growth and individual resilience. The participants expressed difficulties such as communication challenges and changing work conditions, but also positive factors such as increased team unity at work, and a greater reflection on what matters in life.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence on the support needs of health and social care professionals amid continued and future disruptions caused by the pandemic. It also elucidates some of the successful strategies (such as mindfulness, hobbies, restricting news intake, virtual socialising activities) deployed by health and social care professionals that can support their resilience and well-being and be used to guide future interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariba Mostajeran ◽  
Jessica Krzikawski ◽  
Frank Steinicke ◽  
Simone Kühn

AbstractA large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.


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