scholarly journals Use of the Community Diffusion Model to Develop Community Partnerships and Overcome Barriers to an Urban College Internship Program

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Eric Weston ◽  
Catherine D. Stayton
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Model ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Important Lesson ◽  
Community Institutions ◽  
Organizational Barriers ◽  
Predominantly Female ◽  
Internship Programs

The current scarcity of employment opportunities has increased the importance of the internship experience for graduating college students. However, the development of internship sites is fraught with both internal and external barriers. The goal of this article is to describe the development of an internship program in an urban-based liberal arts college. The article describes the: a) use of the Community Diffusion Model to develop partnerships with community sites, b) multilevel barriers to successful program development and maintenance, and c) strategies used to overcome the barriers. During a threeyear period, 110 students participated in the internship program, 59 undergraduates and 51 graduates. Both graduate and undergraduate students were predominantly female, aged 21 – 45. A total of 60 internship positions based in 31 community partner agencies have been developed. Student participation was highest in the direct service activities, and lowest in education activities. Organizational, individual, task-related, and relationship barriers affected the development and maintenance of partnerships. Organizational barriers proved to be the most difficult of these barriers to resolve satisfactorily, while task related barriers proved the most manageable. Establishing partnerships among stakeholders while anticipating multiple implementation barriers was the important lesson learned. Based upon our experiences, we offer recommendations for the development and maintenance of internship programs to colleges, community institutions/organizations, site and program directors, and policy makers.

Ethnographic Service Learning: An Approach for Transformational Learning

Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie A. Medeiros ◽  
Jennifer Guzmán
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Transformational Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
The United States ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Transformational Experiences ◽  
Learning Projects

Trends in higher education pedagogy increasingly point to the importance of transformational experiences as the capstone of liberal arts education. Practitioners of ethnography, the quintessential transformational experience of the social sciences, are well-positioned to take the lead in designing courses and term projects that afford undergraduate students opportunities to fundamentally reshape their understanding of the social world and their own involvement within it. Furthermore, in the United States, colleges and universities have become proponents of service learning as a critical component of a holistic educational experience. In this article, we describe how service learning can be incorporated into training students in ethnographic field methods as a means to transformational learning and to give them skills they can use beyond the classroom in a longer trajectory of civic participation. We discuss strategies, opportunities, and challenges associated with incorporating service learning into courses and programs training students in ethnographic field methods and propose five key components for successful ethnographic service learning projects. We share student insights about the transformational value of their experiences as well as introduce some ethical concerns that arise in ethnographic service-learning projects.

Establishing Partnerships for Effective Academic Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna L. Morrissey ◽  
Joseph A. Beckett ◽  
Ross Sherman ◽  
Lisa J. Leininger
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Community Partnerships ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Campus Community ◽  
Specific Service ◽  
Internship Programs

As undergraduate students prepare to enter the workforce and become engaged members in their communities, it is necessary for universities to provide students with opportunities and resources to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to be successful in their professional, personal, and social pursuits. Experiential learning is one approach that may be used to facilitate and strengthen the learning process for undergraduate students. Grounded in experiential learning, Kinesiology-specific service learning and internship programs can help students develop the skillset needed to be successful in their major and future careers. To best facilitate students’ learning, it is imperative that such academic programs build collaborative, sustainable and genuine campus-community partnerships. This paper presents a series of practical and successful partnership-building strategies from three unique institutions.

scholarly journals A Framework for Implementing Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in Freshman Biology Labs

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 448-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arundhati Bakshi ◽  
Lorelei E. Patrick ◽  
E. William Wischusen
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Widespread Implementation ◽  
Flexible Framework ◽  
Large Research

There have been many calls to make research experiences available to more undergraduate students. One way to do this is to provide course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), but providing these on a scale large enough to accommodate many students can be a daunting undertaking. Indeed, other researchers have identified time to develop materials and course size as significant barriers to widespread implementation of CUREs. Based on our own experiences implementing CUREs at a large research university, we present a flexible framework that we have adapted to multiple research projects, share class materials and rubrics we have developed, and suggest logistical strategies to lower these implementation barriers.

scholarly journals The academic outcomes of first-in-family in an Australian university: An exploratory study.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Family Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First In Family ◽  
University Services

Although the first-generation and first-in-family status (FIF) of university students has been of intense interest in the USA, it has received very little consideration in Australia. The present research redressed this imbalance by investigating the academic outcomes of FIF undergraduate students at a large, public, Australian university. Undergraduate students (N = 227) who were enrolled in education, nursing and liberal arts degrees completed an online survey. Data are representative of typical gender enrolment patterns for these degrees. In contrast to US research, there was no clear relationship between socioeconomic status and FIF status in this sample. Consistent with US research, FIF students had poorer academic outcomes than non-FIF students. However, this difference was only significant after the first-year of study when students were less likely to receive scaffolded learning support within courses. FIF students were more likely than non-FIF students to seek support from university services. The implications of these results for Australian universities are considered.

Using Hard Times to Teach Business Ethics

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 165-182
Author(s):  
Michael Stodnick ◽  
Nancy Schreiber ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Classroom Discussions ◽  
Hard Times ◽  
Business Principles ◽  
Business Setting

In this research we employ an inter-disciplinary project that uses active learning theory to help bridge the gap between a university’s extensive liberal arts core and its business program. We believe this project will improve and enrich classroom discussions of the more complex and nuanced issues found in the application of business principles. To redress the fact that many undergraduate students do not have extensive work experience to draw on when discussing the application of business ethics principles, we present a project that uses a classic novel, Hard Times, to improve students’ abilities to contextualize and apply common business ethics frameworks. The project focuses on active learning and non-linear thinking, and aims to immerse the student in a fictional environment that models the complexity of, without being identical to, a real world business setting.

We Are What We Eat: Assessing the Use of a Documentary Film as an Educational Tool to Change Students’ Nutritional Attitudes and Behaviors

2020 ◽  
pp. 155982762090370
Author(s):  
Anthony Dissen ◽  
Tara Crowell
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Stage Of Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
Current Stage

Background: Identifying effective educational strategies to change lifestyle behaviors related to eating habits is imperative for health professionals providing education related to disease management and prevention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of mass media as a tool for improving dietary habits. Methods: 151 Undergraduate students participated in a quasi-experimental control group design at a midsize liberal arts university. The treatment group watched the film Forks Over Knives and was assessed on their dietary habits, locus of control, and current stage of change before and after viewing the film. Results: Results showed differences to current stage of change in reducing animal-based food consumption in the treatment group but did not show significant changes in increasing plant-based food. Discussion: This study provides evidence that use of the documentary Forks Over Knives affects students’ intake of animal-based foods but is not an impactful enough tool to increase intake of plant-based foods. Translation to Health Practice: Professionals who utilize the film Forks Over Knives to encourage dietary changes should do so as part of a more structured, long-term behavior change intervention program. Additional research is needed to compare Forks Over Knives with other documentary films that encourage plant-based dietary habits.

Investigating different options in course delivery – traditional vs online: is there another option?

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Hass ◽  
Mathew Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Liberal Arts University ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Traditional Courses ◽  
Southwest Region ◽  
Southwest Usa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine students’ perceptions of online vs traditional (face-to-face) course offerings at the business school of a liberal arts university in southwest USA. The research compares perceptions of students who have been subjected to online education along with those who have not been exposed to online education and examines likelihood to take online courses. Design/methodology/approach Paper and pencil surveys were distributed in different classes in business classes at a university in southwest USA. The target group was undergraduate students. Findings The results indicate that overall, students have neutral perceptions about online courses, while favorable perceptions are strongly associated with likelihood to take online courses. Moreover, prior exposure with online courses is not a significant factor in forming favorable perceptions about online courses. Research limitations/implications The present research is limited in generalizability and the institution surveyed in the southwest region is new to online courses offering in their curriculum and not all the participants had prior experience with online courses. Originality/value Although this paper compares online education with traditional, another option for methods of education include hybrid models incorporating both. A possible third option not discussed through this research is a hybrid or blended learning course, a combination of both online and traditional courses. This opens the options for the student, as hybrid courses can be built with many different options. One includes using technology for “screencasts” or lectures online.

Women's Studies as Change Agent

1977 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Scott ◽  
Ann Richards ◽  
Marie Wade
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Women's Studies ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Change Agent ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Attitudes Toward Women ◽  
State University ◽  
Women’S Studies ◽  
Regional Campus ◽  
Students Attitudes

Students' attitudes toward women and changes in those attitudes after taking a women's studies course were studied. The Spence Attitude Toward Women Scale was administered to 354 undergraduate students at two mid-western institutions. Matched pre- and posttests were obtained for 176 students. Results showed that attitudes toward women became more liberal after taking a women's studies course ( p < .001); also that attitudes were initially more liberal at an affluent liberal arts college than at a regional campus of a state university ( p < .001).

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