Identity development through study abroad experiences: Storied accounts

This study investigated three Japanese L2 learners who joined a government-funded, short-term study abroad program in the USA during their first year of college. Four years after the program, we interviewed the learners about their overseas experiences. We also asked what they had done during their university years after the program. We then analyzed their accounts to explore participants’ linguistic and personal growth during and after the program. Their stories offered important insights into what short-term study abroad programs should provide: critical experiences that participants embrace through meeting and communicating with new people in L2s for the purpose of mutual understanding. When participants perceived their experiences to be successful and valuable and felt a desire to become a more efficient L2 user, they took actions to improve their L2 skills in relation to other life goals after returning home. Furthermore, their L2 identities are likely interwoven with their current and aspiring personal identities. As such, their stories are self-development trajectories and evidence of L2-learning-mediated personal growth through social interaction. We propose that short-term study programs: (a) avoid an exclusive focus on L2 learning on-site, (b) include ample opportunities of meaningful social interaction, and (c) target first-year students.

Fulbright Magic: The Alchemy of an Intentional Experience Abroad

The Fulbright program is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and understanding, and Fulbright’s Group Projects Abroad allow small, focused cohorts of American teachers and scholars to travel and to learn together. In June 2017, a number of Gettysburg College faculty and K-12 teachers from South Central PA traveled to China to study points of similarity and disparity between the American and Chinese educational systems. Our program was crafted in a way to help us to understand Chinese culture and the realities of Chinese life; we were given the opportunity to view our experiences from the perspectives of our hosts and resident experts, not simply as tourists. (excerpt

A qualitative ethnographic portrait of women's studies

In this research study, I sought to understand and describe the Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) Program at Berea College by exploring it through the experiences of students, faculty, administrators, and alumnae. I designed and implemented a feminist organizational ethnography. Organizational ethnography is a naturalistic, qualitative research tool for understanding organizational communication and culture in organizations. I used qualitative research methods to create a portrait of the WGS Program at Berea College by observing and interviewing students, administrators, faculty, and alumnae, and interpreting their stories using constant comparative analysis. Standpoint theory is the theoretical framework that guided how I collected data because it requires the researcher to begin with the lives of marginalized peoples. It also requires inclusion of multiple perspectives. The overarching research questions of this study are: 1) How is the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Berea College perceived or experienced by its stakeholders (students, administrators, faculty, and alumnae)? 2) How is its reality constructed through the overlapping lenses of each? 3) How does the WGS Program approach, prepare for, and respond to political and economic challenges? I concluded that the WGS Program at Berea College is a model program because the leadership uses student-centered feminist pedagogy and they celebrate diversity, succeed with low resources, and clearly value the experiences and voices of the students. The leadership in the WGS Program at Berea College creates a home on campus where students go to learn about things they can’t find anywhere else on campus.Department of Educational StudiesThesis (D. Ed.

Ageism, empathy, attitudes, and aging anxiety: an evaluation of the Gray for a Day program with college students

Master of ScienceSchool of Family Studies and Human ServicesErin L. YellandStudies have shown ageism, empathy, attitudes toward older adults and aging anxiety to be important factors for not only individuals planning to work with older adults, but for all individuals to be able to age healthfully. Increased levels of empathy are associated with decreased levels of ageism and knowledge of the aging process promotes more positive attitudes towards aging and decreased aging anxiety. Aging simulations have been created to increase empathy, improve attitudes toward older adults, and decrease ageism and aging anxiety, but there are still mixed results when evaluating these programs. This study utilized Kolb’s experiential learning theory to understand the ways in which participation in the Gray for a Day program, an educational program about sensory and functional decline in older adults, impacts ageism, empathy, attitudes toward older adults and aging anxiety by evaluating the Gray for a Day program with students in an introduction to human development course at a Midwestern university. Changes in ageism, empathy, attitudes toward older adults and aging anxiety after participation in Gray for a Day were assessed using paired samples t-tests. Results showed that participation in Gray for a Day significantly increased positive attitudes towards older adults and the level of understanding and positive perceptions of older adult experiences among participants. Other measures showed decreases in ageism, empathy, and aging anxiety following participation in the program, but the differences were not statistically significant. Results indicate that the Gray for a Day program is effective at improving attitudes toward older adults and increasing understanding and positive perceptions of older adult experiences, but further evaluation and possible program adjustments are needed to reassess for ageism, empathy, and aging anxiety outcomes from the program

Making Law More Accessible: Designing Collaborative Learning Environments for Physically Remote Generation Y Students

In addition to an understanding of substantive law, the undergraduate law degree at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) aims to develop students’ lifelong skills. In the unit ‘Principles of Equity’ the skill developed includes teamwork, in the context of legal letter writing. Given the increased technological mobility of Generation Y students, the presenters have developed and trialled a model that enables these skills to be learnt and practiced online. The result is a more flexible environment that not only ensures congruent learning experiences between internal and external (or physically remote) students, but provides a connected or engaged educational program to supplement existing teaching method. This paper outlines the above project, the pedagogy that influenced it, and its impact on student learning experiences. Some issues for the development of such learning innovations in the future are also addresse

Improving healthcare empowerment through breast cancer patient navigation: a mixed methods evaluation in a safety-net setting.

BackgroundBreast cancer mortality rates in the U.S. remain relatively high, particularly among ethnic minorities and low-income populations. Unequal access to quality care, lower follow up rates, and poor treatment adherence contribute to rising disparities among these groups. Healthcare empowerment (HCE) is theorized to improve patient outcomes through collaboration with providers and improving understanding of and compliance with treatment. Patient navigation is a health care organizational intervention that essentially improves healthcare empowerment by providing informational, emotional, and psychosocial support. Patient navigators address barriers to care through multilingual coordination of treatment and incorporation of access to community services, support, and education into the continuum of cancer care.MethodsUtilizing survey and qualitative methods, we evaluated the patient navigation program in a Northern California safety-net hospital Breast Clinic by assessing its impact on patients' experiences with cancer care and providers' perspectives on the program. We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 patients and 4 service providers, conducted approximately 66 hours of clinic observations, and received feedback through the self-administered survey from 66 patients.ResultsThe role of the patient navigator at the Breast Clinic included providing administrative assistance, psychosocial support, improved knowledge, better understanding of treatment process, and ensuring better communication between patients and providers. As such, patient navigators facilitated improved collaboration between patients and providers and understanding of interdisciplinary care processes. The survey results suggested that the majority of patients across all ethnic backgrounds and age groups were highly satisfied with the program and had a positive perception of their navigator. Interviews with patients and providers highlighted the roles of a navigator in ensuring continuity of care, improving treatment completion rates, and reducing providers' workload and waiting time. Uncertainty about the navigator's role among the patients was a weakness of the program.ConclusionsPatient navigation in the Breast Clinic had a positive impact on patients' experiences with care and healthcare empowerment. Clarifying uncertainties about the navigators' role would aid successful outcomes

Challenging the French immersion orthodoxy : student stories and counterstories

Through this study I have provided an understanding of what French immersion was like for children who left the program. I have considered an important aspect of the French immersion program that has been neglected in the research literature. My main research question was: What were the experiences of French immersion students who withdrew from their program during the elementary years? Subsequent questions included: How did they deal with repeated failure? How did they cope with the frustration? How did these failures and frustrations change after they left the French immersion program? How do they make sense of their experiences?In this study, I listened to students’ voices to gain insights that lead to an understanding of how they make sense of what school was like for them during their years in French immersion. Using narrative inquiry, I focused on the lived, storied experiences of students who have not succeeded in a French immersion program. By listening to the students’ storied conversations, I have developed a deeper understanding of failed immersion experiences than that which is currently provided in the literature.The six students in this study were aware of their lack of progress in the French immersion program and were unable to become active participants in the classroom community. The inability to become engaged further marginalized them as learners and led to the development of school stories about them. These school stories soon became designated identities with which the children had to cope. By honoring the experiences of the students and including their voices, I have outlined information to aid educators to make decisions for more appropriate programming choices. This information demonstrates the need for timely intervention for some students to improve their school experience. Parents, teachers, and policy makers can then make decisions with the added knowledge provided by the students’ stories

Moving toward Professional Self-Authorship: A Case Study of Participants in a Program for Students Pursuing Faculty Careers

This study in-progress explores the perspectives and practices of students enrolled in the Preparing Future Faculty program at a large, state-sponsored research university. The motivation for this study is the need to understand the impact of this program on participants’ pathways through graduate school, their experiences teaching, and their preparation for postdoctoral positions. The theory of Self-Authorship will provide a structure to consider students’ experiences within the PFF program, how they have been affected by those experiences, and the extent to which these experiences affect (or affected) their perceptions, intentions, and actions. A case study approach using a survey, asynchronous focus groups, document review, and individual interviews is being employed. By examining this PFF program and understanding how students narrate their experiences during and following the program, we can begin to explore how a PFF program can support graduate student development in conjunction with discipline-specific graduate studies. Results will aid in the continual improvement of PFF programs and complement existing research by examining the role of self-authorship in future faculty development

Living a burdensome and demanding life: a qualitative systematic review of the patients experiences of peripheral arterial disease

<div><p>Background</p><p>Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of individuals. Understanding the experiences of people living with PAD will be useful in developing comprehensive patient-centred secondary prevention therapies for this population.</p><p>Aim</p><p>The aim of this study is to identify first-hand accounts of patients’ experiences of living with PAD.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Six databases (CINALH, PsyclNFO, MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE, Social citation index/Science citation index via Web of Science (WOS)) and reference lists of identified studies were searched until September 2017 (updated February 2018). Qualitative studies reporting patients’ account of living with PAD were eligible for inclusion. A framework thematic synthesis was implemented.</p><p>Results</p><p>Fourteen studies with 360 participants were included. Pain and walking limitation were recurrent among the varied symptom descriptions. Patients’ ignorance and trivialisation of symptoms contributed to delays in diagnosis. Inadequate engagement in disease understanding and treatment decisions meant patients had poor attitudes towards walking treatments and unrealistic expectations about surgery. Depending on symptom progression, patients battle with walking impairment, powerlessness, and loss of independence which were a source of burden to them. Lack of disease understanding is central through patients’ journey with PAD and, although they subsequently began adaptation to long term living with PAD, many worried about their future.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Disease understanding is vital across the illness trajectory in patients with PAD. Although certain experiences are common throughout patient journey, some might be unique to a particular stage (e.g. unrealistic expectation about surgery, or rationale of walking in spite of pain in a supervised exercise program). Given that PAD is an overarching construct ranging from the mildest form of intermittent claudication to severe critical limb ischemia with ulceration and gangrene, consideration of important patient constructs specific to each stage of the disease may enhance treatment success. Systematic review registration CRD42017070417.</p></div

Perspectives from Think College Students on Inclusive Practices at the Collegiate Level

Promoting inclusion at all levels of education is crucial in the process of positively influencing and encouraging student learning both for students with disabilities and their peers. This presentation will provide information about the Think College program and include perspectives from Think College students and their college peers about their experiences. Participants should be able to understand more about the Think College program, but more importantly gain an understanding about how the experiences within the program impact students’ lives