Coming of Age: Recognizing the Importance of Interdisciplinary Education in Law Practice

This Article proposes that lawyers need to be creative problem solvers if they are truly to serve the needs of their clients. The ability to collaborate with professionals from other disciplines is an important aspect of creative problem solving. The Article examines the skills required for creative problem solving and law students\u27 and attorneys\u27 facility with these skills.The Article further discusses the barriers to providing interdisciplinary training in law schools and suggests ways to incorporate such training

Mind, Brain, and Education: A Case Study of Student Perceptions of an Interdisciplinary Graduate Program

Advances in developmental and neuroscience research, calls for educational reform, and an emphasis on interdisciplinarity have generated interest in how science might inform educational practice and policy, resulting in the emerging field of mind, brain, and education (MBE). A primary goal of the field is to connect the cognitive and developmental sciences, biology, and education to develop a scientific grounding for educational practice and policy. Interdisciplinary MBE graduate programs seek to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this case study is to investigate students’ perceptions of their experiences developing interdisciplinary understanding in an MBE graduate program; how these perceptions vary based on student characteristics; and, to explore student perceptions of the potential and limitations of MBE to address educational problems. The findings suggest students gain interdisciplinary knowledge and skills in the program; are able to synthesize and produce integrative understandings to apply to problems in education; and, that the MBE program positively affects their appreciation for interdisciplinary research and their readiness to collaborate on interdisciplinary research. The results suggest students perceive the diversity of the knowledge, skills, and backgrounds of the cohort and participation in a lab/research experience are among the most supportive aspects of their experience in interdisciplinary learning and understanding, as well as in their future interdisciplinary work. Students leave having thought critically about a wide variety of tensions, uncertainties, and power imbalances in the interdisciplinary work of MBE and feel prepared to participate in collaborative research and begin the slow, and significant, process of change to improve education. The study is unique in exploring student perceptions of an MBE program and contributes to the literature on students’ development of interdisciplinary understanding and on educators’ beliefs about the potential of MBE to influence educational practice and policy. The study offers insight to institutions and individuals interested in developing interdisciplinary programs to advance the field of MBE and address some of the complex issues facing education today

Interdistsiplinaarse meeskonnapõhise hingehoiu mudel Eesti tervishoiuasutustele

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneKäesoleva doktoritöö teema on interdistsiplinaarne meeskonnapõhine hingehoid ja selle rakendatavus Eesti tervishoiuasutustes. Uurimistöö on keskendunud teenusearendusele ning kasutab interdistsiplinaarset lähenemist hingehoiule. Doktoritöö sisuks on: a) interdistsiplinaarse meeskonnapõhise hingehoiu mudeli loomine Eesti tervishoiuasutuste jaoks, b) loodud mudeli täpsustamine Eesti haiglates töötavatelt tervishoispetsialistidelt võetud intervjuude põhjal. Hingehoiu pakkumine Eesti tervishoiuasutustes on ebaühtlane – hingehoidjad on kaasatud mõnes Eesti haiglas, kus nad kuuluvad kas palliatiivravi üksusesse, kliiniku või osakonna koosseisu või külastavad haiglat mittekoosseisulisena. Enamus Eesti haiglatest ei paku ametlikult hingehoiuteenust. Hingehoiu interdistsiplinaarne kaasamine Eesti tervishoiuasutuste töös on tihti küsitav ka juhul, kui asutuses on hingehoid patsientidele võimaldatud: a) juhul kui hingehoidja on kutsutud väljast (ei ole koosseisuline); b) juhul kui koosseisuline hingehoidja tajub end pigem individuaalse töötajana. Käesolevas töös loodud interdistsiplinaarse meeskonnapõhise hingehoiu mudel on mõeldud: a) hingehoiu interdistsiplinaarseks rakendamiseks tervishoiuasutustes, kus plaanitakse hingehoidja kaasamist koosseisulisena; b) interdistsiplinaarse koostöö tõhustamiseks hingehoiu pakkumisel neis tervishoiuasutustes, kus hingehoidjad juba koosseisulistena kollektiivi kuuluvad. Mudel pakub nii paindlikkust, mis võimaldab arvestada erinevustega asutuste ja osakondade vahel, kui ka konkreetseid soovitusi, mis põhinevad patsientide erinevaid vajadusi käsitleval teoreetilisel taustal ning praktiseerivate tervishoiutöötajatega teostatud intervjuudel. Interdistsiplinaarse meeskonnapõhise hingehoiu eestikeelne mudel on esitatud kokkuvõtvas tabelis doktoritöö lisas IV. Mudel ei ole mõeldud jägaks raamistikus, vaid seda või kohandada vastavalt asutuse või osakonna eripäradele.The subject of the current thesis is interdisciplinary team based pastoral care and its applicability in Estonian healthcare institutions. The aim is to create an interdisciplinary team based pastoral care model that would be adaptable in different Estonian healthcare institutions. The thesis hopes to uphold the view that people should not be deprived (or feel isolated) from important parts of their lives. This may easily happen to the hospital’s inpatients if they cannot follow their usual religious/spiritual life anymore. While pastoral caregivers are involved in some Estonian hospitals (either as members of palliative care team, working in different clinics or departments, or visiting the hospital), most Estonian hospitals do not provide pastoral care at all. The interdisciplinary team based pastoral care model takes into account Estonian sociocultural and institutional background, is adjusted according to the insight given by the professionals of Estonian hospitals, and is given in flexible guidelines to make it adaptable for different healthcare institutions. As such the model is intended to be useful for: a) involving pastoral care in these institutions which are planning to include pastoral care in their service provision but are not certain about how; b) enhancing interdisciplinary teamwork in pastoral care provision of these institutions which already have included pastoral caregivers as staff members. Although pastoral care service provision is greatly dictated by financing issues (not being financed by the state budget’s health insurance funds) the interdisciplinary team based pastoral care model is one step towards more holistic healthcare care in Estonia. Limited resources prevent involving pastoral care in many cases. We must find and invent the best ways to spread the ‘butter knob’ of limited pastoral care resource as carefully as possible. The model created in the current thesis offers both: a) flexibility that respects the differences between institutions and departments, b) information that is already extracted from the fieldwork and from the theoretical background concerning different aspects of human being

The Functional Specialties: A Workshop on Applying Lonergan

These are the proceedings of the Praxis Program of the Advanced Seminar on Mission’s third annual summer workshop which was held in Trieste, Italy in July 2017. It focused on the application of Bernard Lonergan’s Functional Specialties to the work of the Seton Hall University faculty participants. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership and the Center for Catholic Studies, and co-sponsored by Boston College, the Jacques Maritain Institute and the University of Trieste

Influence of a Collaborative Norming Process on Teacher Perceptions of Middle Level Team Structure and Development

The teaming concept has served as a cornerstone of middle level philosophy and education since the middle school movement began in the 1960s. The literature on teaming is quite extensive and the interpretations of that research often differ among schools. For the purpose of this study, teaming is defined as a small group of teachers with different content responsibilities who work with the same group of students in a school-within-a-school structure. Described as a signature practice in the middle school movement, teaming provides an organizational framework that allows schools to design and deliver effective learning to every student (Crow and Pounder, 2000; Hackmann, Petzko, Valentine, Clark, Nori, and Lucas, 2002). Despite the widespread use of teaming, most of the empirical research focuses on the structural components of teams. Little empirical attention is given to middle school teams as small groups and the steps necessary to enhance the interpersonal dynamics and relationships of teachers on those teams in the establishment of shared beliefs. Given the complex social dynamics of small groups, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study was designed to better understand the influence of a collaborative norming process on teacher perceptions of exemplary teams. Social constructivist learning theory, small group research, and the learning community concept served as the background necessary for the development of the theoretical framework. A single middle school was selected for this study based upon specific criteria (e.g., grade configuration, teaming at multiple grade levels, team size, team composition, and support of middle level philosophy). In this PAR study, data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observation, and a review of artifacts. The participants actively engaged in professional development sessions and a collaborative norming process that helps to identify the shared goals of the teams. Data were analyzed throughout the study to guide decisions and determine emergent themes. This study illuminated practical issues in enhancing team performance and informed efforts at this school to improve the signature practice of middle level education. By studying the phenomenon of individual teachers working to establish shared beliefs within their teams, educational leaders may gain valuable insight into the transformation of these small groups. The dialogue and reflection inherent in this type of collaborative norming process was as valuable as the product -- a site specific framework for exemplary teams