Implementation and evaluation of a mental health referral pathway for school nurses.

Nearly one in six American children between the ages of six and 17 have a treatable mental disorder (American Academy of Family Physicians [AAFP], 2020). Still, less than half do not receive help from a mental health professional (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). School nurses have an opportunity to bridge the gap by improving youth access to mental health care. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement and evaluate a mental health referral pathway for school nurses. The specific aims were to improve school nurses\u27 preparedness to recognize and address mental health concerns and to increase the proportion of school nurses that made mental health referrals in a large metropolitan public school district. Intervention: School nurses received weekly informative presentations regarding resource mapping, identification of common mental health red flags, utilization of a mental health triage tool, and documentation of student referrals to mental health resources over five weeks. Methods: Outcome measures included preparedness to identify and address mental health concerns, the proportion of school nurses that made mental health referrals and feedback from participating nurses. Self-Rated Preparedness Surveys and retrospective chart audits were conducted pre-intervention and post-intervention. Background data and feedback were collected via questionnaires. Results: The results revealed an increase in the participating school nurses’ self-rated preparedness to recognize when a student’s appearance indicates psychological distress. The results demonstrated an increase in the proportion of participating school nurses that made mental health referrals, although this increase was not statistically significant. The results of this study support further evaluation of barriers to school nurses making mental health referrals, development of additional programs to help address barriers, and further evaluation of similar programs in other settings

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DISTRESS AND BOTH SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SOCIAL CONSTRAINT IN RECENTLY DIAGNOSED CANCER SURVIVORS: A DAILY ASSESSMENT STUDY

This study evaluated two distinct aspects of social functioning (specifically, social support and social constraint) in an attempt to increase understanding of its bidirectional relationship with distress after cancer diagnosis. Participants in this intensive longitudinal study were all recently diagnosed, first primary cervical or head/neck cancer survivors (n=47). Data collection involved a comprehensive baseline assessment and 30-day period of daily assessment (n=37) of key variables (i.e., social support, social constraint, and distress). Data were analyzed using unconditional and conditional multilevel linear models. None of the variables changed significantly over the 30-day period. On a typical day, social constraint and distress were predictive of one another (ps \u3c .001). Social support and distress did not demonstrate a bidirectional relationship (ps \u3e .05). In the context of cancer adjustment and survivorship, future interventions for distress should consider targeting social constraint and interventions for social constraint should consider targeting distress

Social Constraint, Social Support and Psychological Functioning in Rural and Nonrural Cancer Survivors

This cross-sectional study identified the nature and strength of the relationship between social and psychological functioning, and explored if these relationships differ as a function of environmental and personal characteristics. Participants (n=87) consist of breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, and head and neck cancer survivors who were diagnosed within the past five years. Cancer survivors were recruited through a cancer registry and outpatient clinics. Data collection involved questionnaire and medical records review. In linear regression models for distress, social constraint demonstrated a stronger relationship with general distress (β = .37 vs. β = -.26), anxiety and depression (β = .65 vs. βs = -.21 to .-30) and cancer-specific distress (β =.62 vs. β = -.15) than social support. In the wellbeing models, social support demonstrated a stronger relationship with life satisfaction (β = .56 vs. β = -.15) and global mental health (β = .38 vs. β = -.37) than social constraint; no significant associations were found for cancer-specific wellbeing outcomes. The environmental and personal characteristics significantly moderated the relationship between social and psychological functioning in a few regression models. Results support the interrelationship between social and psychological functioning in cancer survivors, and sheds light on the complexities of these relationships

Asking and Understanding Questions: An Inquiry-Based Framework for Writing Teacher Development

Teachers develop when they critically examine the questions they ask about their work because questions make pedagogical beliefs visible and available for critical reflection and revision. In a standards-based educational climate—a time when writing becomes a set of measurable skills rather than a complex social practice—teachers may feel that a critical examination of their questions is (at best) a luxury or (at worst) a distraction to work they need to accomplish. Therefore, writing teacher educators may find it increasingly challenging to help teachers engage in reflexive inquiry. This essay describes a Deweyian-informed framework that shows how addressing inquiries and critically examining inquiries are processes that complement one another. Using examples from two contexts commonly implemented to promote teacher development, this essay argues the asking/understanding framework provides useful language for helping WTEs and teachers negotiate varying expectations for pedagogical inquiry and teacher development

Connecting Our Pedagogical Questions and Goals: An Exercise for Writing Teacher Development

In this article, the author argues writing teachers can more fully inquire into their questions about teaching writing by paying closer attention to the ways their goals for teacher development shape their engagement in pedagogical inquiry. To explain these connections and illustrate these possibilities, the author shares findings from a narrative-inquiry study that examined the development of pedagogical inquiry in the lives of four teachers of writing. Using the participating teachers’ shared goals for teacher development, the author demonstrates how writing teachers can reflect upon the development of pedagogical inquiry, stretch themselves to practice other aspects of pedagogical inquiry, and re-see professional development structures. This research extends current scholarship on writing teacher development by deepening the field’s conception of writing teacher development

Cultivating a Learner’s Stance for Engagement in Teacher-Inquiry: An Aim for Writing Pedagogy Education

This dissertation argues that writing teacher educators (WTEs) can more purposefully advance their commitment to sponsoring inquiry-oriented teacher development by helping pre-service and practicing writing teachers examine how they are developing as inquirers. Building from scholarship in Composition and English Education and the findings from a narrative-based qualitative study that included four secondary and post-secondary teachers of writing, I have named this attention to how teachers learn and grow their inquiry processes a learner’s stance for engagement in teacher-inquiry. This stance is a readiness to see and engage professional work with an eye toward growing one’s ability to engage in teacher-inquiry. Drawing from Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s theory of learning, legitimate peripheral participation, I present three kinds of learning activities that WTEs can foreground in teacher education contexts to cultivate a learner’s stance. These activities include: developing goals for teacher development, exploring tensions involved in the interpretation of teaching moments, and negotiating stakeholder positions. Using findings from the qualitative study, the dissertation chapters demonstrate how these learning activities enable teachers to examine and develop the frameworks supporting their inquiry practices. Additionally, the conclusion offers concrete ways that WTEs can implement these activities in teacher education courses. Advisor: Shari J. Stenber

Cultivating a Learner’s Stance for Engagement in Teacher-Inquiry: An Aim for Writing Pedagogy Education

This dissertation argues that writing teacher educators (WTEs) can more purposefully advance their commitment to sponsoring inquiry-oriented teacher development by helping pre-service and practicing writing teachers examine how they are developing as inquirers. Building from scholarship in Composition and English Education and the findings from a narrative-based qualitative study that included four secondary and post-secondary teachers of writing, I have named this attention to how teachers learn and grow their inquiry processes a learner’s stance for engagement in teacher-inquiry. This stance is a readiness to see and engage professional work with an eye toward growing one’s ability to engage in teacher-inquiry. Drawing from Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s theory of learning, legitimate peripheral participation, I present three kinds of learning activities that WTEs can foreground in teacher education contexts to cultivate a learner’s stance. These activities include: developing goals for teacher development, exploring tensions involved in the interpretation of teaching moments, and negotiating stakeholder positions. Using findings from the qualitative study, the dissertation chapters demonstrate how these learning activities enable teachers to examine and develop the frameworks supporting their inquiry practices. Additionally, the conclusion offers concrete ways that WTEs can implement these activities in teacher education courses. Advisor: Shari J. Stenber

Enacting Rhetorical Listening: A Process to Support Students’ Engagement with Challenging Course Readings

Many educators assign course readings to purposefully enlarge students’ perspectives. In doing so, though, educators may face a range of behaviors—reluctance, resistance, avoidance, disengagement—from students who feel that such readings negatively press upon their prior knowledge, belief systems, or educational goals. This teaching challenge is often present for social justice educators. However, “rhetorical listening,” a rhetorical theory developed by Ratcliffe (2005), is a pedagogical tool that can help shift students’ understandings of and expectations for the activity of reading, thereby creating a learning environment that supports meaningful engagement with challenging course readings. In this article, the author outlines a process for enacting rhetorical listening and describes the pedagogical outcomes that have been achieved through this process

One for the Books: How Reading Improves Your Well-being

Article published in Vibrant Life, volume 31, issue 5 under the title One for the Books: How Reading Improves Your Well-being

Chapter 14- Designing Curriculum Collaboratively: A Practice for Learning Alongside Undergraduate Teaching Assistants During Uncertain Times

The transition to remote learning during the Spring 2020 semester was abrupt for faculty and students, and it did not allow much time for reflection or purposeful planning, especially as individuals were faced with managing multiple aspects of their lives. Educators had to consider quickly what learning experiences and teaching practices could be preserved or revised, as well as what learning activities could or should be removed. These choices were not easy to make. During this challenging moment, however, we discovered how collaborative partnerships between faculty and undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) can contribute to the development of a flexible and responsive pedagogy, as well as professional learning for the faculty member and UTA