Political, Not Partisan: Service-Learning as Social Justice Education

By engaging in purposefully designed community work, we can involve students in conversations about social justice and their roles as community members. Service-learning is an engaged pedagogy that encourages students to explore social justice in depth. Social justice work, as well as service-learning, can often encourage students to become involved politically in issues they encounter. Given the Millennial Generation’s distaste for polarized political debates and the potential for overly political discussion to silence students, how can service-learning programs continue to support students’ social justice education and political engagement while avoiding partisanship? This article introduces the concept of justice-based service-learning (JBSL) and explores service-learning as social justice education, including the philosophical foundations of socially just service-learning and the intersections of politics, social justice, and service. The author proposes six principles for creating political—not partisan—socially just service-learning

Earthwatch Expedition: Taking Research Experiences to the Classroom

I participated in the Live from the Field Earthwatch Expedition - Mammals of Nova Scotia, through a fellowship awarded by Wells Fargo. During this experience I participated in research to study the abundance of mammals in Nova Scotia and determine the effect of climate change on natural systems. After this experience I developed an inquiry project for my students in which they study the populations of insects. The students develop their own questions, collect data and make sense of their research. By investigating populations, students are encouraged to see the wonderful biodiversity right in their backyard! This article Promotes National Science Education Content Standards 1, 2, 4, 6,7, and 8, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

Epibionts from the Cerro Gordo Member of the Lime Creek Formation (Upper Devonian), Rockford, Iowa

Epibionts and borings are common on brachiopods from the Cerro Gordo Member of the Lime Creek Formation (Upper Devonian) at Rockford, Iowa. Occurrences and distributions of epibionts are best explained by attachment and subsequent growth on either living or dead brachiopods. Distribution of Spirorbis, a calcareous worm tube, is best explained by random attachment of worm larvae on living or dead brachiopods. Cornulites, a conical shell of uncertain affinity, commonly occurs with its aperture oriented toward the anterior commissure of brachiopods, suggesting attachment to living shells and subsequent growth in response to the feeding currents of the brachiopod. Some tabulate corals (auloporids) and some bryozoa (Hederella sp.) display growth patterns toward, or parallel to, the plane of commissure of brachiopods. Such patterns are understandable if these colonial epibionts grew on living brachiopods, taking advantage of the brachiopods\u27 feeding currents. Circular borings and dendritic grooves are common on the brachiopod shells and may have caused the death of some brachiopods. Because the Cerro Gordo Member of the Lime Creek Formation was deposited on a muddy seafloor, attachment sites for small suspension feeders were limited. In this environment, brachiopod shells and horn corals provided relatively mud-free sites where epibionts could attach, grow, and survive

Counseling with guided use of a mobile well-being app for students experiencing anxiety or depression: Clinical outcomes of a feasibility trial embedded in a student counseling service

Background: Anxiety and depression continue to be prominent experiences of students approaching their university counseling service. These services face unique challenges to ensure that they continue to offer quality support with fewer resources to a growing student population. The convenience and availability of mobile phone apps offer innovative solutions to address therapeutic challenges and expand the reach of traditional support. Objective: The primary aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of a trial in which guided use of a mobile phone well-being app was introduced into a student counseling service and offered as an adjunct to face-to-face counseling. Methods: The feasibility trial used a two-arm, parallel nonrandomized design comparing counseling alone (treatment as usual) versus counseling supplemented with guided use of a mobile phone well-being app (intervention) for 38 university students experiencing moderate anxiety or depression. Students in both conditions received up to 6 sessions of face-to-face counseling within a 3-month period. Students who approached the counseling service and were accepted for counseling were invited to join the trial. Feasibility factors evaluated include recruitment duration, treatment preference, randomization acceptability, and intervention fidelity. Clinical outcomes and clinical change were assessed with routine clinical outcome measures administered every counseling session and follow-up phases at 3 and 6 months after recruitment. Results: Both groups demonstrated reduced clinical severity by the end of counseling. This was particularly noticeable for depression, social anxiety, and hostility, whereby clients moved from elevated clinical to low clinical or from low clinical to nonclinical by the end of the intervention. By the 6-month follow-up, TAU clients' (n=18) anxiety had increased whereas intervention clients' (n=20) anxiety continued to decrease, and this group difference was significant (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7: t22=3.46, P=.002). This group difference was not replicated for levels of depression: students in both groups continued to decrease their levels of depression by a similar amount at the 6-month follow-up (Physical Health Questionnaire-9: t22=1.30, P=.21). Conclusion: Supplementing face-to-face counseling with guided use of a well-being app is a feasible and acceptable treatment option for university students experiencing moderate anxiety or depression. The feasibility trial was successfully embedded into a university counseling service without denying access to treatment and with minimal disruption to the service. This study provides preliminary evidence for using a well-being app to maintain clinical improvements for anxiety following the completion of counseling. The design of the feasibility trial provides the groundwork for the development of future pilot trials and definitive trials embedded in a student counseling service

Raising our sites: Dissemination of supported education

In order to promote replication of supported education, an exemplary rehabilitation model for adults with psychiatric disabilities, funds were accessed through a Community Action Grant from the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Three communities in Michigan participated in a multistage process designed to maximize community ownership by encouraging local adaptations involving all stakeholder groups and providing technical assistance. The stages in the process were organizing the community for supported education development, acquiring knowledge about supported education basics, collecting information (needs assessment and barrier identification), and developing the plan. All three sites have begun implementation, providing services to adults with psychiatric disabilities who wish to pursue post-secondary education. The approach employed has applicability for other local communities.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45773/1/11414_2005_Article_BF02287778.pd

Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice in Community Behavioral Health: Agency Director Perspectives

Despite a growing supply of evidence-based mental health treatments, we have little evidence about how to implement them in real-world care. This qualitative pilot study captured the perspectives of agency directors on the challenge of implementing evidence-based practices in community mental health agencies. Directors identified challenges as limited access to research, provider resistance, and training costs. Director leadership, support to providers, and partnerships with universities were leverage points to implement evidenced-based treatments. Directors’ mental models of EBP invoked such concepts as agency reputation, financial solvency, and market niche. Findings have potential to shape implementation interventions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61161/1/Implementation.pd

Educational functioning and college integration of students with mental illness: Examining the roles of psychiatric symptomatology and mental health service use.

The typical age of onset for many major mental illnesses corresponds to the late adolescent and early adulthood years, coinciding with the traditional age of college attendance (Besier, Erickson, Fleming, & Iacono, 1993). Many individuals with mental illnesses have left college prior to completion of their degree, and mental illness may have played a role in this college attrition (Kessler, Foster, Saunders, & Stang, 1995). Advances in mental health treatment, including improved therapeutic techniques and more effective psychotropic medications, may help reverse the relationship between psychiatric illness and untimely college departure. Through reporting the findings of three interview-based studies, this dissertation provided a profile of students with mental illness, defined as moderate-to-severe psychiatric symptoms that have typically lasted several years. The first study described a sample of college students with mental illness based on their demographics, mental health history, mental health service utilization, college-related variables including the impact of symptoms on academic and social life, and their patterns of disclosure about the mental illness. The second study provided a qualitative analysis of help-seeking attitudes, mental health service use, and the intersection of mental health and college. Finally, the third study compared students with and without mental illnesses on a number of college variables, and then tested a college integration model adapted to include mental health and mental health service variables. Results showed that college students with mental illness are capable of academic performance equivalent to that of students without mental health problems. However, the academic and social aspects of college are taxing for these students, particularly if they are not receiving effective mental health services. Students with mental illness are motivated to participate in mental health services, especially if services will help maintain educational goals, but many barriers to service use were described. Participants identified numerous problems accessing and maintaining mental health care. Results indicated the need for better processes for assisting students experiencing serious symptoms on campus. Suggestions included a better referral system and improved coordination between higher education mental health resources and the community-based mental health system.Ph.D.Clinical psychologyEducationHigher educationPsychologySocial SciencesSocial workUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128233/2/3029395.pd