Assisting school personnel with youth transitioning from residential treatment to a school environment

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015The following research project examines the data and literature regarding youth who reside in residential treatment centers for behavior and mental health purposes. The paper introduces common risk factors that youth are experiencing which contribute to their placement in the facilities, as well as the difficulties they face upon exiting the treatment program. This project explores how schools can assist students in the transition from residential treatment to a school setting using a bio-ecological model that supports the students on an individual level up to a systemic level. School counselors serve as a key point of contact for transitioning students and can help teachers to understand this population and introduce supports both in the classroom and schoolwide. Teachers will also learn how to identify and modify potential negative stigmas, frustrations, and thought processes by practicing cognitive behavior techniques. The application resulting from the project is a counselor lead in-service for elementary through high school teachers, administrators, and student support services personnel

LibGuides Assessment Following the ACRL webinar Essentials of Usability Design for Library Research Guides

Workshop Overview: Participants will discuss major takeaways from webinar, and work collaboratively to assess their own institutions’ LibGuides. Workshop Structure: After the webinar, the host will thank everyone for attending, and invite people to stay for a hands-on workshop. The host will lead the class into a discussion of the webinar by posing the question, “What stood out to you most from the webinar?” After this brief discussion, the host will ask people to gather into groups; depending on the number of attendees, groups will be comprised of 2-3 or 4-5 people. The groups will be tasked with assessing a few of each of their library’s LibGuides, based on the principles learned during the webinar. Each group will have one laptop or iPad to perform this task (host is responsible for checking out laptops/iPads from the media desk before webinar, and obtaining a guest username/password that can be used on all devices). Each group will also be provided with one rolling whiteboard and markers. Throughout this process, an Armstrong librarian will be taking pictures of the groups working, as well as taking pictures of the comments and observations noted on the whiteboards. Post-workshop, the host will email these pictures to each attendee. During this group-work, each group will be asked to consider the following questions: What immediate changes to the LibGuides can you implement? What long-term changes can you implement? What is your library already doing that the webinar speaker mentioned is an important feature of usability? After 20 minutes of assessment, the groups will share their assessment of one LibGuide per group with the entire class, using the Mondopad at the front of the room. After 20 minutes of presentations, the attendees will then be asked to share any additional thoughts or comments about the webinar or workshop with the class. Following this discussion, the attendees will receive certificates of participation, and the workshop will conclude

Instruction Assessment Following the ACRL webinar Fighting Fake News with the ACRL Framework

Workshop Overview: Participants will work collaboratively to discuss ways to incorporate the ACRL Framework into their current information literacy instruction, which includes differentiating fake news from real news. Workshop Structure: After the webinar concludes, the six frames comprising the ACRL Framework will be displayed on the screen. The audience will be asked if they want a brief overview explaining the frames (this will be done for the benefit of media specialists, public librarians, etc.). Next, participants will be asked to take five minutes to write down their current information literacy instruction activities/methods that are applicable to fake news. Then, participants will be divided into groups of three, where they will work collaboratively to adjust their info lit instruction to fit into the ACRL Framework. The groups will be asked for volunteers to discuss with the audience how each will modify their instruction methods/activities. Various fake news handouts will be given to the participants; these documents will also be emailed to them post-workshop to be used with instruction. The attendees will receive certificates of participation in the mail

Low income and impoverished families pay disproportionately more for child care

According to research based on the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation, working families with young children living in poverty pay 32 percent of their income on child care, nearly five times more than families living at more than 200 percent of the poverty level. This brief asks policy makers to consider allowing more subsidies to be available to those who could benefit most from them

Building Blocks of Effective Leadership

Three individuals will share their perspectives about mentoring and guidance within academia. They will discuss how the networking, questioning and formation of feedback opportunities in their relationships have contributed to their evolution as administrators—from department chair to provost