Going Where They Are: Intentionally Embedding Librarians in Courses and Measuring the Impact on Student Learning

ABSTRACT

The concept of embedded librarians is a way for academic librarians to be intentionally and strategically inserted in the learning and teaching process through a variety of initiatives. In a mid-size university, in order to better address the research and curricular needs of students and faculty members, librarians became more intentional about embedding themselves in academic departments and online courses. To assess the impact upon student learning, the librarians are working on a pilot project utilizing a variety of methods. This article describes the first phase of this assessment project, a survey of faculty teaching course in which faculty were embedded. Finally, information on next steps to assess the embedded librarian program using student surveys, focus groups, and interviews is presented.     

From research to reality: Australian evidence-based practice in autism education

Many teachers are sporadic in using evidence-based practice (EBP) concerning students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Numerous reasons have been posited for this. However, no single study has worked to understand the relative importance of identified criteria in the EBP decision-making processes of teachers. Through the development of a new survey tool, the Evidence-Based Practice Innovation Survey (EBPIAS), an exploration of the decision-making process of Australian teachers in their adoption and cessation of EBP was undertaken. Teachers rated the perception that an EBP would meet the needs of their students as the most important criteria in determining their use of EBP. Conversely, the judgement that an EBP did not meet the needs of their student was the most important criteria in their decision to cease use. In comparing the relevant importance of identified criteria, teachers rated the perception of training as the second-lowest consideration in their decision to adopt and cease using EBP. Consequently, there may need to be greater promotion of, or information concerning, the training required by teachers for effective implementation supporting a more balanced and holistic approach in assessing criteria impacting the adoption of EBP by teachers in the first instance, potentially lowering cessation rates.     

Cultivating Hope Through Learning for the Common Good

This article examines how an orientation toward hope can guide institutions of higher education in achieving their ultimate purpose of providing education for the common good of society. In today's cultural context, colleges and universities must navigate a multitude of challenges and competing philosophies, many of which question the validity of their inherent value and purpose. As society continues to press questions of market relevance, sustainability, accessibility, quality, and the value of higher education, a basic question remains: How, amid all of these challenges, can today's postsecondary institutions contribute to the cultivation of a better society? In this regard, faith-based colleges and universities can offer guidance. By carrying out their distinctive mandate of infusing their educational mission with the holistic character formation of students, these institutions can promote the common good by coupling the Gospel message of personal hope in Jesus Christ with the call to cultural influence and transformation. To demonstrate this concept, a framework is offered that describes both a starting point—a biblical foundation for understanding humanity and hope—and a pathway through learning. The application of this framework—uncommon learning for the common good—invites implications for curricular design, the facilitation of learning, and institutional leadership that faculty and administrators from across the spectrum of higher education may find timely and relevant to their own learning contexts.     

RELIGION AS THE BASIS FOR COUNSELLING

The efficiency and the success of counselling can be frustrated by the fact that far more clients than counsellors attach importance to and profess a belief in religion. Thus it is difficult if not impossible for the counsellor to work within the spiritual/religious framework of the client to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the problem which moved the client to seek counselling in the first place. Psychological theories of religion as well as interpretations of religious experiences are explored, an example being the use of the cosmology of the Toba Batak of Indonesia as a healing resource. The way the Toba Batak have responded to modernization and Christianization might offer certain lessons as to how modern Europeans and Americans might combine spiritualism and secularism in order to remain mentally and ethically healthy.     

Technology Knowledge and Use: A Survey of Science Educators

The purpose of this study was to determine the current state of technology use and know-how among members of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science. A web-based survey site and an e-mail merge invited members to participate in the study. The survey examined the differences between current and desired levels of knowledge about using technology as an instructional tool, to support research, to enhance productivity in classroom applications, and to enhance data collection and analysis. Large mean differences about using technology as an instructional tool were found, including: (1) teaching students at a distance, (2) database applications, and (3) desktop publishing. Small mean differences were found for telecommunications and word processing.     

2003年奥斯卡之最

“Writers.directors,actors-if we’re stuck here tonightand we run out of food,that’s the order of whom we eat.-Steve Martin,cracking a joke so funny even Harrison FordsmiledBiggest Rationalization(合理化):The producers ofche OscarS decided that the telecast should still go on despite thewar in Iraq.Okay,but we’re warning you:If the producers ofAccording to Jim try to use that excuse,we’re not buying It.Least True Rumor:That Miramax dropped fliers overBeverly Hills urging Academy members to surrender and voteMartin Scorsese for Best Director.Even Less True:Although Saddam Hussein remainsunaccounted for,there is absolutely no truth to the rumor thathis moustache was last seen trying to escape by passing itselt offas Salma Hayek’s Frida-brow.     

Children with reported histories of sexual abuse: utilizing multiple perspectives to understand clinical and psychosocial profiles

OBJECTIVE: The current study examines multiple empirically based perspectives (i.e., child, caregiver, and clinician) of behavior and functioning as they contribute to the clinical and psychosocial profile of children (aged 5 to 17.5 years) with reported histories of sexual abuse.METHOD: A large, multi-site data set of children referred into Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services both with and without reported histories of sexual abuse, was examined. Seven hundred and fifty-nine children with a reported history of sexual abuse were compared to 2722 without such a history on caregiver and child reported behavior, clinician rated functioning, diagnosis, demographic variables, and life challenges.RESULTS: The multiple perspectives contributed unique and specific information to regression models: caregiver-reported behavior contributed information about externalizing behavior while child-reported behavior added information about internalizing behavior and clinician ratings about self-harmful behavior. Children with reported histories of sexual abuse were also more likely to be female, Caucasian, and have reported histories of life challenges (e.g., physical abuse, substance use, running away). Child sexual abuse was associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety diagnoses, and lower rates of substance abuse, conduct, and attention deficit disorder diagnoses.CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the profile of children entering into Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services with reported histories of sexual abuse, as compared to those without such histories, is complex and best understood via multiple perspectives. Caregiver, child and clinician rated information, when taken together, provide a comprehensive clinical and psychosocial profile around which to plan and implement individualized service plans.