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Research Team Awarded Community-Based Research Incentive
A research team has been awarded a community-based research incentive toward a project to benefit the Little Haiti neighborhood.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives awarded $1,000 to the research team led by Dr. Ruth Ban, an associate professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department of Barry’s Adrian Dominican School of Education.
The research team will investigate how the tutoring, mentoring, and facilitation of social justice activities implemented by a group of Barry undergraduates may impact the lives and education of at-risk youth in Little Haiti.
Titled “A Critical Ethnographic Examination of Impact from a Mutually Beneficial Tutoring and Mentoring Partnership in Little Haiti,” the CBR project is expected to assist the community partner in acquiring information that will enhance the tutoring and mentoring program.
Other members of the research team are Courtney Berrien, associate director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives; Valerie Scott and Xiaoxi Dong, doctoral students in the School of Education; and representatives of Gang Alternative, the Little Haiti-based community partner.
The CCSI manages the Community-Based Research Incentive Program, which supports the development and implementation of CBR projects. The CCSI provides small-scale funding to help defray the costs of such efforts.
CBR incentives are awarded through a competitive process to full-time faculty members who teach undergraduate and/or graduate courses.
Community-based research is a collaborative process of critical inquiry into problems or issues faced by a community. Faculty members and students collaborate with community partners on applied research projects that address specific problems or issues and simultaneously promote social change. Through CBR, students learn research design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting.
According to the CCSI, research questions emerge from the needs of the community. The goal of the research is to produce and disseminate information that will benefit community members or agencies serving the community.
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Barry Team Publishes Article on Community-Based Research Project
Gerene K. Starratt, Ivana Fredotovic, Sashay Goodletty, and Christopher Starratt have published an article, “Holocaust Knowledge and Holocaust Education Experiences Predict Citizenship Values among US Adults,” in the Journal of Moral Education (Vol. 46, 2017).
Gerry Starratt is an associate professor in the Adrian Dominican School of Education; Fredotovic and Goodletty are ADSOE graduates; Kit Starratt is vice provost.
In the abstract of the article, the authors explain: “This study contributes to the literature an inferential investigation that reports positive civic attitudes associated with Holocaust education. A moderate correlation was identified, with approximately 10% of the variance in citizenship scores explained by Holocaust knowledge. Multiple regression analyses revealed Holocaust knowledge as the strongest predictor of citizenship values, followed by gender, suburban/urban childhood community, and learning about the Holocaust in school, respectively. Of eight unique Holocaust education experiences examined, learning about the Holocaust in school was the strongest predictor of citizenship values, followed by hearing a Holocaust survivor testimony in person or via electronic media, and visiting a Holocaust museum, respectively.”
According to the abstract, the findings can inform Holocaust education policy, research, and practice, including the potential role of Holocaust curriculum in the larger context of moral and civic education.
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CCSI Associate Director Facilitates Professional Development
Courtney Berrien, associate director of Barry’s Center for Community Service Initiatives, facilitated a professional development session for the board of directors of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement last Thursday.
Titled “Identity, Intersectionality, Privilege and Power: Implications for Professional and Community Relationships,” the 75-minute professional development session was organized by the IARSLCE Board Development Committee.
Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of the CCSI, co-chairs the committee with Jeff Howard, assistant director for faculty development at DePaul University.
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Barry Students’ Support for Refugees Highlighted in Newspaper Column
“We should keep our hearts and arms open to migrants, especially refugees.”
That’s the message from Glenn Bowen, executive director of Barry’s Center for Community Service Initiatives.
In a newspaper column, Bowen said Barry University students were at the forefront of efforts to spread the same message. He noted that students recently welcomed newcomers from Afghanistan,
According to Bowen, “Their efforts are in sync with Barry
Bowen’s opinion column was published in the April 13–19 issue of South Florida Times.
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Four Faculty Members Win Community Engagement Awards
Four faculty members have won community engagement awards this year. They are Dr. Stephanie Bingham, associate professor of biology; Dr. Marc Lavallee, assistant professor of practical theology; Dr. Adam Dean, associate professor of communication; and Dr. Pamela Hall, associate professor of psychology.
Both Bingham and Lavallee received the Community Engagement Educator Award; Dean was the recipient of the Engaged Scholarship Award; Hall was honored with the Service-Learning Faculty Award.
Bingham encouraged her students to promote science education among children and youth in various ways. They judged school science fairs, joined community outreach efforts at the Frost Museum of Science, and contributed interactive exhibits to the Brain Fair for Kids at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.
Two years ago, Bingham formed a partnership with North Miami Elementary School, setting up Saturday sessions for her students to help elementary school children learn and apply the scientific method. Since then, Barry students have repeatedly donned lab coats to demonstrate principles of biology, chemistry, and physics through hands-on laboratory experiments at the school. She also encouraged the North Miami Elementary students to submit projects to the South Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair for the first time in the school’s history.
The partnership she created contributed to an 8 percent increase in science scores among the school’s fifth-grade students.
Lavallee regularly related Catholic Social Teaching to local issues, especially the plight of migrant farmworkers in South Florida. He facilitated the engagement of his students in service-learning projects and off-campus marches in solidarity with the Student/Farmworker Alliance and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
Lavallee “sets a fine example for his students with his actions, and he has raised student awareness of their power as conscious consumers,” said Dr. Jill Farrell, dean of Barry’s Adrian Dominican School of Education, who presented the award plaques in the Community Engagement Educator award category.
As a co-advisor for Barry’s Alternative Breaks, Lavallee assisted in guiding the restructuring of the program. In particular, he helped develop a destination in Haiti as a first step in forging a long-term relationship between Barry University and Haitian institutions focused on education and healthcare.
Dean forged partnerships with Church World Service, the Sierra Club, Everglades Wildlife Alliance, Love the Everglades Movement, and Relay for Life. He guided his students in creating community-engaged photography and video documentaries. For example, his students created videos on hygiene, job readiness, and transportation in Miami, which Church World Service shows to recently arrived refugees.
Dean’s scholarship and creative work cover the South Florida water crisis. He is currently completing a film on protecting the Biscayne aquifer. His film includes interviews with representatives of government agencies and environmental advocacy groups, and of the indigenous peoples who are particularly vulnerable to pollution in the Everglades.
Students enrolled in Dean’s courses have provided educational support to children at Lillie Williams Elementary School, Early Steps Head Start centers, and St. Mary’s Cathedral School. At Head Start, the Barry students have supported the classroom teachers and lead class activities with the teachers’ supervision. Seniors have worked one-to-one with preschoolers who have been identified as facing cognitive, emotional, or behavioral challenges. The students help these children write and recognize their names, the alphabet, and the numbers 1 through 10.
At St. Mary’s, the students have applied psychological principles to teach elementary school children life skills and creative expression. The Barry students reflect on their experience at the school and present posters at the Psychology Department’s Annual Research Forum. At the end of each course, this faculty member meets with the community partners to evaluate her students’ contributions.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives hosted Barry’s fourth annual Community Engagement Awards on March 29.
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Community Partners Honored at Community Engagement Awards
The recipients of 2017 community engagement awards in the Community Partnership category were Gang Alternative, Miami Beach
Dr. John McFadden, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, presented plaques for community partnership at the fourth annual Community Engagement Awards last month.
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CCSI Seeks Applications for Barry Service Corps Fellows Program
The Center for Community Service Initiatives is seeking applications for the Barry Service Corps Fellows Program. Successful applicants will form the 2017–2018 program cohort.
The BSC Fellows Program is a civic learning and leadership initiative of the CCSI. Designed to develop civic-mindedness in undergraduates, the program involves training and development sessions; collaboration with community partners; support of CCSI programs and events; and design, implementation, and assessment of focused projects.
Prospective BSC fellows may pick up an application form in the CCSI (Adrian 208). The application deadline is May 1.
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Faculty Learning Community Meets Monday at 2 PM
The academic year’s final seminar session of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship will be held on Monday, April 24. The CCSI will host the session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Adrian 208.
FLC Facilitator Dr. Laura Finley says the session will be focused on Writing and Engaged Scholarship.
Any faculty member may join the FLC and attend meetings and seminars throughout the academic year.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : April 24, 2017
