The HDFS Catalyst
December
2017
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Dr. Bahira Sherif Trask at a United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Families and the Sustainable Development Goals held in Qatar in November.
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Dear HDFS Community,
I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2018. I feel lucky and proud to work with such a supportive, enthusiastic and accomplished group of individuals. Our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community colleagues all work collaboratively to truly impact our society on a local and global level. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Dr. Bahira Sherif Trask
HDFS Department Chair
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Alumni Making a Difference
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Loren Marks, Ph.D. '02,
is a professor in Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life. As a graduate student, Dr. Marks worked under the mentorship and advisement of HDFS professor,
Dr. Rob Palkovitz
. His research interests have included religion and families, minority families, and family finance. He has authored more than 100 scholarly works including two books,
Sacred Matters: Religion and Spirituality in Families
(with Wes Burr and the late Randy Day) and
Religion and Families
(with David Dollahite). His research on families has received national media attention from outlets including
The New York Times
,
The Washington Times, The Boston Globe,
and
The Wall Street Journal
.
During his 13 years at LSU, he received multiple teaching awards and was awarded the Kathryn Norwood and Claude Fussell Endowed Professorship. He has been twice nominated (in 2011 and 2014) for a national Carnegie (CASE) Professor of the Year Award. He is Co-Director (with David Dollahite) of the
American Families of Faith Research Project.
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Dr. Bridgette G. Johnson is a new faculty member in the HDFS Department
.
This semester, she served as supervisor and mentor to student teachers during their Fall student teaching placements.
In terms of teaching, Dr. Johnson believes that in order to engage students in the university classroom, content should be presented in different ways. In her classroom, students work in small and large groups and incorporate technology in in-class and out-of-class projects, and are encouraged to be creative and active participants in the learning process. Students are given room to debate controversial topics in order to challenge their existing beliefs on various topics (e.g., disability, education). In addition to teaching, Dr. Johnson also is interested in research focused on teacher self-efficacy and culturally responsive practices.
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Drs. Ann Aviles and Ruth Fleury-Steiner received a grant from the University of Delaware Center for Teaching and Learning
to enhance HDFS 230: Families and Their Communities. The goal of the grant is to build mutually beneficial relationships with community organizations, to ensure both that students are exposed to real community issues and that the class is responsive to real community needs. To that end, they met with stakeholders in Wilmington to learn more about organizations that are working to make a difference. Guest speakers also came to share their experiences and expertise with students. In Dr. Fleury-Steiner’s class, student final project topics emerged from the needs described by U’Gundi Jacobs, director of the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center. In turn, the final projects will be shared with the community center staff, to support their work.
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Drs. Rena Hallam and Jason Hustedt were invited
to present at the China Early Childhood Education Summit which was held in Tangshan, China in November. They were part of a symposium on early care and education practices in the U.S. Dr. Rena Hallam presented on “Creating Preschool Environments to promote Play-based Learning” and Dr. Jason Hustedt presented on "Models for professional development of early childhood teachers".
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Libby Heiks, 'ECE 18
(pictured left with her Clinical Educator)
had the opportunity to student teach this past semester at Forest Oak Elementary in a Kindergarten classroom. The bonds she formed with the students and her Clinical Educator reinforced her passion for teaching. According to Libby, "The rigorous schedule of student teaching and taking courses prepared me to be able to adjust to the demands of being a full time teacher one day, It's been so fun and rewarding to put all I have learned in courses here at UD into practice."
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Pictured above along with Internship Coordinator Dr. Norma Gaines-Hanks and HS Clinical Coordinator Adam Morris are the Fall 17 Human Service Interns with their certificates commemorating
their successful internship completions.
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The Human Services Student Council Club
is being re-instituted in January 2018. If you are interested in learning more about the club and getting involved please contact
Meagan Daly.
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Upcoming Announcements & Dates
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- University Closed Dec 25th-Jan 1st
- University Offices re-open Jan 2nd
- Winter Session Begins Jan 3rd
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