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Global learning through doing: High-impact experiences

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FIUTS鈥檚 wide range of Educational Programs include several that offer 91探花students hands-on experience in K-12 classrooms. Photo courtesy of FIUTS.
FIUTS鈥檚 wide range of Educational Programs include several that offer 91探花students hands-on experience in K-12 classrooms. Photo courtesy of FIUTS.

The 91探花offers a myriad of paths to high-impact global experiences for students: from service projects with international communities to internships in the global workforce; from conducting international research to serving our diverse student body through student organizations or government. And some students create brand new paths toward more intercultural engagements at the UW. These students are having transformative experiences 鈥� and transforming the world around them.

Shooq Alhathelool
91探花Tacoma, class of 2019

Shooq Alhathelool, class of 2019.
Shooq Alhathelool, class of 2019.

In Fall 2016, Shooq Alhathelool had been in the U.S. for a year when she transferred from Tacoma Community College to 91探花Tacoma. Originally from Saudi Arabia, she quickly became interested in learning about the cultural diversity surrounding her on the 91探花Tacoma campus 鈥� among both the international and domestic student populations.

Getting involved

Alhathelool joined the 91探花Tacoma Global Ambassadors Program in Fall 2017. 鈥淏efore the Global Ambassadors meetings, I didn鈥檛 know anything about civil rights issues in the U.S. 鈥� racism, immigration, the prison system or other issues,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very month we get to meet and hear professionals discuss these issues and then discuss them ourselves. I鈥檒l hear a student say, oh, we have the same issue in China and I鈥檓 thinking, we have something similar in Saudi … I see how we all connect.鈥�

One particularly impactful presentation came from a visiting Indigenous Studies scholar, Paulette Blanchard. 鈥淚鈥檇 never learned much about Native American issues, especially from a woman鈥檚 perspective. She talked about tribes and wanting to keep traditions alive, and I really relate to that because sometimes I think, why do we [in Saudi Arabia] still do that old tradition? But seeing her fight for her culture was really cool. It made me embrace my culture more, be proud of it and want to preserve it.鈥�

Forging new paths

Alhathelool also joined the Muslim Student Association (MSA). 鈥淚 really wanted to do something for MSA and for the community,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he president of MSA suggested, 鈥榳hat about teaching Arabic?鈥� In Islam, all of our practices are in Arabic 鈥� and I saw how most students in MSA were struggling with their Arabic. So I thought it was a great idea.鈥�

A great idea 鈥� but at first, an overwhelming one. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know where to start! First, I was binge-watching videos on Youtube about teaching Arabic to beginners,鈥� Alhathelool says. 鈥淎t the same time I was learning Spanish, so I was thinking about what was helping me learn a new language, and I created similar games and lessons. I tried to use any resources I could for support.鈥� In time, she created a complete syllabus, and in Spring term started holding lessons every week.

Alhathelool expected lessons would mostly be of interest to MSA students 鈥� but from the beginning, they drew a diverse mix of students, as well as faculty and staff. One student, she remembers, had served in Iraq and was interested in refreshing his Arabic.

After one quarter, Cindy Schaarschmidt at the Office of Global Affairs took notice of the impact Alhathelool鈥檚 lessons were having on the 91探花Tacoma community. The OGA offered support through the Strategic Initiatives Fund, so that her costs of time and resources could be sustained longer-term.

鈥淲hen I first came to campus as an international student, I was very shy, and I didn鈥檛 know a lot of people,鈥� Althathelool says. 鈥淣ow I realized that yes, I鈥檓 an international student and I don鈥檛 really understand the culture, but that means that I get to learn it 鈥� and teach others about mine.鈥�

Ayan Abshir
91探花Seattle, class of 2017

Ayan Abshir knew for quite some time that she wanted to do something to help refugees in the Seattle area. 鈥淚n 2016, I had just come back from a study abroad program in Italy and had seen the huge refugee crisis there,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I started looking for a community-oriented internship through the Carlson Center.鈥� With support from the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center鈥檚 Undergraduate Community Based Internships (UCBI) structure and a Class of 1957 Fellowship, Abshir began working as Youth Program Intern with the International Rescue Committee in May 2017. Her project? Creating a summer day camp for refugee children.

鈥淟ike everything at the university right now, we鈥檙e both influenced by and serving international students 鈥� and finding all students opportunities to work with communities unlike the ones they grew up in.鈥�

鈥� Rachel Vaughn, Carlson Center director

Abshir, of course, had never created a summer camp from scratch, so she used whatever resources she could, including help from her supervisor. Ultimately, she designed the curriculum, daily activities and structure for the camp. 鈥淚 learned so much,鈥� she says, 鈥渁bout youth development strategies, community building and program coordination, by interacting with the refugee youth who were adapting to a new environment.鈥�

The service project had personal resonances for Abshir. 鈥淚 was born here [in the U.S.], but have seven older siblings who were born in Kenya and Somalia,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey came here when the war broke out. I saw my family struggle 鈥� with stereotypes, language barriers, the education system 鈥� so I know how that feels. I used to hear from my siblings about their fear when they first arrived. So with the refugee kids, I got to see them wanting to engage and building their confidence. It was so cool.鈥�

For Abshir, working with an international community in the Seattle area was the definition of a 鈥渉igh-impact鈥� experience 鈥� and she encourages other students to get involved with global issues. 鈥淔or 91探花students, many of us do come from diverse backgrounds, so an internship like this can open up your mind to a whole different experience,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t forces you to engage with people that you haven鈥檛 before, encounter problems you hadn鈥檛 thought about before. I grew up working class, but it opened up my eyes to the privilege that I have.鈥�

鈥淯ndergraduate research is one of the uniquely transformative offerings of the husky experience. International huskies bring their global perspectives to the research context, enriching their inquiry and contributions. Students engaging in international research often have deeper and more meaningful experiences 鈥� often leading to collaborations and connections that have the potential to be both life changing and lifelong.鈥�

鈥� Jennifer Harris, Undergraduate Research Program director

Teaching and learning in our international classrooms

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Traveling abroad isn鈥檛 the only way to gain cross-cultural competency, for students or for teachers. Faculty are exploring new methods to connect 91探花students with peers in different parts of the world, without leaving campus. Meanwhile, the Center for Teaching and Learning is developing new ways to support international instructors and leverage our international classrooms.

Greg Tuke, Lecturer at 91探花Bothell and leader of COIL workshops at universities around the U.S.
Greg Tuke, Lecturer at 91探花Bothell and leader of COIL workshops at universities around the U.S.

Bringing global connections into local classrooms via COIL

鈥淲e can鈥檛 get 100 percent of the student body traveling internationally,鈥� says Greg Tuke, lecturer at 91探花Bothell. 鈥淪o how do we bring the international experience to all students?鈥�

One way is through : Collaborative Online International Learning. Sometimes called 鈥渧irtual exchange,鈥� COIL refers to any method of using technology to bring global experiences into classrooms or curricula. In COIL courses, faculty in different nations loosely sync their curricula so that students collaborate on projects in international groups. COIL can allow students who may be bound by time or cost from studying abroad to have rich international experiences 鈥� without leaving campus.

A growing method to support essential skills

Online fluency and cross-cultural teamwork have become highly valued skills in the workforce, 鈥渁nd those skills take practice,鈥� says Natalia Dyba, director of Global Affairs at 91探花Bothell. For students across the globe, COIL methods are gaining traction to support those essential professional skills.

91探花was one of the first U.S. universities to offer institutional support for COIL courses. In 2013, 91探花Bothell launched the with seed funding from the Jackson School for International Studies (and continued support from 91探花Bothell Academic Affairs). The program provides support for faculty on all three campuses to develop and teach COIL courses, and a community for sharing ideas and resources.

Now, over 25 COIL courses have been implemented on all three campuses in a wide range of disciplines. On the Bothell campus, in the 2016-17 academic year, students in COIL courses outnumbered those who studied abroad for the first time.

Tuke leads COIL workshops for instructors around the world, and while still in early stages, the 91探花remains 鈥渁head of the curve,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are few other universities that have so many faculty trained and doing COIL courses.鈥� It makes sense that COIL is spreading. It can allow faculty to develop international aspects of their research, and universities to offer cost-effective global experiences to many more students than could otherwise have them.

COIL methods foster collaboration: between students and faculty in different parts of the world, and among 91探花students. Stock Photo.
COIL methods foster collaboration: between students and faculty in different parts of the world, and among 91探花students. Stock Photo.

Bringing other nations into 91探花classrooms

Using COIL is simpler than you might think, Tuke says. It鈥檚 ideal to use the simplest technology available in participating countries and platforms that students are already using. Tuke鈥檚 students interact mostly via instant messaging and closed Facebook groups, through which they discuss ideas, problem-solve and share videos.

Course planning can be more challenging, as it means figuring out where aspects of curricula might overlap with different courses, taught by different instructors in different countries 鈥� but the payoff is worth it, says Tuke. He is currently teaching a course entitled Taking It Global: The Great Debates East and West as part of 91探花Bothell鈥檚 first-year curriculum. Through international faculty networks, he connected with a professor at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who is teaching an advanced English course. They decided to link courses, using the same content to teach English at the same time as critical thinking, research and collaboration skills. Meanwhile, the collaboration enriches the content, as students tackle the central issues through cross-cultural perspectives. Students work in groups throughout the term, exchanging ideas online and building toward a final team project: an enactment of a 鈥済reat debate鈥� in real time, via Skype or Zoom.

Bringing about new ways of knowing

Through collaboration, students can better understand the content itself, notes Tuke. Often, they are working with peers who might be directly impacted by the classroom work. For example, in winter 2018, Tuke co-taught a course with 91探花Bothell professor Ursula Valdez entitled Great Rivers of the World, linked with universities in Peru and Egypt. 91探花students studying the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest got to work with students living near the Amazon and the Nile 鈥� comparing local ecosystems and coming up with actionable solutions to improve them.

In addition, 91探花students鈥� international backgrounds 鈥� international students, but also students of immigrant or refugee backgrounds 鈥� are often engaged in important ways. As Dyba says, 鈥渆ngaging with another 鈥榦ther鈥� helps them understand their international experience in a new way.鈥� In his courses, Tuke has noticed that these students often have cultural experiences or knowledge that might be more similar to the students in other countries, he says, 鈥渁nd they bring skills that aren鈥檛 often called upon in traditional classrooms.鈥�

Perhaps most importantly, Tuke notes that his students seem inclined to approach difficult issues through broader perspectives after working with students in other countries. Their teamwork, he says, can 鈥渞ecreate something that happens in traditional study abroad 鈥� those life-changing moments when you start seeing yourself, and others, differently.鈥�

International and multilingual students enrich classrooms: What the data show

Sandra Silberstein, professor in English, has been researching academic support for international and multilingual students at the 91探花for ten years. Recent surveys of faculty, TAs, and students yielded an overwhelmingly common response: international students enrich classrooms. Both students and instructors said that perspectives from non-U.S., often non-Western, students broaden the scope of learning. Many instructors reported changing teaching practices to adapt to a globalizing campus 鈥� and that these changes made them better teachers for all students.

The student survey revealed the wealth of linguistic, academic and cultural resources that international and multilingual students bring to the UW. While around 40 percent of international and multilingual students attended high school in English, the survey reported approximately 70 home languages. 74 percent of respondents communicate in one or two languages in addition to English 鈥� most of the rest in more.

At the same time, the research shows that international students are like other students at the UW. They graduate at similar rates with similar GPAs; they worry about financial support and getting into their majors; they wish they had more time to socialize. And they feel supported: 84 percent said that they would recommend 91探花to a friend.

Instructors reported that international and multilingual students enrich learning for all:

  • 鈥淚nternational students bring new perspectives to issues discussed in class which invite students (and instructors) to rethink what they have too often taken for granted.鈥�
  • 鈥淚nternational students can often give illustrations of how the principles taught in the class apply in contexts outside the U.S.鈥�
  • 鈥淚nternational students help us 鈥榮ee鈥� the U.S. by sharing with us the things they find different about our cultures and cities.鈥�

Instructors also reported how international students benefit discipline-specific learning:

  • 鈥淓specially in macroeconomics courses, perspectives on peculiar macroeconomic phenomena 鈥� and on national policies outside of the U.S. 鈥� are interesting and valuable.鈥�
  • 鈥淭he benefit of cultural diversity in social work is crucial in order to know that students are well-prepared to work with diverse clients. International students bring an incredibly useful perspective when students might assume they all have the same experience or perspective.鈥�

Advancing global classrooms through the Center for Teaching and Learning

The (CTL) offers a wealth of resources for faculty, TAs and staff educators to create more global and inclusive classrooms. These include web resources for teaching international students and for international TAs who teach at UW. Inclusive teaching is a shared area of expertise among CTL鈥檚 instructional consultants, who offer facilitated conversations and workshops on topics related to the teaching and learning of international students.

CTL Instructional Consultants, Katie Malcolm and Karen Freisem at the 2017 International TA Conference. Photo courtesy of the 91探花Graduate School.
CTL Instructional Consultants, Katie Malcolm and Karen Freisem at the 2017 International TA Conference. Photo courtesy of the 91探花Graduate School.

Support for international graduate student TAs

CTL Instructional Consultant Katie Malcolm coordinates the , which offers support for new international graduate student TAs. As Malcolm notes, teaching for the first time is challenging for anyone 鈥� and those challenges can be compounded by teaching in a second, third or fourth language, within a new culture.

Most of the program content is not unique to international TAs, says Malcolm. Rather, the program offers TAs a space to 鈥渁sk questions in a safe, supported environment, and encourages community building 鈥� especially as grad school can be much more compartmentalized than undergrad.鈥�

Participants in the 2017 International TA Conference, facilitated by the Center for Teaching & Learning. Photo courtesy of the 91探花Graduate School.
Participants in the 2017 International TA Conference, facilitated by the Center for Teaching & Learning. Photo courtesy of the 91探花Graduate School.

The International TA Program includes a set of workshops at the every Fall, in which 150-200 international TAs generally participate. The conference is a further opportunity to share perspectives on classroom cultures, expectations and norms in the U.S and at the UW.

In addition, TAs often talk about wanting to learn more about inclusive teaching, Malcolm says, but struggle to carve out the time alongside their own graduate work. The solution? Offer course credit. In Spring 2017, she launched an interdisciplinary one-credit course entitled Teaching in Global Classrooms, which attracted an interdisciplinary group of graduate students from Engineering, the iSchool and Chemistry (to name a few). The course is all about 鈥渓everaging resources that students bring, and using those to make the classroom more global,鈥� she says.

Department-specific support for instructors

The CTL also offers departmental workshops for faculty and TAs on working with international classrooms. 鈥淲e help teachers think about all the great resources that international students bring into the class, to enrich the learning experience for all students,鈥� Malcolm says. Commonly, instructors want to learn strategies for clarifying expectations, assessing student writing and making sure that class discussions are inclusive.

One example of this is a workshop session Malcolm led for PhD students in the Foster School of Business Teaching Effectiveness seminar. 鈥淥ur cohorts are quite heavily international,鈥� says Christina Fong, principal lecturer of Management. 鈥淪o [Malcolm鈥檚] session offers strategies for how to succeed as an international instructor, and at the same time embrace and leverage the diversity of 91探花classrooms. Our TAs left feeling more confident, and also more informed about their students and excited to engage with them.鈥�

In general, thinking about pedagogy in regards to international students 鈥渃an be a way into thinking about race and equity in teaching more broadly,鈥� says Malcolm. 鈥淲hen instructors make changes to support international students in their classes, they support all students.鈥�

Human Health

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Over the last 25 years, we have seen some of the greatest advances in medicine in the history of humankind. In the next 25 years, the greatest transformations will come as a result of interdisciplinary collaborations in the areas of clinical care, public health interventions, public policy, technology and more.

The routine distance-vision eye test has long been a staple of public school education in the state of Washington. Yet near-vision problems have not traditionally received the same scrutiny. This will soon change thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this year. The law grew out of a vision and learning symposium organized in 2014 by Associate Professor Bill Erdly, who helped bring together the experts, advocates and legislators needed to collaboratively develop a solution to the shortcomings of the routine test.

Christopher Brown, a three-time Marine combat veteran and master of social work graduate, created a sustainable local farming organization for veterans in the name of holistic mental health. Growing Veterans, a thriving nonprofit, seeks to transform the lives of veterans through satisfying work and an opportunity to reconnect with one another and their communities to help reduce feelings of isolation and prevent suicide.

Current oral drug therapies for HIV can greatly reduce the presence of the virus in the blood stream. However, limitations prevent these therapies from reducing the presence of HIV in the tissues of a body, and to work in the blood stream, patients must strictly adhere to daily dosing regimens for the rest of their lives. To address these shortcomings, Professor Rodney J. Y. Ho, pharmacy, and Professor Ann Collier, medicine, have partnered to develop a new, seven-day long-lasting HIV therapy that seeks to overcome drug insufficiency in tissues while also improving patient adherence.

Researchers at the UW鈥檚 Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering are developing groundbreaking new medical devices intended to help restore function and mobility in individuals stricken by spinal cord injury or stroke. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, these researchers have developed implantable devices that can detect brain signals and transmit that information to other parts of the body鈥檚 nervous system. The center鈥檚 goal is to develop a successful demonstration of this concept in humans in the next five years, which will then allow regulatory approval to occur for wider dissemination.

The brain has evolved over thousands of years to allow humans to communicate through language. Reading is a relatively new skill for the brain, however, which leads Assistant Professor Jason Yeatman to wonder if dyslexia is a byproduct of visual systems being wired slightly differently in some humans. With the aid of non-invasive brain imaging technology, Yeatman and his team are studying developing brains to identify the changes that occur as reading skills are required. Through this research, they hope to expand treatment options for dyslexia.

People suffering from lung diseases in developing worlds often do not have a good way to track lung functioning without visiting the doctor. Through the work of 91探花researchers, many may soon be able to measure their lung function simply by blowing into any type of phone due to SpiroCall, a new health sensing tool, which was found to meet the medical community鈥檚 standard for accuracy. With this proof of concept in hand, the research team can now plan for additional data collection and determine how to best communicate results to patients.


鈥淚 hope that my work advances interdisciplinary connections in support of legal and policy reforms that improve community health as broadly conceived, enhance the patient experience of care, and provide better value for our health care dollars.鈥�

Sallie Thieme Sanford, Associate Professor, 91探花School of Law


鈥淚 am particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn more about potential collaborations between the health sciences and the broader University community [through the Population Health Initiative].鈥�

F. Bruder Stapleton, Professor and Chair of Pediatrics

ceci giachelli
鈥淚 hope the initiative will increase awareness of disparities in health, healthcare, and health-care access among different populations, and causes underlying these disparities.鈥�

Ceci Giachelli, W. Hunter and Dorothy Simpson Endowed Chair and Professor Bioengineering

Environmental Resiliency

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There is no question that our environment and its resources impact human health and well-being. The exact extent of the impact, however, is not always clear. From energy production to pollution, from natural disasters to overfishing, the Population Health Initiative encourages connections across disciplines to seek a better understanding of environmental sustainability.

91探花researcher Peter Kahn says that city dwellers are unaware of how their minimal connection to nature is putting our health and the survival of wildlife and wild areas at great risk. Kahn coauthored a new book exploring how 鈥渆nvironmental generational amnesia鈥� is partly due to multiple generations shifting away from meaningful interactions with the great outdoors. But nature can be incorporated within cities, the authors say. 鈥淐ities designed well, with nature in mind and at hand, can be understood as natural, supportive of both ecosystem integrity and public health.鈥�

The cost of producing fusion power has traditionally not penciled out in comparison to current energy sources, placing this zero-emission power source out of reach for wide-scale development. 91探花researchers believe they have now designed a concept for fusion power built on existing technology that will render that traditional cost structure obsolete. With a successful prototype in hand, they are now turning to further development and expansion of the device to create the needed power output to be a viable replacement for the fossil fuels that endanger our planet鈥檚 health.

As populations continue to grow on the West Coast, earthquakes remain a top threat. At the White House Earthquake Resilience Summit in February 2016, the 91探花received new funding for early warning systems. The UW-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network is helping develop ShakeAlert, an alert system that could save lives by triggering automated and human actions just before an earthquake hits. And in a partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, 91探花researchers will examine how a network of sensors on the ocean floor can provide early warnings from the volatile Cascadia subduction zone.

oysters in puget sound tileWhen overfishing, polluted waters and shoreline changes led to the extinction of the Olympia oyster from Puget Sound, it changed the nature of our local ecosystem. 91探花Tacoma associate professor Bonnie Becker is leading undergraduate researchers in a collaborative effort to reintroduce the native oyster to its original environment. Her teams monitor microscopic larvae to identify sites where Olympia oysters can naturally seed the area and be self-sustaining. Reintroducing native oysters can improve the habitat for other plants and animals, including salmon prey, and help restore the natural balance of the sound for the health of our region.

Smoke from open indoor cooking fires and cookstoves in developing countries is believed to cause millions of illnesses and premature deaths each year. Long journeys to gather all that fuel often expose adults and children to further dangers. To overcome these challenges, 91探花engineers partnered with the nonprofit BURN Design Lab to develop a much cleaner-
burning and more efficient cookstove, known as the Kuniokoa. This innovative stove will be manufactured by local workers in Nairobi, Kenya, and its designers believe the Kuniokoa will successfully reduce harmful particulate pollution by as much as 67 percent.

Air pollution monitors like this tracked pollutants in more than 1,500 locations across six metro areas between 2005 and 2009. Then researchers developed computational models to generate accurate pollution concentrations affecting people鈥檚 health.

Researchers have long understood that lengthy exposure to air pollution is directly linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Thanks to the result of a 10-year study led by Professor Joel Kaufman, we now have a greater understanding of the biological responses to pollution that lead to heart disease, and that air pollution at levels 鈥� even below regulatory standards 鈥� can accelerate the hardening of human arteries. The study鈥檚 results are being used to push for new action in controlling pollution levels worldwide.

Emiko Tajima
鈥淚 hope that the Population Health Initiative encourages and supports collaboration across disciplines and across sectors towards this common goal and further, that having a deliberate and sustained focus on population health will amplify our impact.鈥�

Emiko A. Tajima
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
School of Social Work

David Reyes
鈥淭hrough this initiative, I hope that we educate all our students to understand, integrate and apply population health principles and knowledge in their personal and professional lives regardless of whether they choose a career in this field.鈥�

David Reyes
Assistant Professor
Nursing & Healthcare Leadership Program
91探花Tacoma

Hedwig Lee
鈥淭hrough this initiative I hope that faculty, researchers, and students across units can work together to harness our world-class research and teaching and commitment to community service to improve the health of populations in the United States and across the world.鈥�

Hedwig Lee
Associate Professor
Sociology

Social and Economic Equity

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Social and economic inequity has lasting effects on societies and the health of populations. 91探花scholars from a wide range of disciplines are addressing equity in innovative ways. Solutions range from addressing income inequality to education quality, poverty to criminal justice reform, and many other equity issues that directly and indirectly affect human health and well-being.

Since Seattle passed legislation providing for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, the nation has been watching and waiting to see the effects on the local economy and quality of life. Tracking these effects and more is the Minimum Wage Study, a five-year research effort led by investigators from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance with the School of Social Work.

The team seeks to answer such questions as, does a higher minimum wage improve quality of life measures, including health, nutrition, and family daily life? As more cities anticipate hikes in their minimum wage, this research will inform future decisions about the effects on workers, their families, employers, and the community.

Each year, there are millions of babies in developing countries born prematurely or with oral clefts who struggle to breast feed. These babies are often at high risk for malnourishment, infection, and often death. Thanks to Christy McKinney, a clinical assistant professor of oral health sciences, a new feeding aid is now readying for widespread distribution across Africa.

In partnership with PATH and Seattle Children鈥檚, McKinney developed the NIFTY鈩� cup (Neonatal Intuitive Feeding TechnologY), a low-cost silicone cup with a small reservoir and spout that allows mothers to easily and safely feed these vulnerable newborns. This innovative intervention has the potential to solve a major global challenge, which could save millions of lives.

Why do some states place more kids into foster care than others? A new study connects the hidden dots between a state鈥檚 approaches to social problems and their rate of foster care. Author Frank Edwards is a 91探花doctoral student in sociology who found that states with more punitive criminal justice systems remove children from their homes far more frequently than states with more generous welfare programs. This means that two states with similar rates of child abuse and neglect could have very different rates of foster care entry, significantly impacting the futures of already vulnerable children.

What does it mean to be homeless in the U-District? Drama students created 鈥淪kies Over Seattle,鈥� original theater pieces inspired by the intersection of volunteerism and artistic creation in pursuit of understanding that question. Graduate students in acting, design and directing, as well as several undergraduates, volunteered for three community organizations that serve the homeless around the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus.

Over the course of a year, their lessons learned and questions asked inspired the students to write, design and perform original pieces that challenge assumptions about the communities that share the space beneath one sky. 鈥淲e want the community to know that we鈥檙e not giving them a voice 鈥� they already have a voice,鈥� says AJ Friday, a student in the Professional Actor Training Program.

Education is a key component of lifelong health, yet the underrepresentation of Native American teachers across the United States often negatively impacts young Native students. The new Native Education Certificate seeks to address that challenge by providing a knowledge base for non-Native teachers to create a culturally relevant curriculum for Native students. Mixing online learning and community projects, the 10-unit program is designed to reduce the disconnect between non-Native teachers and Native children, making public schools more inclusive.

Inadequate sidewalks and navigational infrastructure can be a nuisance to anyone, but for people with mobility limitations or low vision, these conditions can not only feel insurmountable, but become hazardous. The聽Taskar Center for Accessible Technology聽and the聽OpenSidewalks聽team from the 91探花eScience Institute鈥檚聽Data Science for Social Good聽program held a Map-a-thon to address these issues. Data collected by Seattle community members will be integrated with the OpenStreetMap open source聽platform to offer more robust sidewalk information and navigational assistance for those with limited mobility.

Less than 20 percent of the U.S. nursing workforce are from low income or underrepresented backgrounds 鈥� yet the patients those future nurses will serve are increasingly likely to be minorities. The 91探花School of Nursing is widening the pathway to nursing for minority students through the 91探花Nurse Camp. Each summer, high school students get hands-on experience in the world of nursing. Not only do they gain insight into medical career options, many begin to see earning a degree as a real option for the first time, something many low-income or underrepresented students may struggle to visualize.

鈥淭his initiative will provide the activation energy needed to facilitate real impact when it comes to tackling key challenges that currently compromise population health.鈥�

Alison Cullen
Professor, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

91探花Tacoma’s Transfer Peer Advisers

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New transfer students learn from those who know best 鈥� peer advisers who transferred in themselves

鈥淣ear-peer鈥� programs in which advanced students advise, mentor and support new students are tried and true elements of many orientation and transition programs across the country. This can be especially helpful in orienting transfer students, helping them be as efficient as possible with their time on campus before graduating. Keeping stride with this best practice, 91探花Tacoma鈥檚 offers incoming transfer students many opportunities to engage in near-peer relationships with more senior students. This program is part of the department, which oversees student opportunities beginning at orientation and continuing throughout their first year.

鈥淪tudents really connect with a peer mentor if they have something in common,鈥� says Amanda Bruner, director of Student Transitions. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one more dimension there, like the school you both transferred in from, being in the military or raising a family, it鈥檚 an opportunity to self-identify with someone else.鈥�

The Transfer Peer Advisers were formed after Gurjot Samra (center) realized that there was an un-met need for 91探花Tacoma鈥檚 transfer students. Photo courtesy of Student Transitions.

Bruner鈥檚 observation hints at a way in which 91探花Tacoma has taken this best practice to a new level. By hiring transfer students for a new program, incoming transfers can connect with peers with whom they share common experiences as well as challenges.

For example, in addition to being able to make connections based on similar backgrounds, new transfers can learn from upperclassmen TPAs who have made the most of their experience despite having less time to engage with campus life before graduation, or having additional demands on their day-to-day schedules such as careers and families.

鈥淎s a transfer student myself, I noticed there was a need for transfer students not being met,鈥� says Gurjot Samra, a senior studying environmental science. He first voiced the idea for dedicated Transfer Peer Advisors after he realized many other transfer students felt the same way.

Bruner and Stephon Harris, associate director of New Student & Family Programs, recognized that implementing this idea offered the opportunity to meet multiple needs with one solution: hiring transfer students to help other transfers validates the experiences of both while offering upperclassmen meaningful leadership opportunities.

Validating student experiences as assets to their education

is the foundation of the Transfer Peer Advisor program. Says Bruner, 鈥淥ur students are coming in with a lot of life skills that will help them succeed in college, so how do we validate that?鈥� Their team designs programs to help students see their life experiences as assets and to recognize on their own how to apply that to be successful in college and beyond.

According to Harris, this asset-based approach calls for intentional, proactive affirmation in order to:

  • Validate students as creators of knowledge and as valuable members of the college learning community.
  • Foster personal development and social adjustment.

Transfer Peer Advisor Melissa Workman, a senior studying history who returned to school later in her life, sees the value of this approach. 鈥淲e are a unique group of peers for other students to have access to,鈥� says Workman, a single mother of two from a military family. 鈥淲e can provide sound and informed advice because of our experiences.鈥�

 

Key areas of focus by the Transfer Peer Advisor program include:

Two Transfer Peer Advisors
Melissa Workman (right) poses with a fellow Transfer Peer Adviser. Workman sees how her ability to relate to other students based on her experiences can help others make the most of their university experience. Photo courtesy of Student Transitions.

New students receive affirmation early and often: 鈥淲hen entering college, there is a critical opportunity for new students to receive affirming messages that they bring experiences and knowledge that will help them succeed,鈥� explains Harris. Positioning peer mentors at New Student Orientation sets them up to connect with new students right away, so that later in the year, incoming students have a peer resource to turn to if needed.

TPAs draw on their own experiences to help new students avoid letting the small details hinder persistence and success: New students dealing with the transition to a new campus are less intimidated to ask fellow students things like, 鈥淲here do I go to eat during the day?鈥� or 鈥淲here do I buy a parking pass?鈥� These kinds of questions are part of 鈥渢he business of being a student,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淭hey sound like little subtleties, but in the scheme of things they鈥檙e not because they dictate a lot of student success, and whether or not a student will stay.鈥�

All the TPAs work to connect students with 91探花Tacoma鈥檚 Husky Success workshops, which focus on practical topics such as looking ahead to register for classes, how to prepare for a career and how to connect with peers in their own program. 鈥淭hey think about it from their perspective 鈥� they transferred in, too,鈥� says Harris about the TPAs.

Focusing on careers faster: TPAs are trained to know a little about all campus resources, but the Career Center is a central focus. 鈥淲e know our transfer students have a much shorter time here,鈥� says Bruner. 鈥淎 career is really on their minds, so we鈥檙e excited to have our Transfer Peer Advisors give concrete guidance on how to think about internships, fellowships and expanding their perspective of what professional development can look like.鈥� Leading by example, TPAs develop their own skills as they attend workshops as well as learn how to work with campus partners.

鈥淭ransfer Peer Advisers have run the gamut of good and bad college and life experiences. We all have attended multiple colleges or universities, and we have been able to succeed in one way or another,鈥� says Workman. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want students like me to miss out on their college experience just because their life has other obligations.鈥�

Tacoma Campus Quick Facts Crop

91探花Tacoma and its Community Pave Pathways to Promise

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91探花Tacoma is addressing structural discrimination by building a college-going-culture with community partners

Washington Governor Jay Inslee visits Tacoma鈥檚 Stadium High School in 2014 to congratulate students admitted to 91探花Tacoma at a Pathways to Promise celebration. Pathways to Promise is a college-going-culture-building network of programs sponsored by 91探花Tacoma. Photo: Cody Char.

What does it mean to 鈥渃reate a college-going culture鈥� in a community struggling with high student dropout rates? Recognizing the effects of oppressive barriers such as structural discrimination and the cycle of poverty, among other factors, 91探花Tacoma is fighting to make educational equity a reality for its community.

Dr. Cedric Howard, vice chancellor for Student and Enrollment Services, and his colleagues are working to make 91探花Tacoma a 鈥渃atalyst and spark to revitalize education in this community and change the mental model of what it means to be a student.鈥�

Effecting cultural change takes time 鈥� time dedicated to building trust and approaching issues from multiple angles. Programs and partnerships between individual faculty members, classes or school programs have existed for years and laid a foundation in the community for broader, institutional efforts that form the new network of programs.

Addressing community needs to increase college access

For underrepresented minorities, first-generation students, young adults who joined the military right out of high school, and even working adults with a few community college credits, the path to a bachelor鈥檚 degree can seem full of barriers. In fact, when the 91探花Tacoma campus was established in 1990, the Tacoma community had struggled for decades with a high dropout rate in its schools and a low percentage of students pursing higher education 鈥� only 18% of Pierce County residents held a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher.

Determined to change those statistics and to live up to its public mission, 91探花Tacoma focused on listening to the needs of its community and finding solutions through creative programs and partnerships. 鈥� 91探花Tacoma has never had the 鈥榯own and gown鈥� split,鈥� says Sharon Parker, assistant chancellor for equity and diversity.

Creating a network of outreach serving distinct populations

Through Pathways to Promise, 91探花Tacoma is taking a holistic, community-centered approach to addressing issues of structural and institutional racism that impact college access and success. From recruitment to student engagement, faculty and administrators examine policies and practices for a pipeline of prospective students from K-12, community colleges, local organizations and the military.

It is the only program of its kind in the state to formalize a link between a four-year institution and public schools; Pathways to Promise includes partnerships with five area school districts, including Tacoma Public Schools. In a recent article in the , Superintendent Carla Santorno praised 91探花Tacoma for bringing 鈥渄irect services to our kids. I鈥檝e worked with a lot of universities from an urban school setting. It鈥檚 one of the most rich partnerships that I鈥檝e been a part of.鈥�

Pathways to Promise applies multiple tactics to improve educational access and success

  • Close partnerships facilitate creative solutions to teach prospective students skills for goal-setting and navigating complex systems such as admissions and financial aid:
    • Partnerships that guarantee admissions to high school students who meet the criteria foster the idea among students that college can be a realistic goal for the future. 鈥淲e want to eliminate the idea that college is not attainable,鈥� says Howard.
    • While Tacoma Public School 11th graders took the PSAT and 12th graders took the SAT, 91探花Tacoma provided college planning curricula for 9th and 10th graders to make sure that all students were involved in college prep.
    • The University partners with local high schools and foundations by developing customized curricula to prepare students for writing college and scholarship essays.
    • Career Advisers in the Veterans Support Office help service men and women plan for their education in several ways. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, they administer a career assessment 18 months before personnel are scheduled for discharge.
    • The Duel Enrollment program at Tacoma Community College brings together a cohort of students to meet regularly with a 91探花Tacoma academic adviser so they can effectively plan ahead for a smooth transition.
  • Relationships with prospective students鈥� families create community trust, raise expectations: 91探花Tacoma admissions advisers develop programming specific to the needs of local middle and high schools. They get to know students and answer questions from their families. 鈥淚f parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles think this is a good place, they鈥檒l encourage their kids to go,鈥� says Parker.
  • Bringing students to campus reduces anxiety, increasing a sense of belonging: For students who never envisioned college as a part of their future, a campus visit can go a long way toward picturing themselves as college students. Hosting programs on campuses helps prospective students meet staff, get to know campus and see what college life is like. They realize they can belong, reducing the risk they will experience imposter syndrome, a situation where students might feel like a fraud and prevent themselves from being successful.
  • Creating a seamless experience aids retention: 鈥淎s little hand-off as possible,鈥� is how Howard describes his plan for the experience of new students, which is especially critical for first-generation students. For admitted students, 91探花Tacoma looks for ways to ease the tough transitions that can often get in the way of student success and make them more likely to leave. The student orientation leaders transition into peer mentors for all new University students. High-impact practices such as the experiential learning that happens through peer mentorship provide dual benefits of increasing retention for both mentors and mentees, results that are especially pronounced for underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students.
  • A cycle of service teaches best practices, improves retention and supports a college-going culture: For example, the Great Futures Fund partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound helps participants plan for their futures. 91探花Tacoma students mentor Club members, helping with school work and applying for college. If Club members are admitted to 91探花Tacoma, the Great Futures Fund provides a one-year scholarship. After their first year in college, the students then have paid service internships at Boys and Girls Clubs where they, in turn, work with younger students.
The Math-Science-Leadership Program brings middle and high school students to campus for a free three-week summer program where they conduct research in a lab at the Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma. Photo: Shoshana Glickman.

Building a college-going culture

Many factors are involved in real and lasting culture change, and while the University鈥檚 efforts are part of a larger community endeavor, the results are undeniable. At Lincoln High School in Tacoma, less than 50 percent of the class of 2010 graduated. In 2014, nearly 80 percent of seniors graduated. Other schools have seen similar results. By listening to the needs of its partners, working side-by-side to help K-12 students, veterans, first-generation, underrepresented minorities and others see themselves as college students, and bringing the expertise and knowledge of the 91探花to the issues at hand, 91探花Tacoma鈥檚 investment in its community is paying off. Together with its community, 91探花Tacoma is providing meaningful access to education, the cornerstone for creating a more equitable society.

Supporting student-veterans working towards a degree and a dream

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Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship (VIBE)

鈥淭his program launched just over a year ago and we already have three or four viable companies that are attracting investors. People from all over the country have called me to ask what our students are doing. VIBE is a start-up itself, but this really can be a national model.鈥�

Phil Potter
Director, VIBE, 91探花Tacoma

 

The recruits 91探花 Tacoma students with military backgrounds into a cohort-based program that provides coaching, mentorship from local business leaders and peer support as they flesh out and implement their ideas for new businesses. On Veterans Day 2013, the Tacoma campus , which Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, director of the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs, celebrated as 鈥渢he only one of its kind in the nation.鈥� VIBE students benefit from specialized mentoring that integrates their in-class learning and their broader goals. Director Phil Potter says, 鈥淭his is a learn-by-doing experience. We鈥檙e looking to help veterans understand what it takes to plan a business, start a business, launch a business, but do it within the educational context so they鈥檙e not alone. We want to make sure these students know what it takes, and put them in positions to succeed.鈥�

Veterans are natural entrepreneurs: Potter believes military veterans naturally have the necessary skills to run a business. 鈥淚f you take a look at a spec sheet for what we think good entrepreneurs are and what we know veterans are, they match up really well,鈥� he says. 鈥漈hey both understand when to lead and when to follow. Both groups are innovative and push themselves. They have a tendency to complete an outcome or a mission, oftentimes in the absence of ideal resources. And at the end of the day, they just get things done.鈥� VIBE member and U.S. Army veteran Steve Buchanan runs , a task-outsourcing business founded on his confidence in other veterans. He says, 鈥淭he Army has already background checked them, they鈥檝e been trained and they know how to call you 鈥榮ir鈥� and 鈥榤a鈥檃m鈥� and get a job done.鈥�

鈥淥ften one of the biggest challenges working with young entrepreneurs is their lack of practical experience, but this is not a problem with our military veterans. They know how to run meetings, delegate tasks, set goals and get things done.鈥�

John B. Dimmer
VIBE mentor; co-founder of the Tacoma Angel Network

 

Helping student-veterans translate their skills to the civilian context: Potter considers 鈥渋ncredible veteran talent鈥� one of the South Puget Sound鈥檚 best 鈥渘atural resources.鈥� However, many of VIBE鈥檚 student-veterans report struggling to find an outlet for their skills after returning to civilian life. Shem Zakem, a former Army signal support systems specialist who recently graduated from 91探花Tacoma, remembers, 鈥淚 thought that the training and skills I had from communications would have a good translation to the civilian sector, but I came to find out that…not so much.鈥� VIBE seeks to 鈥渦nleash that talent for great things,鈥� says Potter.

The cohort model facilitates creative collaboration and peer-mentoring: VIBE students come to the 91探花with different military training and enroll in a variety of degree programs. As a result, they often find that one of their best assets is each other. Zakem describes his symbiotic friendship and professional relationship with attorney and business school graduate Buchanan, commenting, 鈥淪teve can say, 鈥業鈥檓 having trouble with my software, what should I do?鈥� I can go to Steve and have him explain what an LLC is,鈥� referring to a limited liability company. Now as alumni of VIBE, Zakem and Buchanan are focused on growing the businesses they nurtured during their time at the UW. Both are receiving widespread attention for their work: Zakem鈥檚 company, Bettery, was identified by the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs as one of the top new veteran-led startups in the state, and Buchanan was invited to attend the State of the Union address with the Washington state delegation as an innovative business leader seeking to benefit veterans.

Cohort now, professional network later: In the challenging, risky world of entrepreneurship, a supportive community can make a big difference. VIBE provides a space for 91探花Tacoma students who are veterans and aspiring entrepreneurs to come together as professional collaborators. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not just in VIBE together, we鈥檙e friends颅, too,鈥� says Buchanan. Zakem adds, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a competition, it鈥檚 a team effort. Everyone has contributed to everyone else鈥檚 company in one way or another, whether it鈥檚 advice or a sympathetic ear. So we鈥檙e all invested in each others鈥� successes.鈥� Most VIBE students are also committed to the Puget Sound region for the long term, notes Potter. As a result, VIBE relationships can grow into a professional network with a lasting impact on the community.

鈥淭here are a lot of programs out there to help veterans from the 鈥榟andout鈥� mindset rather than the 鈥榟and up鈥� mindset. I鈥檇 rather have someone help me in a way that will help me move up the ladder rather than just help me in the short term.鈥�

Shem Zakem 鈥�14
VIBE member; U.S. Army veteran; B.S., Computer Science and Systems, 91探花Tacoma

 

91探花faculty are a key resource: As entrepreneurs and students, VIBE members can draw on courses and faculty across the University to help further their business goals. When Zakem realized his background in computer science didn鈥檛 prepare him to run the financial side of his company, he signed up for a class at the. 鈥淚 could have banged my head against the wall teaching myself, but I took a class and learned it in three months,鈥� he says. Zakem also sought out advice from faculty members such as Andrew Fry, assistant director of Industry Partnerships and lecturer at the 91探花Tacoma Institute of Technology, who is also an experienced entrepreneur.

A curriculum driven by student needs: VIBE is mostly a mentor-led model, says Potter. Local companies and business leaders run small seminars for VIBE students that are tailored to their current needs and interests. Because it is a small group颅鈥攖he first cohort was 15 students鈥攎entors can meet them where they are. Potter says, 鈥淭hey come in at different stages鈥攏ot just different stages in their business development but also their academic career. This requires a flexible curriculum.鈥�

The university as convener: Comparing VIBE members to entrepreneurs going it alone, Zakem says, 鈥淏eing associated with the 91探花 lends us instant credibility.鈥� A number of business incubators exist across the country, but VIBE benefits from three key attributes that are rarely found together: one of the largest veteran populations in the country, the Puget Sound鈥檚 thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and the faculty and expertise of a world-class public research university. The University brings these elements together and connects veterans with the people who want them to succeed, such as vocal VIBE supporters U.S. Senator Patty Murray and Joint Base Lewis-McChord Commander Colonel Charles Hodges, along with the local business community.

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Read the full Provost report on how to .

Personalizing online courses

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One 91探花Tacoma professor says online class makes her a better teacher

FOUR TIPS:

Meet in person | Start ungraded discussion | Set clear limits | Let students lead

Photo of Christine Stevens, Associate Professor
鈥淚鈥檓 a much better teacher online because I can talk to every single student. I can target my individual conversations with them to meet their individual learning needs and goals.鈥�

鈥擟hristine Stevens
Associate Professor, Nursing & Healthcare Leadership, 91探花Tacoma

 

鈥淭eaching online allows me to talk to each student personally every week,鈥� says , Associate Professor, Nursing & Healthcare Leadership at 91探花Tacoma. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 get that in a big in-person class of 45 students. Some students are too shy to talk to me in person.鈥�

Stevens teaches multiple online and hybrid classes that involve graded, online discussions. Students are required to respond to questions prepared by Stevens in a forum open to the full class. Stevens also emails each student individually. 鈥淚 comment on what they鈥檝e said in the forum,鈥� says Stevens. 鈥淚 point out that they鈥檝e made a good connection to the research, or made a good point. If for any reason they鈥檙e having difficulty or need a push on their thinking, I don鈥檛 go into the discussion and point that out, I do it privately.鈥�

In personal emails, Stevens may also address cultural and other issues. In her class Representations of Adolescents in Film (T HLTH 330) international students or students who have just immigrated to the U.S. may have difficulty interpreting specific cultural nuances of language of the films under discussion, which include Remember the Titans and Rebel Without a Cause. 鈥淭hey can get help with their questions without having to bring them up before the whole class,鈥� says Stevens.

This kind of communication and review does 鈥渢ake a lot of time,鈥� says Stevens. So does setting up online modules. She credits the staff at 91探花Tacoma, including Colleen Carmean, Assistant Chancellor for Instructional Technologies, and Darcy Janzen, E-Learning Support Manager, Academic Technologies, with providing the help she鈥檚 needed to be successful in her online and hybrid classes, which include Genetics, Genomics, and Nursing Practice (T NURS 345) and Promoting Health Through Social Marketing (T HLTH 320). 鈥淭hey understand technology and they love it, and they understand pedagogy and teaching outcomes,鈥� says Stevens.

Stevens’ four tips聽for teaching online and hybrid courses

1. Meet in person at least once, if possible

鈥淚n the online classes where I have students meet in person for the first class, students tend to feel more connected than in the classes that are completely online. There鈥檚 something about the visualness of seeing each other when we meet together that they can take with them,鈥� says Stevens. 鈥淚 ask my online students every quarter if they think I should continue to hold the first class face-to-face. The majority 鈥� 85鈥�98 percent 鈥� say yes.鈥�

2. Start with a 鈥渇ree鈥� ungraded discussion

The first assignment, where students introduce themselves, is ungraded. During the quarter, Stevens increases the grading requirements as students get used to the discussion format. 鈥淚 have a clear grading rubric for points in online discussion,鈥� says Stevens. 鈥淪tudents have to show evidence that they鈥檝e considered the readings and that they鈥檙e thinking critically about them with the other students.鈥�

3. Set clear limits for online communication

鈥淭he students live online, so they feel very comfortable contacting you and talking to you, and that鈥檚 really thrilling. But I tell other faculty you have to make a rule about when you respond,鈥� says Stevens. 鈥淚 had one student who wrote me at 2 a.m. and then at 7:30 a.m. was calling my boss saying I was unresponsive. Well, at 2 a.m., I am unresponsive.鈥� Stevens advises setting clear expectations. 鈥淪ome faculty say, 鈥業f you send me a question on Canvas, it鈥檚 going to be 24 hours before I respond.鈥� Others say 鈥榃eekends are mine.鈥� The students don鈥檛 care what the rules are. They just need to know about them ahead of time. Otherwise, they assume you鈥檙e online all the time.鈥�

4. Give students the chance to lead

鈥淚 think the ability to respond respectfully to people online or to lead an online discussion will be very important in my students鈥� work as nurse educators or health leaders,鈥� says Stevens. So she has students in her master鈥檚 class Curriculum Development in Nursing and Health Education (T NURS 511) take turns leading the online class discussion. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been very, very successful,鈥� says Stevens. 鈥淪tudents take their online leadership very seriously. The questions they come up with are deep and detailed, because they鈥檝e really spent time in the reading, which inspires a great conversation.鈥�

Learn more

This article was originally published on November 2014 as part of a 91探花Provost report on trends and issues in public higher education.

Focusing on real-world research

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Jim Gawel: Mentoring undergraduates in research

鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 a major part of what I鈥檓 supposed to be doing鈥攊nvolving students in my research not just to get research done but so they actually learn how to do science and how to work with people outside of the classroom.鈥�

Jim Gawel
Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW聽Tacoma

If current projections hold, recent graduates may change jobs ten times or more in their lives, and may work in careers that don鈥檛 yet exist.1,2Experience in academic research will help students meet these challenges, because the ability to reinvent oneself is essentially a research skill. Faculty throughout the UW鈥檚 three campuses are working to involve not just graduate students, but also undergraduates in academic research projects that can help them build critical skills, such as the ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize complex information on a new topic; to determine needs for new knowledge; and then to help create that knowledge. Working on real-world problems with faculty mentors also helps students build the confidence that they, too, can make an impact. 91探花faculty such as Jim Gawel treat their undergraduate students as emerging professionals, supporting them as they experience what it means to contribute to a scholarly field and to the community.

Jim Gawel engages his students in research at 91探花Tacoma by explicitly linking academic work to the world outside the classroom. In addition to providing opportunities for study abroad and service learning, Gawel also creates assignments in his environmental science classes that result in real-world products with clear benefits for residents of Washington state. Here are some of his suggestions for class assignments:

Structure assignments to produce real-world results: Gawel sets up projects for end users who need the data students can provide, such as a report on possible green projects for 91探花Tacoma鈥檚 Facilities Services team, or a study for the local parks department. 鈥淎mazingly, even though students care about their grade, they couldn鈥檛 care less what I think about their project,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 find that if they know that it鈥檚 going to somebody outside the university, or even someone in another department of the university, they end up paying a lot more attention to what they鈥檙e doing, and in the process, they actually learn the material better.鈥�

Show undergraduate researchers that they can make an impact: Students not only contribute to Gawel鈥檚 projects, which often result in journal publications, but they also conduct their own studies with real-world impact. For example, his undergraduates have conducted studies of water quality in western Washington lakes. Because the state has cut lake-monitoring programs due to budget concerns, this undergraduate research fills an important need. 鈥淚n some cases we鈥檝e done studies that we deliver to the parks, but often citizen groups use our data to try to get action from the state or parks,鈥� says Gawel. 鈥淲e try to deliver to people that matter, but a lot of times it鈥檚 folks we didn鈥檛 even think about who end up getting a hold of our reports via Google and contacting me later.鈥�

 

Resources: Past projects by Gawel鈥檚 students are described in the 2012 91探花Tacoma report 鈥� have covered the public health implications of heavy-metal contamination in Washington lakes, as reported in studies co-authored by Gawel and his students.

1Bridgstock, Ruth. 鈥淭he Graduate Attributes We鈥檝e Overlooked: Enhancing Graduate Employability Through Career Management Skills.鈥� Higher Education Research & Development 28, no. 1 (March 2009): 31鈥�44. doi:10.1080/07294360802444347.

2Stacey, Robert. 鈥淔rom the Dean: Changing Enrollments Reflect the Times.鈥� Perspectives Newsletter: College of Arts and Sciences, 91探花, May 2013. .

Learn More

Read the full Provost report on how to prepare students for life after graduation.