SPARK Bethel University
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Study abroad, open-source laboratories, and citizen science
Get PDFFor over 30 years, students and faculty from Bethel University, St. Paul have been traveling to the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador each January. In the course titled, Ecology in the Tropics: Natural History & Future Prospects- Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands students spend three weeks engaging in ecological, cultural, and research-focused activities while also observing and discussing the various impacts of human occupation on the natural environment. The need for cheap and portable laboratory equipment for these research activities along with the growing popularity of open-source equipment development and the growth of relationships with local communities have given rise to several new projects or initiatives that focus on bringing contextually meaningful science equipment and curriculum to remote communities around Ecuador. In this work, Bethel students conduct small research projects on environmentally relevant topics such as microplastics, plant chlorophyll concentrations, or atmospheric aerosols and VOCs with equipment developed and assembled in-house. Long-term goals of this work are to develop primary and secondary education curricula to accompany said research projects, develop and provide laboratory equipment for local school-age kids and community members to partner in contextually relevant environmental citizen science initiatives, and to install sensors for long-term atmospheric monitoring in remote locations of the Amazon and surrounding ecosystems. A description of current equipment and projects will be provided along with discussion of next steps in developing these community-based relationships for long-term success and sustainability
Glow Soap Faucets for Medical Settings - Partnering with a Startup
Get PDFHand hygiene is critical in many sectors of society and particularly in medical settings. Abluo is a startup company that designed an automated faucet with a black light and glowing soap. This allows users to visualize soap coverage during lathering and soap removal during rinsing. A study run at Bethel University found that users had 2.7x fewer bacteria on their hands after using an Abluo glow soap faucet system compared to a standard handwash. A glow soap faucet system was also installed at Regions Hospital (St. Paul, MN). The response from medical professionals was overwhelmingly positive, with 95% agreeing with the statement that occasional use of a glow soap faucet system would reduce healthcare associated infections (HAIs)
Participation in the Adoptive Kinship Network Contact: Application for Adoption Competent Family Life Education
No full textFamily life educators (FLE) provide essential support for many complex family forms. Supporting the complexity unique to adoptive families requires specific understanding of the adoption kinship network (AKN: birth family, the adopted person, and adoptive family network). As adoptive and birth families negotiate contact over the life cycle, the possible relationships within the AKN are numerous. Using data from the Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP: Grotevant, McRoy, Wrobel, & Ayers-Lopez, 2013), a 30 year longitudinal study of contact in adoptive families, cross-network contact in the AKN at three separate stages of development will be described. Cross-network contact is defined as contact between any member of the adoptive family and any member of the birth family. Case examples describing profiles of cross-network contact, including changes in birth family and adoptive family participation, across different stages of adopted person development will be presented. Lastly, implications for FLEs are discussed.https://spark.bethel.edu/dayofscholarshipgallery/1039/thumbnail.jp
Primary Causes of Burnout in Special Education Teachers and Strategies to Help Cope with and Deal with the Challenges of Burnout
Get PDFSpecial education teachers encounter a variety of challenges throughout the academic school year. Burnout among special education teachers has proven to be a complex issue, with many factors playing a role. This thesis explored the primary causes of burnout with special education teachers, as well as some strategies to help cope and deal with burnout with special education teachers. After researching this topic, primary causes for burnout in special education teachers included work environment, interpersonal relationships and workload, role ambiguity and personality traits, and COVID-19. Helpful coping strategies for avoiding burnout included administration support and induction programs, exercise and nutrition, time management and routine, social support and mindfulness, and prayer. As the special education landscape continues to evolve, teachers should proactively find and establish new coping strategies to manage the extensive and complex list of responsibilities that come with serving special education students
How MTSS and UDL Frameworks Can Be Used to Reach All Learners and Reduce Unnecessary Special Education Evaluations
Get PDFThe global COVID pandemic changed the educational landscape as we knew it in a drastic way. With the rise of special education evaluation requests and a need to strengthen the MTSS framework across schools, an urgency developed around the intersection of MTSS with interventions, including how accurately implementing UDL strategies could alleviate the pressure on the MTSS framework at schools. Many schools who were previously reactive to students who were struggling academically or behaviorally needed to take a more proactive and intentional approach. The author of this thesis reviewed a number of relevant literature that explored different examples of educational institutions with schoolwide structures where special education teachers and general education teachers work together and the MTSS process ended up being more inclusive and collaborative. This leads to better data gathering for students and stronger student outcomes. The purpose of this thesis is to explore best practices in supporting the development of a strong MTSS process and reducing the number of unnecessary special education evaluations
Relational Virtues and Alliance Correspondence in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Get PDFObjective: We responded to the need to establish psychodynamic psychotherapy as evidence-based by utilizing a practice-based research design involving non-manualized outpatient treatment. (This poster is non-peer reviewed or non-refereed.
The Experience of Burmese Refugee Students in Higher Education: Blooming out of Concrete
No full textThe United States is the world’s top resettlement country for refugees. Many refugee families look to their college-age youth to enhance their well-being. This study explored the lived experiences of Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement and the role that social support plays in that approach.https://spark.bethel.edu/primetime-presentations/1011/thumbnail.jp
Social-Emotional Learning and Teachers’ Cultural Competency: The Relationship Between Implementation Practices and Student Outcomes
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative study was to examine (1) the relationship between teachers’ perceived cultural competence and the perceived implementation of culturally responsive Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) practices, conditional on teachers’ race, and (2) the relationship between teachers’ perceived implementation of culturally responsive SEL practices and students’ SEL outcomes in Minnesota public school districts, conditional on students’ race. A survey was emailed to all licensed teachers in the state of Minnesota; 1,348 teachers participated in the survey. Qualtrics was used to obtain the teacher survey data. Teachers’ cultural competence was measured using the Educators Scale of Student Diversity survey (ESSD; Patel, 2017). Teachers’ implementation of culturally responsive SEL practices was measured by teachers’ perception of their implementation of culturally responsive SEL practices. Student data were collected through the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey that is publicly available online. The survey items included seven areas which reflect the CASEL framework’s five core competencies and positive outcomes of SEL implementation: academic achievement, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building, responsible decision-making, and school connectedness. In order to analyze the hypotheses, a bivariate correlation was used to measure a statistically significant relationship within each racial/ethnic group. The findings suggest a positive relationship between teachers’ cultural competence and the implementation of culturally responsive SEL practices; however, these practices are not positively impacting students’ SEL competency outcomes across all students’ race/ethnic groups. Future research examining culturally responsive practices and teacher implementation would benefit all students’ social and emotional wellbeing and academic development.https://spark.bethel.edu/edd-showcase-2021/1022/thumbnail.jp
Stress in the Clinical Education Environment: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Physical Therapy Students
Get PDFMany Americans experience high levels of stress, particularly young adults and college students. Stress has been found to be particularly high among students in the health professions, including physical therapy students. High levels of stress, chronic stress, or stress that is not well managed can have negative effects on physical and mental health. Stress can also have positive effects, particularly at low or moderate levels and when it is transient. Clinical education is the liminal space between a student’s educational program and practice in which students have the opportunity to experience real-life stressors, practice stress management skills, and develop habits for stress management that will translate to their role as physical therapy clinicians. Resilient students will become resilient practitioners who experience high levels of well-being and job satisfaction, are more likely to avoid burnout, will persist in the profession, and will provide higher-quality care. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of graduate-level physical therapy students in the United States related to stress during clinical education experiences. Fifteen Doctor of Physical Therapy students, completing their final clinical experience, shared their experiences related to stress through written reflections and semi-structured interviews. The findings were organized into five themes: Stressors/Demands, Coping/Response to Stressors/Demands, Person Factors Influencing Stress Response, Environment Factors Influencing Stress Response, and Outcomes of Stressful Situations/Experiences. The findings revealed implications for all stakeholders including academic educators, clinical educators, and students
Gender Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by a developmental disorder with multiple variations of severity which are characterized by the difficulties in communication, social interactions, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior. In the United States 1 in every 36 (2.3%) children over eight years has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Male students are diagnosed more frequently than their female counterparts. Evidence suggests that 1 in 27 males were identified with autism whereas 1 in 116 females were identified with autism. Males are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than females. Recent diagnostic criteria indicated that genetics were involved in almost all of the reported cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups. This literature review explores gender differences in ASD along with, indicators of autism, diagnosis, camouflaging, social and emotional behaviors, and communication