- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/ua-little-rock-school-of-public-affairs/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:22:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Professor Travels to Oman to Study Middle Eastern Food Security and Environmental Sustainability /news-archive/2022/04/12/professor-travels-to-oman/ Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:22:52 +0000 /news/?p=80976 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Professor Travels to Oman to Study Middle Eastern Food Security and Environmental Sustainability]]> Now she鈥檚 bringing what she learned back to the classroom to teach 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students about Oman鈥檚 efforts to improve environmental sustainability and food security, problems that are among the world鈥檚 most urgent concerns. 鈥淲e met with government officials that are running innovative programs in water desalination, starting camel milk collectives with local farmers, and planting a million date palms across the country to increase local food production,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淲e were also lucky enough to connect with local people and to share meals with families in the mountains and in the desert, to learn more about their lives, what they eat, and how they live.鈥 Glazier took the study abroad trip with faculty members and students from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. Dr. Marie Curtis, associate professor of anthropology and cross-cultural studies, was awarded a grant for a that aligned with U.S. State Department areas of concern around food security and environmental sustainability. “There are not as many study-abroad options in the Arab world, and the State Department encourages programming that offer students a diverse set of options,” Curtis said. “Food security and environmental sustainability are of global concern, and because I developed this program to cover those topics as they relate in the Arab world, our proposal stood out.” The group traveled to from Jan. 3-16, where they visited with professors, governmental officials, scientists as well as visited a number of cultural and historic sites.
The group visits Al Misfah village, on a hillside in Oman.

The group visits Al Misfah village on a hillside in Oman.

鈥淥man is a beautiful country with a rich history and culture,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淚 had so many incredible experiences there. I got to sleep in a 200-year-old home in the mountains, which was only reachable by a stone footpath. I hiked to the top of a dune in the desert to catch the sunrise and got to ride a camel through the desert at sunset. Visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the capital of Muscat was an amazing experience. It is really beautiful and is the spiritual heart of the city.鈥 Glazier also teaches in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Middle Eastern Studies program and leads the university鈥檚 Model Arab League course. Glazier said her experiences will help prepare students who participate in Model Arab League, a simulation of an international organization, the League of Arab States, which represents 22 countries. 鈥淢y students are researching a number of topics for their Model Arab League class this spring, including issues of food security in the Arab world and environmental challenges like water scarcity,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淪ome of the solutions that Oman is implementing are innovative, and I am excited to talk with my students about them. Being able to share pictures and stories about Arabic culture and my travel experiences also brings things alive for students in a way that regular lecture doesn’t.鈥 In addition, Glazier is hoping to use this experience to plan a future study abroad course to Oman for 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students. 鈥淒r. Curtis worked so hard to design an innovative course and to give students the opportunity to study abroad in a place where students may not typically choose to go,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淚 hope to be able to design a similar course for our students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Oman is a safe country, with very few COVID cases and no terrorism. For our students who are interested in Middle Eastern Studies, it is a great country to visit.鈥漖]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Partners with Engage AR to Study Expansion of Youth Volunteering and Community-Service Learning in Arkansas /news-archive/2022/01/24/community-service-learning/ Mon, 24 Jan 2022 15:01:46 +0000 /news/?p=79991 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Partners with Engage AR to Study Expansion of Youth Volunteering and Community-Service Learning in Arkansas]]> 鈥 has been instrumental in the development of and promotion of service learning since the passage of Act 648 of 1993, which allows for high school students in Arkansas to earn one credit towards graduation through the completion of 75 hours of 鈥楥ommunity Service-Learning,鈥 said Shana Chaplin, director of Engage AR. 鈥淢ost significantly, the service learning opportunity serves to expose youth to the processes and mechanisms used to address critical social issues, while also providing experiential learning of the social issues facing their community.鈥 Engage AR is one of 11 state service commissions who received a from America鈥檚 Service Commissions to support their capacity in expanding youth service in their respective states during the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The funding was made possible by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation through a two-year grant to America鈥檚 Service Commissions. Each grant recipient is assessing the current youth service landscape and exploring opportunities to expand the quality and/or quantity of youth service opportunities in their respective states, with a focus on middle-school and high school youth that are less likely to be engaged in service. With the grant funding, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Survey Research Center and School of Public Affairs students produced the report 鈥淐ommunity Service Learning: 2021 Assessment of Arkansas鈥 High Schools.鈥 Students and professors at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock created a survey to assess the implementation of community service learning courses in high school in Arkansas. They surveyed and/or interviewed about 50 educators from 26 school districts in Arkansas who are responsible for developing and implementing community service learning plans in schools. 鈥淚 expect this will be a long-term partnership between 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the state agencies,鈥 said Derek Slagle, director of the Survey Research Center and a commissioner of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on National Service and Volunteerism. 鈥淲e are at a critical juncture to build up support for teachers that are implementing community-service learning. The COVID-19 pandemic decimated a lot of community partnerships, and we are trying to rebuild those connections between educators and the organizations that would benefit from service learning.鈥 The report includes several recommendations on how community service learning can be improved in Arkansas. The researchers recommended that the Arkansas Department of Education in collaboration with Engage AR develop a statewide specialized training program to aid educators in developing CSL programs. The researchers also recommended the addition of a CSL coordinator who can provide support for CSL implementation and evaluation across the state as well as the creation of a CSL program evaluation to assess the CSL programs. 鈥淪ervice learning has been available to districts for over 25 years,鈥 Chaplin said. 鈥淭he initial research confirmed broad discrepancies in the use of the Service Learning Credit, much of which is attributable to lack of resources and designated school personnel.聽 The second phase of research will help to identify districts with robust, highly effective Service Learning Credit programs, developing resources of best practices. The research will also help to identify underperforming school districts whose students could benefit from having a robust service learning opportunity available. Engage AR will commit resources and funding to support the development of one or more model service learning opportunities, leveraging its relationship with municipalities and community based programs.聽 Of importance is ensuring at risk and under-represented students have access to the Service Learning Credit.鈥 The researchers found that one of the most difficult barriers to starting a community-service learning program is connecting educators with partner organizations. Engage AR, which already has a volunteer platform on its website, plans to enhance its online web presence to help promote, connect, and align service-learning opportunities and resources with schools implementing CSL in the curriculum. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we help teachers find and vet partners to collaborate with on CSL projects,鈥 said Dr. Kirk Leach, assistant professor of public administration and coordinator of the Center for Nonprofits. 鈥淭he school works with a non-profit, state agency, or external organization to address a community need. The teachers who are implementing service learning in their classrooms may not have the time or capacity to form those external partnerships. Engage AR could be the bridge between the schools and the community partners.鈥 While working on the survey, Slagle and Leach also worked with Engage AR to apply for a grant to extend their research. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock received a $20,000 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation that funds a graduate assistant in the School of Public Affairs and will fund a youth service learning forum that 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock will host during summer 2022. 鈥淎s part of this project funded by Mott, we want to try to get an understanding of the gaps in community-service learning and youth service commitments among underrepresented students in Arkansas,鈥 Leach said. 鈥淗ow do we provide equitable access to service-learning opportunities for underrepresented students?鈥 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students from the Master of Public Administration and the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management programs conducted research on the project during the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters. MPA students who worked on the project include Saja Al-Quzweeni, Alicia Dorn, Amy Theriac, Erica Torrence, Kelly Troillett, Cassie Jo Gehring, Sondia Amoko, Amber McCuien, Faith Thomas, Jenifer Tindle, Angela Logue, Nelly Otoo, Ebony Duren, Marina Criollo Ventres, and Cortney Warwick. Graduate students who are earning a certificate in nonprofit management that worked on the project include Ebony Duren, Geneva Galloway, Cassie Gehring, Heather Reed, Brittany Olloway, and Samantha Wiley.]]> Building Rapport with Online Students Will Lead to Greater Student Retention and Success, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Professor States in New Book /news-archive/2021/12/06/rapport-online-students-retention/ Mon, 06 Dec 2021 14:10:27 +0000 /news/?p=80458 ... Building Rapport with Online Students Will Lead to Greater Student Retention and Success, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Professor States in New Book]]> Dr. Rebecca Glazier, associate professor in the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Public Affairs, said that building a rapport with online students can revive the promise of online education. This leads to greater success for students, more fulfilling teaching experiences for faculty, and improved enrollment for universities. 鈥淕enerally, online enrollment has been growing so much over the past 20-30 years,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淵et our online students are dropping out at greater rates than face-to-face students. With the pandemic, a lot of people are paying attention to the importance of online education right now. If we really engage with our online students and make human connections, they can be just as successful as our face-to-face students.鈥 John Hopkins University Press will publish her new book, “,” on Dec. 7. Glazier will also give a presentation on her new book on Feb. 2, 2022, for the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Academy of Teaching and Learning Excellence. 鈥淚t can be very hard to build relationships with your online students,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have eye contact, casual conversations, or chance interactions walking across the quad. I advocate intentionally creating ways to build connections with your online students. When you do that, students are significantly more likely to stay enrolled, have higher grades, and to graduate. And it鈥檚 more fun to teach a class where you connect to your students. The key thing is to share with students that you care about their success, and then students will care about your class more.鈥 Drawing from her own experience as an online educator, Glazier provides techniques that online instructors can use to build rapport with their students. These include: 鈥 Proactively reaching out through personalized check-in emails 鈥 Creating opportunities for human connection before courses even begin through a short welcome survey 鈥 Communicating faculty investment in students’ success by providing individualized and meaningful assignment feedback 鈥 Hosting non-content-based discussion threads where students and faculty can get to know one other 鈥 Responding to students’ questions with positivity and encouragement 鈥淭here are some very easy actions that online teachers can take to build a relationship with their students, such as humanizing yourself by introducing yourself to the class with a short video,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淵ou can also tell students the shows you are binge watching and let your cat appear in the background of your lectures. You should make sure the students know you are a real person, and you care about them and their progress.鈥 Another one of Glazier鈥檚 strategies is to get students engaged in classroom work by giving the students ownership over classroom content. 鈥淭he students appreciate being given some ownership over classroom content and a say in what they are learning,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淵ou can ask students to vote on what case studies they鈥檇 like to review, what current events articles to read, and let the students be discussion leaders.鈥 While the book is geared toward online educators, Glazier said there is also a chapter for education administrators so they can create a culture that supports online education and tips for parents and students to be successful in their online classes. 鈥淲hen we really invest in creating relationship-rich online classes, we see the results in terms of student success and retention rates,鈥 Glazier said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 worth it to invest in better online teaching, and I am excited to share that message. There are a lot of people who are talking about the importance of online education because of the pandemic, and my book adds to the conversation with evidence supported by data.鈥漖]>