UI Education Experts Address Challenges of At-Risk Students; Strategies for Lifelong Learning
Friday, November 19 2004
Nov. 18, 2004 MOSCOW, Idaho - University of Idaho educators returned from professional conferences last month with collective wisdom about the challenges of educating at-risk youth, and insights in the field of lifelong learning. Tom Trotter, professor of counseling and school psychology and president of the Idaho School Psychologist Association, said the ISPA state conference in Boise Oct. 7-8 was attended by more than 200. Professionals exchanged information about working with at-risk youth and such educational challenges as lack of motivation, behavioral issues, mental and emotional dysfunction, physical and learning disorders. Presenters introduced practical preventive and intervention measures to apply in the K-12 system. UI presentations included: · Tom Fairchild, UI professor of counseling and school psychology, and graduate students Dana Van Der Giessen and Karen Toerne, who provided accountability and evaluation strategies to support the mandate on evidence-based practices. They stressed the importance of school-based helpers becoming more involved in self- and program evaluation, and inviting input and ratings from those they serve. · Patti Kyle, associate professor of counseling and school psychology at UI Boise, emphasizing practical discipline and classroom management tools in helping teachers create positive learning environments. · W. Rand Walker, associate affiliate professor of counseling and school psychology, was a featured speaker who also led sessions on solutions for working with the unmotivated student, and strategies in working with the pervasive problem of school refusal. Also, at an Oct. 19-21 conference of the Idaho Lifelong Learning Association in Sun Valley, UI's Adult and Organizational Learning faculty Mike Tomlin, Jim Gregson, Laura Holyoke, Karen Wilson Scott, Martha Yopp, Jerry McMurtry, Michael Kroth and several UI graduate students took leadership roles. Themes of the conference focused on the new approach to literacy learning through family systems; higher education; and the empowering influence of teaching and learning in correctional centers. UI faculty and graduate students led 12 of the 27 workshops, which touched on such topics as family literacy; speech recognition technology; organizational leadership camp; transitional change for Idaho's higher education system; approaches to self-directed learning; education within corporations and organizations; and the latest in interactive learning and communication technology. Outstanding UI dissertation in Adult and Organizational Learning was awarded to Greg K. Williams, Rexburg, for "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Brigham Young University-Idaho: A Case of Rethinking Scholarship." Kathy Lancaster, out-going president, is a UI master's student; Martha Yopp, UI College of Education, now is president of the ILLA. UI provides teacher, counselor, school psychologist and administrator preparation and continuing education in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, Moscow and online. The mission of the College of Education's 82-year history remains to develop leadership for lifetime learning and human development. Contacts: Tom Trotter, Counseling and School Psychology, (208) 292-2517, trotter@uidaho.edu, UI Coeur d'Alene; Michael E. Tomlin, Adult and Organizational Learning, mtomlin@uidaho.edu, (208) 364-4031, Boise; or Nancy Hilliard, University Communications, (208) 885-6567, hilliard@uidaho.edu -30- NH-11/18/04-EDU
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The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.