KMb Archives | Research & Innovation

91��ɫ prof launches Caring Minds, mental health Web site for students, teachers and parents in Grades 7-12

fmaquito — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Despite increased awareness and education, mental health and mental health issues are still surrounded by stigmas for many Canadians. 91��ɫ Professor is helping to challenge prevalent stereotypes and to encourage more dialogue about mental health issues in Canada. She is using her academic research to give students in Grades 7 to 12 the tools and knowledge they need to understand mental health both within their peer group and within the community.

Right: Megan Davies

Davies and University of Victoria Professor E. are in the final stages of a community-informed curriculum project that will provide middle- and secondary-school teachers in Ontario and British Columbia with a set of innovative, cross-disciplinary teaching units they can integrate into the classroom. The Youth & Mental Health project is funded by a Collaborative Faculty Incentive Grant from ResearchImpact, which is a 91��ɫ and University of Victoria initiative. The project is the result of a series of consultations with community groups, educators, and psychiatric survivors and it will offer students a wide range of perspectives on mental well-being. The goal is to facilitate critical thinking on this sensitive – and often controversial – topic, and to explore interrelated themes of diversity and social justice.

Davies got the idea for the project in an undergraduate class she taught at 91��ɫ over five years ago. Her students – inspired by the material they were exploring on the history of mental health in Canada – told her that mental health issues should be tackled in the classroom much earlier in a student’s education. “I really took that to heart,” she notes. “They were right; we need to talk to their younger selves.”

A series of community consultations were held in Toronto and Victoria. In September, Davies and Marshall presented four draft teaching units to middle- and secondary-school focus groups for feedback and criticism. Feedback from the groups was integrated into the units and the researchers began to develop a Web site that would house the teaching units and other resources. launched at the end of January and it is rich with lesson plans, hands-on activities, resources and helpful learning objectives.

Learners explore, across cultures and history, the shifting contours of what is, and what has been regarded as, normal mental health in the first teaching unit, Understanding, Experiencing & Equity. The lessons in the unit encourage students to consider where stereotypes about mental health come from, how they impact individuals and communities, and what can be done to combat these negative responses. In one of the activities, students are asked to discuss passages from the diary of a young woman named Lara Gilbert who lived in Vancouver during the 1980s and 1990s and struggled with depression. “The idea is to get students to think about what life is like for someone with mental health issues,” says Davies. “What better way to provoke discussion than through the writings of someone who has actually dealt with the challenges, the discrimination and the struggle for well-being.”

Traditionally, mental health patients in Canada were sent to live at institutions for extended periods of time, if not their entire lives. In the 1960s and 1970s, improved treatment options and a shift in ideology occurred; governments and health professionals started to advocate for the deinstitutionalization of mental health care. The idea was to integrate – rather than isolate – patients into the community. The second teaching unit, Self-Determination & Activism, provides a snapshot into the conditions of mental health institutions and explores what the shift in practice meant for those living with mental health issues.

As Davies notes, though integrating individuals into the community may have been a noble idea, it has been a difficult and flawed process. Insufficient community services, limited health care, and a lack of funding for resources have prevented mental health patients from getting the support they need. Instead, the most powerful force for positive change has often come from psychiatric survivors themselves who have united against discrimination and pushed for better living conditions. Students in the second unit examine patients’ rights and reflect on the mixed freedoms and hardships that community living can provide.

Housing, Homelessness & Poverty, the focus of the third teaching unit, asks students to think about complex questions such as: Why are people with mental health issues vulnerable to being homeless? Should safe, affordable housing be considered a fundamental right? Highlights of the unit include surprisingly grim figures about the state of homelessness in Canada and an activity that gets students to create skits that portray the real-life stories they’ve read in class.

The last teaching unit, Well-Being, Health Care & Treatment, looks at positive mental health strategies and resources. It also examines mental health care through the lens of human rights. Lessons are complemented by historical archives, cartoons and artwork.

“Each of the four teaching units draw heavily on personal experiences, historical documents, poetry and graphic art in order to help students gain a more comprehensive and personal understanding of the complex aspects of mental health,” says Davies. “The lessons are interactive and designed to encourage a deeper learning experience through personal reflection and engagement in classroom discussion.”

Davies, who teaches in the Health & Society Program in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, continues to exchange ideas with community partners on revisions for the teaching units. She hopes to develop more units in the future and to have them linked to curriculum in other provinces, translated so that they can be accessed by francophone students and reworked for aboriginal communities. Davies also welcomes suggestions for improvement from students. In fact, she says students played a key role in the overall success of the project. “A lot of the work was done by youth – from the original artwork on the Web site to data entry and research,” Davies notes. “This was very much a youth-centred project and it only made sense to involve them at each phase.”

The project has already attracted .

The curriculum project is part of a larger heritage initiative that is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. As part of that initiative, Davies has been active in the creation of another Web site, , which serves as a research, resource and educational hub on mental health issues.

For more information on Davies’ research, e-mail daviesmj@yorku.ca.

By Kristin Taylor, communications coordinator, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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The South Simcoe Economic Alliance reaps the benefits of 91��ɫ's research expertise

fmaquito — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ students who are enrolled in courses affiliated with the University’s Experiential Education initiative get valuable opportunities to apply their skills to real world problems and situations.

Experiential Education (EE) is a form of engaged learning that blends theory and coursework with practical, hands-on experience. As part of their academic studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies students apply key course concepts to a wide variety of case studies and research projects involving both profit and non-profit organizations. The students work with faculty members who serve as guides in the background and scope of the projects.

Above: From left, Course director Frank Miele, 91��ɫ students Daniel Hernandez, Byung Mark Yoo, Tri Ngo, Xiaomin Liang and Waris Ali, Township of Adjala-Tosorontio municipal councillor Mary Brett, 91��ɫ student Christina Kroner, and Margo Cooney and Valerie Ryan, representing the South Simcoe Economic Alliance

Most recently, six students in a fourth-year Regional Economic Development course taught by Frank Miele got a chance to present their research findings to representatives from their Experiential Education community partner, the (SSEA). The alliance is a partnership of three municipalities and the community economic development organization . The municipal partners in the SSEA are the , the and the . The region is home to two multinational industries, (automotive) and (pharmaceuticals), yet the lives of it citizens are also shaped through agriculture and many small and medium-sized businesses.

To realize the South Simcoe brand as “The Best of All Worlds,” the SSEA was seeking assistance from the team of 91��ɫ students on a number of initiatives, including:

guidance on attracting and retaining investment monies that will drive business growth and enhance the quality of life for the community;

an analysis on the recommendations of strategic/core activities arising from two background reports – the Economic Competitive Analysis Project and Competitive Analysis 2004;

a review and analysis of the SSEA Web site, including benchmarking it against other Canadian regional economic alliances.

After spending much of the fall term researching and working on their project, assisted by Miele, the students were finally ready to make their presentation and deliver their written report and executive summary to the SSEA. On Dec. 9, 91��ɫ students Daniel Hernandez, Byung Mark Yoo, Tri Ngo, Xiaomin Liang, Waris Ali and Christina Kroner delivered their recommendations to SSEA representatives Valerie Ryan and Margo Cooney of Nottawasaga Futures and Township of Adjala-Tosorontio councillor Mary Brett.

"This project is the capstone endeavour for students enrolled in a regional economic development course," explained Geoff Webb (right), manager of Experiential Education at 91��ɫ. "We found a great team and hit the ground running." Webb commended the students, who started the project on Oct. 18. "You had a lot of work to do and you've done a great job. This form of learning is a great way for students to apply what they've learned and give back to the University's community partners."

In their presentation, the students recommended that the communities in the SSEA view economic development as an investment and expand budget allocation to support economic growth activities. They said that South Simcoe should take a stronger leadership role in promoting the region to the Greater Toronto Area and that local economic developers should establish a partnership fund to leverage joint marketing initiatives. Included in their presentation were specific recommendations on transforming the SSEA Web site into a more user-friendly, marketing tool. The students said the SSEA should also integrate programs and services to retain and attract business investment and accelerate job creation by developing employment parks that have municpal services, are readily available and prominent to possible developers.

Kroner, speaking on behalf of the students, said the EE experience “was a fantastic educational experience that brought our learning to life. The discussion that followed the presentation was very stimulating.”

Ryan thanked the students for their dedication and said she appreciated the depth and clarity of recommendations from students. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate our partnership with 91��ɫ," said Ryan, who is the CEO of Nottawasaga Futures. “The students displayed a high level of integrity,” she said.

Cooney is a community economic development officer with Nottawasaga Futures and served as the team's contact. "The team was wonderful to work with and I really enjoyed the experience," she said.

There is the potential to carry the SSEA project and some of the conclusions reached by the students into future semesters, said Webb.

In addition to the SSEA project, 91��ɫ students are working with a number of community partners on projects, including the YMCA, UNICEF, the Ontario Non-Profit Network, the Canadian Red Cross, CBC, the University Health Network and numerous other organizations.

�۴ǰ��’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit is also working to expand 91��ɫ's relationship with SSEA and has , both 91��ɫ graduate students funded through the , to assist in developing the Nottawasaga Futures Green Transformation Program.

For more information, visit the Experiential Education Web site or contact Geoff Webb, manager of Experiential Education.

Complied with files from , 91��ɫ's Knowledge Mobilization blog. Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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New ResearchSnapshots get knowledge to the community

fmaquito — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Unit has released 40 new ResearchSnapshot summaries and opened two new Community Collaboration Stations. The announcement of the new initiatives was made Dec. 2 during an afternoon research forum hosted at the University by the KM Unit.

The summaries are available in a located on the KM Unit's Web site. They provide an introduction into the variety and depth of research that is conducted at 91��ɫ and the University of Victoria as part of ResearchImpact, a service-oriented program designed to connect university research with across Canada to ensure that research helps inform decision-making. The KM Unit's new Community Collaboration Stations provide research collaborators with access to a 91��ɫ computer, which allows them to access materials contained in the 91��ɫ Libraries and other online resources.

Some of the new research summaries highlight the work of 91��ɫ education Professor Stephen Gaetz, who studies homelessness, and that of Professor Uzo Anucha of the School of Social Work in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, who studies youth and poverty. The complete library of research summaries consists of 84 entries that present the results of research on a variety of issues, including HIV/AIDS, immigration & settlement, employment and climate change, as well as research on business & management, law and health services, to name but a few.

First announced in the spring of 2009 (see YFile, May 27), the ResearchSnapshot concept was ;tested in focus groups which included University researchers, provincial policy-makers and community social service organizations. The focus group participants were supportive of the initiative, which was described as offering an excellent introduction to research with just enough background and contact information, without being overwhelming.

Above: Participants in the afternoon research forum presented by 91��ɫ's KM Unit. The forum featured 91��ɫ researchers speaking on the topic of youth engagement. The announcement of the new ResearchSnapshots and Community Collaboration Stations was made at the Dec. 2 forum.

There are limitations to the utility of the research summaries, says David Phipps, director of the Office of Research Services at 91��ɫ. He points out that a decision about public policy or professional practice should not be made on the basis of a single research study. “We use ResearchSnapshots as a calling card to alert our non-academic research partners that there is research expertise at 91��ɫ that might be relevant to a partner’s interests,” says Phipps. This calling card helps �۴ǰ��’s KM Unit broker relationships between 91��ɫ and potential collaborators or organizations seeking to use research to inform decisions, says Phipps.

“91��ɫ has opened Canada’s first Knowledge Mobilization Unit that is fully integrated into the University’s research infrastructure,” says Stan Shapson, 91��ɫ's vice-president research & innovation. “The expertise of �۴ǰ��’s researchers and their graduate students should be accessible in order to maximize the social economic and environmental impacts of public investments in university research.”

Daniele Zanotti, CEO of the United Way of 91��ɫ Region, agrees. “It is important that community agencies are working from the best knowledge available so that they can make well-informed decisions,” she says. “91��ɫ's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides an avenue for community organizations to tap into the research expertise available in the University. It makes research, as well as researchers and graduate students, accessible to non-academic decision-makers.”

The development of the ResearchSnapshots was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Production of the latest 40 research summaries and the Community Collaboration Stations were made possible through the support of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ.

To access the research summary database, click . To reserve time on a Community Collaboration Station, contact �۴ǰ��’s KM Unit by e-mail at kmunit@yorku.ca.

From YFile - 91��ɫ's daily e-bulletin

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