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Western News, October 19, 2017, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: School leadership project gets $12 million, Grad helping to study first collision of neutron stars, President starts fund for ideas aimed at campus transformation, Longtime employees to be inducted into 25 Year Club during 36th annual gala, Profs get $2.6 million to train ESL learners, On Campus with Carole Nelson

Summer Bash 2017 Fundraiser Event, Tyler Connors

Honors Theses

Summer Bash 2017 was a multi-component fundraiser event that took place on June 16th, 2017, designed to help DC Strong, a local non-profit organization that brings personalized gifts and exciting experiences to children battling cancer in order to keep their spirits up and minds focused on finishing the fight. The first note on DC Strong’s website is that “In our minds and in our hearts, we know that the children have to give everything they've got to get through the battle of pediatric cancer” and DC Strong’s mission is to remind them why they keep fighting and why it's worth …

Cultural Connections In Senegal: Outcomes Of Study Abroad Course, Yvette Hyter, Sarah Summy

Academic Leadership Academy

The purpose of this study was to examine the intercultural competence, critical thinking, and global engagement of students participating in the Cultural Connections in Senegal Study Abroad Course, offered during summer I.

Empowering Nursing Students For Success, Mary Ann Stark

Instructional Development Grants

With a grant from the Western Michigan University Office of Faculty Development, we were able to offer students a small stipend to work with faculty who helped them identify academic and personal issues that impede success. Upper level students were hired as Navigators to help the student scholars achieve success. All scholars in the program passed and progressed in the nursing program. This program was called the Marie Gates Scholars Program in honor of our previous BSON director who valued and supported diversity in nursing.

State Of The University 2017, Edward Montgomery

WMU President Edward Montgomery

State of the University speech made by President Edward Montgomery on October 6, 2017.

Considerations For 360 Degree Assessment - A Proposed Tool For Leadership And Professional Development At Western Michigan University, Marianne Di Pierro

Academic Leadership Academy

360 Degree Assessment is also known as multi-rater feedback or multi-source assessment, a process utilized by organizations to solicit information from a variety of workplace perspectives (subordinate, lateral, supervisory, customers) on an employee’s work-related performance. It can be used for developmental purposes and also for evaluation purposes.

Fall Convocation 2017 Program, Office Of Faculty Development

Fall Convocation

A program for the Fall 2017 convocation, giving information on programs to improve student learning, including Teaching and Learning Bash, Assessment as Ally, Teaching with Technology Symposium, 2017 Faculty and Staff Awards, State of the University Address.

Western News, October 5, 2017, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Magura awarded $2.1 million federal grant, Become part of the homecoming 2017 royal family, Scholar-related award recipients to be feted at convocation, Trustees approve retirements of 25 faculty, staff; resignations of nine faculty, WMU sees increase in important enrollment categories this fall, On Campus with Cheri Butler

Movement Without Boundaries, Jennifer Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Johnson Simon, an artist based in West Palm Beach, FL, provided the cover art for the Fall 2017 edition of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “Dancing in Motion” is a 36” x 60” painting made from acrylic on canvas. Johnson always wanted to become a dancer. He was born with cerebral palsy, and therefore physical limitations make it difficult for Johnson to coordinate his body movements. Through use of vibrant colors and bold strokes, Johnson’s expressionist paintings evoke movement and motion. Occupational therapy helped Johnson discover his artistic abilities. Painting empowered him to move without limitations.

Overview Of Instructional Technology Used In The Education Of Occupational Therapy Students: A Survey Study, Bryan M. Gee, Lisa Salazar, Jessica Porter, Camiel Clark, Theodore W. Peterson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The purpose of this study was to explore the type of instructional technology (IT) master’s degree level occupational therapy educational programs routinely use as a part of their lecture- and laboratory-based instruction. Surveying the administrators of 121 graduate occupational therapy programs in the United States, we found that the majority of the respondents identified their program as using IT in some form for lecture-based courses, with less inclusion of IT for laboratory-based courses. Hybrid instruction, with the majority of the content being delivered face-to-face and the remainder via online, were the trends among the respondents. The findings also indicated that …

Perceptions Of Occupational Therapy Students And Faculty Of Compressed Courses: A Pilot Study, Martina G. Allen, Mary Voytek

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

As occupational therapists, our mandate is to be client centered, yet in academic settings there is little information regarding student or faculty preferences about curriculum and course design. This study investigated the perceptions of occupational therapy students and faculty regarding the delivery of content in a compressed course format, thus reducing the number of courses taken at any given time. The authors discuss how the results inform the feasibility of incorporating this format into future curriculum design. A descriptive survey design was used for this study. The participants were 33 entry-level graduate students and two faculty who completed post-course surveys …

Occupational Therapy Students In Norway: Do Their Approaches To Studying Vary By Year In The Program?, Tore Bonsaksen, Mikkel M. Thørrisen, Talieh Sadeghi

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Approaches to studying may be influenced by students’ age, maturity, and experience in higher education. Students’ approaches to studying may develop toward deep and/or strategic approaches and away from a surface approach as they move through the curriculum, which is generally considered a positive development. This study aimed to identify differences in approaches to studying among first-, second-, and third-year students enrolled in an occupational therapy program. Three cohorts of students (n = 160) from one university college completed the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) along with sociodemographic information. One-way analyses of variance were used to …

Educating Occupational Therapists In The Use Of Theory And Evidence To Enhance Supervision Practice, Melanie J. Roberts, Deborah Fitzgerald, Matthew Molineux

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

This paper describes the implementation of a unique learning experience aimed at enhancing the quality of supervision practice in occupational therapy at the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service. The package was designed by experienced occupational therapy educators based on adult, blended, and flipped learning approaches with content developed following administration of a standardized tool and semi-structured interviews. The learning package focused particularly on the logistics of supervision and the use of occupational therapy theory and evidence with supervision. The training for supervising therapists included a workshop and pre and post workshop learning activities. This collaborative research approach to designing …

Passing The Nbcot Examination: Preadmission, Academic, And Fieldwork Factors, Sharon D. Novalis, Jill M. Cyranowski, Cathy D. Dolhi

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

All occupational therapy students are required to successfully complete the certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) before they can practice independently. The need to repeat the examination can result in stress, anxiety, and financial hardship. This paper explores the relationship of preadmission factors, academic and fieldwork performance, and demographic variables to successful first-time attempts on the certification examination for occupational therapists. Data were gathered from 144 student files in a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program at a single university. Of the sample, 82% passed and 18% failed their first NBCOT test trial. …

Art In Occupational Therapy Education: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study Of An Arts-Based Module, Susan Coppola, Adrienne F. Miao, Carolyn Allmendinger, Wanqing Zhang

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Art-based learning experiences have demonstrated a range of benefits, including improved observation skills and perspective taking. This article describes the effects of an art-based module in an entry-level curriculum for occupational therapy (OT) students. An exploratory pilot study investigated the feasibility of a group-administered visual art-based module for 20 first-year OT graduate students. Outcomes were evaluated using a mixed-methods approach that combined pre-post quantitative results from survey questionnaires and qualitative reflective essays. Pre- and post-surveys revealed significant changes in the students’ perception regarding the benefits of art in OT curricula. The students’ reflective essays on their learning described art-based sessions …

Master’S Of Occupational Therapy Student Perceptions Of Creative Thinking Across The Academic Program, Angela K. Boisselle, Mary F. Baxter

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

This study was part of a larger study to describe how master’s of occupational therapy (MOT) students define and perceive their own creative thinking across the academic program. This study involved a cross-sectional quantitative study based on the self-reflective creative thinking surveys completed by the MOT students at Texas Woman’s University (N = 136). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce a large number of variables by finding which variables are redundant and measuring the same construct. The PCA resulted in three new components accounting for 68% of the variance. Three ANOVAs were conducted to explore possible differences in …

An Examination Of The Association Of Social Media Use With The Satisfaction With Daily Routines And Healthy Lifestyle Habits For Undergraduate And Graduate Students, Melanie Austin-Mccain

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Social media use has become an integral daily occupation of college and graduate students. In the United States, 90% of adults aged 18 to 29 years use social media (Pew Internet, 2015). Positive and negative data has been found which examined associations between social media use and other daily occupations (activities) that impact emotional and physical health. The purpose of this study is to examine the association of social media use with the satisfaction of daily routines and healthy lifestyle habits for undergraduate and graduate students.

Method: Undergraduate and graduate students responded to survey questions regarding their …

Joint Attention And Occupations For Children And Families Living With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review, Verna G. Eschenfelder, Christina M. Gavalas

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Research reports that children living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may demonstrate deficits in social, emotional, behavioral, and communication skills, which adversely affect social participation and occupational engagement. Joint attention skills constitute any nonverbal communication that captures the attention of another to create a shared interactional experience. The components of joint attention can be targeted through intervention to promote occupational engagement in childhood co-occupations.

Methods: A scoping review process was applied in the current study. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria to be analyzed through critical appraisal of topics and use of a matrix.

Results: Evidence indicates that joint …

Development Of The Daily Living Questionnaire (Dlq): A Factor Analysis Study, Sara Rosenblum, Naomi Josman, Joan Toglia

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Performance of daily activities and participation in life events involves higher-level cognitive abilities. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report scale for detecting everyday difficulties in activities/participation tied with higher-level cognitive deficiency and to examine its reliability and validity.

Method: The Daily Living Questionnaire’s (DLQ) content and face validity were established. Internal consistency following an exploratory factor analysis, as well as construct validity, were initiated with a convenience sample of 194 healthy adults, aged 18 to 85 years, and 34 adults diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Results: The four factors received in Part A, activities and …

Association Between Sensory Processing By Children With High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder And Their Daily Routines, Tsameret Ricon, Rachel Sorek, Batya Engel Yeger

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder exhibit persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Those with normal intelligence are considered to have high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD).

Method: The study participants were 20 children with HFASD aged 5 to 7 years old attending mainstream educational programs and their parents (study group) and 30 typically-developing age-matched children from the same socio-economic background and their parents (control group). Parents from both groups completed the Short Sensory Profile to investigate their children’s sensory processing and the presence of …

Psychometric Properties Of The Make My Day Tool To Assess Perceived Performance Of Children’S Daily Activities, Liron Or, Tsameret Ricon

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: No instrument with strong psychometric qualities exists to measure occupational performance in young children through child-reporting. We investigated the reliability and validity of the Make My Day (MMD) tool for children aged 4 to 7 years and their parents.

Method: We administered a demographic questionnaire, the MMD, and two other tools having similar objectives to a sample of 75 typically-developing Jewish-Israeli children aged 4 to 7 years and their parents. For internal consistency, we pooled the data with those from our earlier study involving 62 typically-developing Arab-Israeli children.

Results: The MMD exhibited acceptable to good internal …

Cultivating New Ideas And Solutions In The Occupational Therapy Profession By Fostering Divergent Thinking, Diane Powers Dirette

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

October 2017 News Items, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

• Three professors to be honored with Distinguished Teaching Awards
• Chemistry associate professor to receive Emerging Scholar Award
• Professors get $2.6 million to train English as second language learners
• WMU researchers get $12.5 million grant for school leadership renewal
• Candidates for the position of vice president for research at WMU

The Socializer-Fall 2017, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Fall 2017 Sociology departmental newsletter.

Connections, 10/2017, College Of Health And Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Newsletter

• Outstanding alumni recognized at CHHS
• OT, social work faculty earn $1.8 million grant
• 14th Annual Rider Colloquium
• Department of Physician Assistant accredited through 2027
• 2017 CHHS Student Expo
• State approves two CTAC contracts for continued training
• PA students gather donations at MAPA conference

Wmu 2017 Multicultural Meet And Greet, College Of Education And Human Development

College of Education and Human Development News

The 2017 Multicultural Meet and Greet sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development in partnership with various campus departments, local businesses and student organizations within our community.

• A Message from the President
• Greetings from the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
• A Message from the CEHD Dean
• Why Are We Here
• Floor Map
• College of Education and Human Development
• Student Success Services
• Faculty Panelists
• Haworth College of Business
• Student Professional Readiness Series
• Lee Honors College
• LGBTQ+
• Real Talk Diversity Series
• Study Abroad Fair
• Division of Multicultural Affairs
• Student Organizations
• Community Partners
• Campus Partners
• WMU Bronco Express
• Ways to …

Western Michigan University Magazine, Fall 2017, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Magazine (1997-present)

• Our Next Era of Ascension Together with the Bronco community, President Edward Montgomery says, he is excited to lead WMU to greater heights: “We can take this University and make it even stronger in terms of what it does for students, make it even stronger in terms of its research, make it even stronger in its impact on the community.”
• Engaged Families, Supported Students Program marks 10 years as ‘go to’ for Bronco families
• New Bot on Campus Lab’s socially intelligent robot knows when to crack a joke
• A Spectrum of Support Collegiate autism services: Meeting students’ needs
• Busy with …

Western News, September 21, 2017, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Farmworkers aided by $2 million grant, Montgomery installation draws enthusiastic crowd, Teaching, service award recipients to be feted at convocation, Numerous speaker series already underway this fall, WMU to honor alumni, Detroit influencers, Researchers explore human-robot communication, On Campus with Pradip Bhatt

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session September 20, 2017, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes (June 29, 2017 Meeting)
• Remarks by the Chair
• Remarks by the President
• Comments by the Faculty Senate Vice President
• Comments by the Western Student Association President
• Comments by the Graduate Student Association President
• Strategic Plan Evolution
• Signature Program Rollout
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items
• Action Items

Dr. Edward Montgomery, 9th Presidential Inauguration, Western Michigan University

WMU Presidential Inaugurations

The Inauguration of Dr. Edward Montgomery 9th President of Western Michigan University. September 15, 2017 11:00 am at Miller Auditorium Kalamazoo, Michigan. A program of the event.