Preparing Family Science Students to Address Child Maltreatment

The number of children in foster care has been steadily increasing, an alarming trend that indicates increasing numbers of children are suffering maltreatment. The Child Advocacy Studies (CAST) curriculum is an emerging academic program intended to help provide students who will work with children and families a foundation for responding to child maltreatment. This coursework is applicable for preparing family science students to provide educational programming to prevent and address child maltreatment. The Domains of Family Practice model is used to demonstrate how the CAST curriculum can be adapted to and applied within the context of family science coursework.

Objectives

1) To describe the role of family science graduates in preventing and addressing child maltreatment. 2) To explain how child advocacy course content can be translated to focus on primary and secondary prevention (CFLE) rather than tertiary prevention (Family Case Management) of child maltreatment. 3) To illustrate the application of this content knowledge by describing the types of educational programming that family science graduates who have completed CAST coursework will be equipped to deliver.

That Dragon, Cancer: The use of a digital interactive narrative in teaching about family illness, death, and bereavement

  The authors describe the use of the video game That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games, 2016) in an undergraduate course unit on family illness, death, and grieving.  In addition, the authors present the results of a qualitative study investigating the contributions of That Dragon, Cancer to student learning. That Dragon, Cancer is a narrative video game in which the user is immersed in the story of Joel Green, his family, and their 4-year battle with juvenile cancer.  The player explores the in-game world in a series of vignettes that reconstruct moments in the family’s life.

Objectives

To describe the potential benefits of using games to support classroom instruction To analyze the ways the game That Dragon, Cancer illustrates concepts from family stress theory To evaluate the effectiveness of using the game That Dragon, Cancer in a course unit on family illness, death, and bereavement

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: The Trauma-Informed Classroom Care (TICC) Model

Courses in human development and family science programs often involve discussing difficult topics, such as trauma, violence, and abuse. To reduce secondary traumatic stress in classroom settings, it has been recommended that instructors be purposeful and cautious as they introduce trauma-related materials (Kostouros, 2008). In this workshop, we describe the need for trauma-informed pedagogy, summarize existing recommendations, and then aim to bridge the gap between trauma theory and organized implementation of sensitive content in higher education through the introduction of a trauma-informed pedagogical model. Suggestions for future research and instructional design development are discussed.

Objectives

1. To articulate the need for a trauma-informed pedagogy in human development and family science and other higher education settings. 2. To summarize existing trauma-informed teaching recommendations. 3. To introduce a pedagogical model founded on trauma theory to aid in trauma-informed course content delivery and instructional methods.

Using Simulation to Teach Family Crisis Management:A Collaborative Approach

Traumatic experiences such as terroristic events and mass shootings are too familiar in the United States.  In order to effectively manage crises when they arise, adequate training of family professionals is necessary.  This presentation discusses the implementation of an interdisciplinary standardized patient simulation based training model provided to undergraduates in the Family Studies and Nursing departments. The training focuses on teaching crisis management and collaboration skills in responding to the aftermath of traumatic events.  This presentation will outline our program and discuss findings indicating that students are better prepared to manage crisis situations after completion of the simulation experience.

Objectives

1. To gain knowledge about a training model for developing crisis management skills 2. To better understand how collaborative simulation experiences can be used to support family crisis workers and students entering family studies professions. 3. To understand how students perceive simulation experiences and how the training model has effected their readiness to manage a crisis event.

Download Presentations

312-01 - Preparing Family Science Students to Address Child Maltreatment

312-02 - That Dragon, Cancer: The use of a digital interactive narrative in teaching about family illness, death, and bereavement