The semester is coming to an end and there are only a few deadlines left but they are the most crucial. The poster being turned in this morning and next we present them at the SAGE Conference! After that the final Capstone paper is due and then it’s basically graduation day. I feel scared and excited at the same time, it’s almost over!
As I reflect on the past couple of weeks of content, I definitely see how everything connects. As students, I believe we have been taught to take in information and then reproduce it. After reading chapter 8 and hearing about learning theories, I would argue that we aren’t necessarily taught how to properly learn. That creates a lot of difficulty when you get to college because you really do have to internalize and understand concepts, not just be able to regurgitate information. Learning is about the want and need for knowledge, it’s about skills development and time management.
I really believe that the most important and effective information from the past two weeks is motivation. Motivation is the root of learning, and it is important to be aware of your own motivation so that you understand your performance. As we have learned, external motivation leads to someone performing as a passive learner, as opposed to internal motivation leading to active learning. If we start by adjusting our motivation, we start to adjust how we learn, and eventually how we feel fulfilled.
In chapter eight of the book Students Helping Students, we read about the learning process and what contributes to students achieving academic success.
We see the importance of understanding how individuals approach the learning process and how each person does this act in different ways. By having peer leaders become informed about items such as active learning and learning theories, they become better suited in assisting these individuals during their learning process and help them achieve success academically.
For example, let say that I am a peer leader working with an individual who is struggling with their biology class and is starting to lose hope in actually passing the class. I must look at this student and ask myself the following questions?
Based upon the answers I obtain, I will be able to make a game plan on how to motivate this individual to want to succeed.
Education is one of the great equalizers in the world. It can bring a family out of poverty. It can raise villages, and it can bring out the potential of problem solvers all over the globe. Yet what does it take to make your education the best it can be?
Active learning and constructivism are theories of educational interaction. Interaction of the students with both the teacher/professor and the material. Much of the material covered in chapter 8 of Students Helping Students is information that can help combat the internal struggles that many students face that can hinder academic success. Problems of motivation, mentality managing stress, and not knowing your strengths can all hinder academic success. Learning theories are what go on inside the classroom that can determine some student’s academic successes and if they develop skills students will need later in life. Chapter 8 was many parts of succeeding in academics that take place outside the classroom.
They are connected. Both subjects can have dramatic impact on the success of students. It is when you combine these aspects of internal struggles and the learning theories that you create a complete picture of how to encourage student academic success.
If I get an opportunity where I am in a position to encourage peers or anyone else academically I will try and share this complete picture. However two things I know that I would definitely stress are the learning theory of constructivism and learning demanding a confident attitude. Constructivism because I am a kinesthetic learner and enjoy when teachers employ methods to really engage with material. The confidence aspect is because it is something that greatly effected me. I have two sisters that I love, who both excel academically. (Both in the top 10% in high school and Jamie had a 4.6 gpa). So confidence in academics was something I did have because I thought I could never compete, so I hovered in the middle academically. It wasn’t until I got to college that I found my academic confidence and I have grown so much because of it that I am hopefully graduation with honors.
Understanding active learning and learning theories relate to the contents of chapter 8 in many different ways. Let me being by explaining why learning engagement is important to understanding active learning. To learn you have to be engaged thats where active learning comes into play. Being engaged is a great way to learn something in and out of class, by participating in class discussions or just being generally interested in what is going on will help you learn better. Cognitivism is one of the learning theories that goes well with learning engagement because we need to receive the information in organized manner to better understand it. Next is self-regulation is important for learning because you wont have people telling you your whole life what to do so by self-regulation you will have a better way to learn because you can make decisions on your own. The learning theory that goes well this is constructivism because you have to create your own set of rules wether it be being on your own or being with others. Learning demands and knowing yourself learning theory is both cognitivism and constructivism because they both have things that apply to this such as creating meaning from experience and how information is received by the mind. Active learning applies to learning demands and knowing yourself because you have to be able to learn so not every time you do something is confusing. Learning improves by managing stress and maintaining a sense of well-being is very to know active learning because doing hand on projects is a way to reduce stress and maintain your well being. Cognitivism is the learning theory that goes with this because it helps your mind receive information in a organized manner which help reduce stress. Something I have learned in the past two weeks that will help me coach others to be academically successful is the learning theories because it will not only help them but they can teach others that way they are becoming a leader in there own way. Another thing I have learni
To begin I want to start with constructivism relating to learning engagement. Constructivism says when students are more interactive with an activity or assignment they are more likely to be engaged. In correlation chapter eight talks about learning engagement and supports this idea stating to learn you must be engaged. Cognivism also supports chapter eight’s section on learning engagement by stating it is more helpful when students are given information they can relate to. To tie this section all together we can use active learning to see the correlation between chapter eights section on learning engagement. When chapter eight talks about self-regulation it is important to know how vital self-regulation is to our abilities to learn. Without taking the initiative to be responsible enough to show up to class the learning theories would be pointless. A good first step towards learning is just showing up to class. Self-Regulation can then lead to the next steps on understanding the type of learning theories and how one can use the knowledge of these theories to their own benefits. Next I want to jump into learning demands and knowing yourself. It is important to know yourself and understand what is your learning style and which learning style can benefit you most. Once you understand self-regulation and know yourself to a level where you can utilize your best learning styles it will be much easier to improve your learning. Other factors such as stress and time management can be very effective to your type of learning style. The less stress the better your ability to perform will be. I believe when you reach your peak of confidence and ability you can adjust to a number of learning styles and be more open to new ways of learning. When we talk about the exploration stage I really believe it can help you understand how a person can work on all these areas of self-regulation, knowing yourself, time, and stress management. I believe it is a huge step on knowing how you can improve your learning and progress as a person. Of course once you understand you can start stepping out of your comfort zone and start assessing these new ideas to your life. Also the understanding stage will really help you see how far you progressed as a person and how you can further improve day-to-day.
I personally loved all the ideas in chapter eight as I see them all tie together. The one I see myself utilizing the most is the exploration and understanding stages. As a EOP mentor and future RA I will be communicating a lot and listening as well. Of course this is active listening, by active listening you can build a better understanding on where each individual stands and how I can help them progress both academically and as a person as well. I feel being a compassionate person would make the exploration stage much more effective for me. I believe compassion is more than just showing sympathy and emotions, it shows that you truly care within your heart and signifies something that goes beyond words. Being compassionate will help me transition to the understanding stage. Understanding what someone is going through as a person can help me understand where they need to go and help them find the place they truly want to be. I can also easily reflect on their thoughts and show them ways I could relate to make them feel more encouraged to raise the bar and exceed to greater heights as a person. I think its important for individuals to start recognizing their strengths and weaknesses and embracing them. The first step to progressing is realizing your areas where you have flaws, you can then use these to build as a person. Now it is important to note your flaws are what make you who you are and help you find the direction of where you truly want to be. Having someone to help you explore the most important things in your life can be a powerful aspect on your abilities as a person, your confidence, and sense of direction. As an EOP mentor and future RA I look forward to applying my knowledge of learning theories along with my personally skills and skills gained from this course to help others prosper both as an individual and academically.
I focused my research on the hazard spill that occurred in Santa Paula on November 18, 2014. For those of you who don’t know, I actually live in Santa Paula and thus I was really interested in examining this event.
On November 18, 2014 at 3:45 a.m. there was a spill of approximately 1,000 gallons consisting of an unknown liquid organic peroxide. The spill was a result of a leaking truck which then later exploded. At the time of the first explosion there were two people injured. In response to the explosion, firefighters responded and they noted that when they stepped on to the dry area, in which the chemical had spilled, their rubber boots began to melt as well as the tires from their fire truck. As a matter of fact one of the fire trucks ended up exploding as a result from the mysterious chemical. At this time the Ventura County Geoff Dean declared the situation as a local emergency and ordered for an evacuation plan to be made. The evacuation plan consisted of any people living within a one mile radius, and people living within a 3-mile radius were asked to remain in their homes with all their windows and doors closed. As a result of the evacuation, the American Red Cross created a temporary shelter on Main St.
As for the 44 people that were exposed, they were all sent to VCMC to be treated. Unfortunately, this led to further explosion of the mysterious chemical; not only were the people coming in exposed, but the healthcare workers as well as their patient exposed as well. Despite the help of many individuals (public health workers, environmental health workers, fire fighters, and etc.) none of them were able to identify the chemical or an antagonist to stop all chemical reactions from occurring.
Overall, I personally believe that this event was very eye-opening for a lot of people, like myself. I was really happy to hear how many people actually responded to this event. Santa Paula is a fairly small city and thus often times I feel like when something happens in Santa Paula it is not really a big deal; but this definitely proved me wrong. I think, because of such event local hospitals have now implemented a response team if such event ever were to happen again. The reason why I say this is, because at the time that this occurred I was in my leadership rotation and thus I saw how Ojai Valley Community Hospital implemented a plan if ever such event was to happen again.
References:
Small fire ignites in chemical spill area outside of santa paula (2014). Ventura County Star. Retrieved from http://www.vcstar.com/news/local-news/santa-paula/small-fire-ignites-in-chemical-spill-area-outside-santa-paula_98585274
Quednow, C.V. (2014). Santa paula chemical explosion causes injuries, evacuations, and road closures. Ventura County Star. Retrieved from http://www.vcstar.com/news/local-news/ventura/officials-working-to-decontaminate-people-at-vcmc-exposed-to-substance-in-santa-paula-explosion_29956958
Here is the updated abstract !
Abstract
California State University Channel Islands (CI) is the youngest of the California State University campuses, and is planning to double its current student population by 2025. Located in Ventura County, CI is within the Calleguas Creek watershed, an impaired body of water listed under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). During major storm events, CI’s runoff flows into the Calleguas Creek Reach 2. It is known that population increase leads to an increase in land development, pollution runoff, and higher surface area volume of impermeable surfaces causing harm to its surrounding environment (Davis 2005). In order to protect the significant nexus that surrounds CI (Rapanos v. United States 2006), Best Management Practices (BMP) technologies have been tested for their ability to reduce the adverse effects of elevated runoff pollution from non-point sources on CI’s campus. We collected storm water runoff samples from identified outfalls, possible high risk MS4 sites, and a controlled study site location. We tested for 37 parameters, including California Title 22 metals and other organic materials during wet and dry weather events. We have found that certain parameters we tested for at our monitoring sites are higher than TMDLs considered safe, thus contributing to the impairment of the Calleguas Creek Watershed. By strategically placing BMPs across CI campus, these pollutants can be maintained below TMDLs and can help Calleguas Creek Watershed recover. Through our monitoring we have also benchmarked pollution runoff at these locations, which is necessary in further identifying high risk MS4 locations at CI. Though some pollutants were not detected over TMDLs, it is best to reduce storm water pollution as much as possible. The continuation of monitoring storm water runoff is essential and required for CI’s future plan to enforce a MS4 permit.
The Joplin, Missouri EF-5 tornado of May 22, 2011 claimed 161 lives, resulted in over a thousand injured, and damages were an estimated $3 billion worth making it the deadliest tornado in United States history since 1947 (Wheatley, 2013; Smith, 2011). This deadly tornado significantly impacted the Joplin community’s access to care as it demolished nearly ½ of its healthcare resources including the St. John’s Regional Medical Center (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). Emergency responders, volunteers (from over 400 different organizations), federal, and state responders all arrived to Joplin following the tornado to scour debris for human life and brought patients to designated triage areas such as the Memorial center where critical care patients were being cared for in-between stadium seats (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014).Socioeconomics played a role in the number of fatalities related to this event due to many lacking safe rooms which can cost $6000 to $8000 to build (Johnson, 2013). The Joplin recovery efforts were still in progress as of 2013 with the new building of homes, safe rooms, schools, and a new hospital (Johnson, 2013).
I cannot imagine being a healthcare provider during this incredibly stressful time however; I know that if I had lived in this area it would have been required of me to know the emergency operations plan (EOP) of the state’s healthcare facility (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). According to the Missouri Hospitals Association (2014), hospital severe weather plans implemented a watch status at 5:11 PM on May 22nd and all three area hospital’s moved patients into safer locations such as hallways. St. John’s Regional Medical Center immediately evacuated to neighboring hospitals as protocol stated (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). And all neighboring hospitals set up triage areas in all possible waiting areas and because of this all hospitals were able to properly triage the large influx of patients the first 24 hours after the tornado hit (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). I can only imagine what must have gone on in a healthcare provider’s mind during this time, thinking of the status of their loved ones at home and their children all while trying to care for their patients. I think the only thing that would have kept me calm and focused would have been the fact that my patient is someone’s mother, father, son, etc. and just as I would be hoping someone was helping my family, I know my patient’s family would be depending on me as well.
According to recent research, it appears states in Tornado country, especially Missouri, are currently making progress to increase their preparedness evident by the Missouri Hospital Association release of a document (in partnership with the Joint Commission )called “Preparedness and Partnerships: Lessons Learned from the Missouri Disasters of 2011: A Focus on Joplin” (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). And according to the Missouri Hospital Emergency Preparedness Assessment, hospitals have made significant progress since 2011 in areas such as planning, their national incident planning system, communication, and safety and security (although much needed progress still needs to be made regarding a structured decontamination plan (42%)) (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). Evacuation-specific lessons learned from the Joplin tornado include the installation of battery back-up lit stairwells and disaster equipment in ready to go bags (Missouri Hospitals Association, 2014). With the tornado demolishing the St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a new hospital called Mercy Hospital has been built and has been constructed to better withstand future tornadoes (Johnson, 2013).
References
Johnson W 2013 Progress continues 2 years after Joplin tornadoJohnson, W. (2013, May 21). Progress continues 2 years after Joplin tornado. Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/19/progress-after-joplin-tornado/2322167 20150422225539387434840
Missouri Hospitals Association 2014 Preparedness and partnershipsMissouri Hospitals Association (2014). Preparedness and partnerships. Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/Joplin_2012_Lessons_Learned.pdf 201504222250231861290455
Smith A 2011 Deadly Joplin tornado could cost $3 billionSmith, A. (2011, May 24). Deadly Joplin tornado could cost $3 billion. Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/24/news/economy/tornado_joplin/ 201504222245461039591432
Wheatley K 2013 May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri EF5 TornadoWheatley, K. (2013, May 22). The May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri EF5 Tornado. Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/05/22/joplin-missouri-ef5-tornado-may-22-2011/
Cyclone Nargis, which happened in 2008, caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar. It wreaked havoc, created catastrophic destruction and caused at least 138,000 fatalities and involved approximately 2.4 million individuals. This number of deaths may be inaccurate due to those occurring after the natural disaster due to health issues such as disease and lack of resources for health care. The WHO reported that the Government of Myanmar formed an Emergency Committee that had priorities of providing adequate food, safe drinking-water and shelter to the affected people. The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO Country Office in Myanmar were also involved in response to the crisis. The WHO published that the major health problems in Myanmar are communicable diseases (malaria, dengue, measles) and malnutrition. The State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar spend less than US$1 (i.e. 60 cents) per person per year, on healthcare. Approximately, 1 in 4 households live below the poverty line therefore lack of healthcare resources are commonly found in Myanmar. The structural damage caused by the cyclone and the flooding of water supplies, there was also an increase of waterborne diseases affecting the populations. Subsequently, damage to infrastructure and distribution systems will increase the risk of foodborne diseases.
One report written by an international rescue team called Team Singapore found that the most common diagnoses seen amongst adults were: upper respiratory tract infection, gastritis/gastroenteritis, and lower respiratory tract infection. Many adults and children also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from the experiencing the crisis. Emergency rescue teams like Team Singapore broke into teams that focused on different cities to offer aid to due to the lack of government set up emergency plans. Injuries from the cyclone were the highest reported cause of death (lacerations, blunt trauma and puncture wounds). Doctors without Borders in the first two months, aided 460,000 individuals with primary treatments geared towards diarrhea, malaria, dengue fever, and malnutrition. The British Red Cross reports that in 2010, Myanmar is on its way to recovery and has rebuild 24 schools and has been working to make sure the most vulnerable (elderly, disabled, women) are given the right assistance and support. They are focused on providing clean water and improving sanitation which has been successful due to the improvement in water quality and prevention of water-borne diseases. The British Red Cross is now offering basic first aid courses to encourage community-based disaster risk management training. In times of crises, local government often have to take the initiative to make certain policy changes or implement programs and training, in alignment with being prepared as a community in case of another catastrophic emergency.
I can’t imagine being a healthcare provider in Myanmar at this time. It would have been in such a hectic state especially due to the lack of resources and government set up emergency agents. It would have been very important to maintain hand hygiene in the efforts to prevent the spreading of disease during the crises and to offer the best educational support to affected individuals especially when medical resources were scarce. I think that the United States is better set up for a natural disaster if one were to occur because of increased resources and different government set up agencies such as FEMA. I reflect on natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and hope that our government and the citizens of the United States are better equipped and educated about what to do during a natural disaster.
References:
Doctors without Borders. (2008). Myanmar: Two Months After Cyclone Nargis, Needs Remain
Critical. Retrieved from http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/field-
news/myanmar-two-months-after-cyclone-nargis-needs-remain-critical
Lateef, F. (2009). Cyclone Nargis and Myanmar: A wake up call. Journal of Emergency Trauma
Shock, 2(2), 106-113.
The British Red Cross. (2010). Myanmar recvering two years after Cyclone Nargis. Retrieved
from http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-us/News/2010/April/Myanmar-recovering-
two-years-after-Cyclone-Nargis
The Who. (2008). Communicable disease risk assessment and interventions: Cyclone Nargis:
Myanmar. Retrieved from
Click to access MyanmarCycloneNargis090508.pdf
Watson, J. T., Gayer, M., & Connolly, M. A. (2007). Epidemics after Natural Disasters.
Emergency Infection Disasters, 13 (1), 1-5.
Scroll to top