Professor Robert Kronick was honored as a visionary of Knoxville community schools at the Community Schools Celebration – an event co-hosted by the League of Women Voters and South Knoxville Elementary on Thursday, February 25^th 2016.

Photo submitted by Susan Martin.

Kronick is the founder of University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) and was awarded a framed piece of art created by Pond Gap Elementary student, Rylee Greaney.

UACS currently meets academic, social, and economic needs of students at Pond Gap Elementary and Inskip Elementary, and of Knoxville community members.

The Community Schools Celebration celebrated the twelve community schools in Knox County and honored two other visionaries – Superintendent Jim McIntyre and Buzz Thomas, Great Schools Partnership president.

For more information, see the article about the event in South Knox’s Shopper News.

Instructional Technology

Duren is currently seeking her MS in Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology and completing a graduate certificate in Online Teaching and Learning. Originally from Chaplin, Connecticut, she received her BS in Business Administration and an MS in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and joined EPC in 2012. We asked her to reflect on some of her past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Accomplishments

Publications

• Yamagata-Lynch, L. C., Do, J., Skutnik, A. L., Thompson, D. J., Stephens, A. F., & Tays, C. A. (2015). Design lessons about participatory self-directed online learning in a graduate level instructional technology course. Open Learning. 30(2) 178-189. doi:10.1080/02680513.2015.1071244

Presentations

• Feb. 2016 Conference Keynote Presentation: ” Educators Taking the Lead: Professional Development that Empowers YOU to Reach Your Goals” invited speaker with honorarium, Roane State Symposium on Powerful Teaching, Feb. 27, 2016 https://www.roanestate.edu/?5915-Symposium-on-Powerful-Teaching
• Feb. 2016 “Evaluating the Flipped Approach: How can it work for your learners?” & “Avoid the Talking Head: Creating Effective Educational Video;” invited speaker with honorarium, Liberty Technology Magnet High School, Jackson, TN (4 hour interactive workshop combining both sessions).
• July 2015 “Evaluating the Flipped Learning Approach: Can it work for my adult learners?” invited speaker, Academy for Instructional Excellence, Nashville, TN (core/required session).
• July 2015 “Avoiding the Talking Head: Creating Effective Educational Video” and “Learning Through Doing: Models for Flipped PD,” accepted speaker, FlipCon 2015, East Lansing, MI.
• April 2015 “Evaluating the Flipped Learning Approach: Can it work for my adult learners?” accepted speaker, Commission on Adult Basic Education Annual Conference, TX.
• Oct. 2014 “Evaluating the Flipped Learning Approach: Can it work for my ESL & EL/Civics learners?” invited speaker with honorarium, GA ESL & EL/Civics Summit, Forsyth, GA (blended, extended professional development).
• May 2014 “Evaluating the Flipped Learning Approach: Can it work for my adult learners?” LINCS RPDC Region II online event (pilot of blended, extended online professional development for US DOE agency).
• April 2014 “Avoid the Talking Head: Creating Engaging Online Instructional Video” (with Bill McNutt); accepted speakers, Technology and Learning Conference, Myrtle Beach, NC.
• July 2013 “Social Media: Planned AE Program Marketing”; invited speaker Academy for Instructional Excellence, Nashville, TN.
• Oct. 2012 “Learning Disabilities: Quick and Dirty Tips for Busy Adult Educators”;
  accepted speaker with honorarium, Georgia Adult Education Conference, Atlanta, GA.

• Refer to Resume for more details

Current Occupation

Program Coordinator for Professional Development
Center for Literacy, Education & Employment, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

As CLEE is wholly contract and grant-funded, work responsibilities have varied widely due to assignments across dozens of education-related projects for adult literacy and K-12 professionals both statewide and nationally. Professional focus over the past 15 years includes effective internet-based instructional methods for professional development, design and implementation of effective educational accountability and evaluation tools and effective support for adults with learning disabilities.
Originally focused solely on technology-associated projects for the Division of Adult Education with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, my valued experience and expertise is now spread across multiple state and federally focused projects. Current responsibilities focus on leading collaborative projects in design, implementation, and evaluation of online, blended and face-to-face professional development via a variety of learning management and software tools. Asked to regularly serve as content expert and trainer at both state and national levels on a wide variety of topics, both face-to-face and via interactive webinars. Additional duties include assistance in grant writing, integration of social media tools into program management and instruction, graphic design/layout and basic web page design.

Personal Interests

UT Staff Advisor for the Thor’s Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Society student group on UT campus, as well as administrative and educational leader in the local and regional chapters of the Society for Creative Anachronism – a world-wide organization dedicated to the hands-on study and exploration of medieval life, culture and martial activities. Particular focus on Norse culture and textile arts (hand spinning, weaving, and natural dyeing).
Mother of eight-year-old daughter, Solvi, who is mastering 3rd grade in Knox County with only minor traumas.
Fan of fantasy and sci-fi books, games and films, currently fighting a Netflix addiction.

Future/Vocational Goals

At this time, I am happy in my current position at the UT Center for Literacy, Education, and Employment and hope that the skills and expertise gained via this program will assist the center in obtaining funding for applications of online learning and technologies for our target populations.
Through and beyond my work at the center, I wish to further establish myself as a leader, researcher and facilitative collaborator in the field of instructional technology and design for education professionals. In particular, I wish to a) continue my work in creating effective professional development learning environments, systems and activities for busy education professionals and b) conduct research and facilitate training that contributes to the effective transference of theory into everyday practice.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

As this program of study is delivered (almost) entirely online, each course provides you with not only the knowledge and skills listed on the syllabus, but also a model of how to structure and deliver instruction in online environments. Do not ‘fight’ the online nature of the program – consider it a valuable part of the learning process. Take the time to step back and evaluate each professor’s approach to the course, determine what is effective (and not), what feels comfortable to you (and isn’t) in order to build or enhance your own ‘toolbox’ of preferred approaches to online (and blended) learning.

What do you think has been the most rewarding/challenging about this program?

The structure of this program affords participants with the opportunity to learn from peers with a wide range of education and training perspectives. I am honored to have participated over a dozen rewarding course partnerships resulting in excellent instructional technology products. I greatly value the friendships I have gained through this process, with both peers and faculty and hope to continue building these friendships once I graduate.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Lindsay is currently seeking her MS in counseling with concentrations in clinical mental health counseling and school counseling. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania she received her BS in psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and came to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2013. We asked her to reflect on some of her past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Awards

• Outstanding Clinical Work – 2015
  Departmental award for determination and hard work throughout the clinical internship experience, commitment to professional identity, and willingness to accept challenges in the professional counselor development

Accomplishments

• Upsilon Theta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (international honor society) – Executive Board Member, Secretary, 2015-2016
• UT Grief Outreach Initiative Mentor, Spring 2015
• Upsilon Theta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (international honor society) – Executive Board Member, Member at Large, 2014-2015

Current Occupation

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern
Focus Treatment Centers for Eating Disorders, Knoxville

Co-facilitate multiple group-therapy sessions per week with Binge-Eating Disorder, Anorexia-Nervosa, and Bulimia-Nervosa cohorts; administer Biopsychosocial assessments with newly admitted clientele.

Personal Interests

When I am not working as an intern or attending class at UT, I enjoy spending time with my boyfriend of almost 9 years and our dog, Winston. We love to go for walks on the Nature Trails and have fun socializing at the dog parks around Knoxville. I personally enjoy reading, connecting with family and friends near and far, and volunteering. I plan to begin to volunteer at the Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee this summer. I love to travel, watch sports, and go to sporting events in my spare time.

Future/Vocational Goals

I am very open to different professional positions in my future in the world of counseling. I would very much enjoy working in the clinical realm as a community mental health counselor in some capacity, whether it be within an agency or treatment facility. On the other hand, I believe that I would thrive within a school setting as a school counselor, working with middle or high school students. What I know for sure is that I desire to use my developing skills as a pre-professional counselor to assist those in need to the best of my ability.

What sold you on this program?

When I interviewed for the clinical mental health counseling program with Jeff Cochran and Shawn Spurgeon, I knew from the get-go that these professors cared about their students. I came to understand that the faculty as a whole would go to great lengths to assist students in the program and give them the individualized support and direction they needed. I also found that the many different opportunities students are granted within the practicum and internship phases of the program are unique and essential to the experience in a clinical environment.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

I would tell an incoming student who joins the program/department to be more open-minded about the experience and less strict about initial expectations of graduate school. Originally when I was accepted into the program, I believed that I knew exactly what I wanted to get out of the experience and where I wanted to be by the end of my time here. I came to realize that by letting my guard down and accepting more of a laid-back attitude, I opened myself up to greater opportunities and an even richer experience than I had originally anticipated. I jumped at the chance to enroll in the Dual Degree Program, accepted the role of intern at two separate internship sites in my second year, and offered my time to serve on the CSI Executive Council for two years running. Allowing myself to be open to new experiences during my time at UT, though challenging, has ultimately helped me believe in my own power to do things that I did not expect or know I could do.

University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) won a three-year $100,000 grant (totaling $300,000) from the United Way of Greater Knoxville.

“The grants were competitive and we got ours through hard work among the collaborative team.” – Bob Kronick, director of UACS

The grant was written by Bob Kronick, professor and director of UACS, Mark Benson, school coordinator of UACS, and Dareen Basma, Counselor Education PhD student. Through Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, United Way will award UACS a total of $300,000 over a three-year period.

UACS is an initiative to address unmet social, economic, and academic needs of Knoxville students and community members. They have two full-service community schools, one at Pond Gap Elementary School and a newer one at Inskip Elementary School. Funds from this grant will largely be used to hire staff to support the efforts at Inskip. The mission of UACS is to “create challenging learning opportunities for students to excel by providing a nurturing environment supported by the family, community, staff, and students.”

Four School Psychology PhD Candidates – Elizabeth Hays, Megan Schall, Ellie Trant, and Tiffany Watson – were matched with APA-accredited internships.

To become a licensed psychologist, all school psychology doctoral students must have completed an internship. Internships accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) are highly sought out, yet a large number of applicants go unmatched. In 2015, more than fifteen hundred applicants were not matched with an APA-accredited internship.

“It is always a program goal for our students to receive APA-accredited internship positions. However, not all internship applicants receive an internship, particularly an APA-accredited one. The program faculty are very excited for these students!”- School Psychology Program Coordinator, Merilee McCurdy

The application process was described as long, complex, and intimidating. To address this, the program offers an internship course to make things more manageable and help students through the process.

Elizabeth Hays will be going to the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas.

Hays explained how she was thrilled to be matched to an APA-accredited internship because she believes it will give her more flexibility with future career options. Her internship is in a school district, where she will work with students in general and special education. Her primary roles will be behavioral consultation, assessments, and pre-referral intervention for behavioral, social, and academic concerns. However, she will also be providing individual and group counseling to students and have opportunities to practice evidence-based interventions in the Family Counseling Clinic.

“I am very excited to try something new and learn as much as I can while I am at Cy-Fair ISD. I will have access to a diverse range of training experiences and supervisors through this internship, and I think this diversity in training will be invaluable.”

Megan Schall, Ellie Trant, and Tiffany Watson will be at the Tennessee Internship Consortium (TIC).  TIC is an overarching entity linking interns to many different agencies, such as school systems, assessment centers, and health systems.

Schall will be at Lenoir City Schools four days a week, and receiving supervision and training one day a week. She explained how she would be conducting the same types of work activities school psychologists in school systems typically do.

“I’m thrilled to be matched with an APA-accredited internship! It was a great relief to get the match email and see the results. And, even though it would be fun to live in a new city, I am also very excited to be staying in Tennessee. After four years living in Knoxville, it feels like home so I am glad to get to stay for another year.”

Trant will be working at Sweetwater City Schools, mainly doing assessments and consultation.

She explained how happy she was to be staying in Tennessee because she fell in love with this part of the country after moving here from Louisiana.  Also, the internship location allows her and her fiancé to live together once they get married in July.

“I have learned so much about school psychology during my time at UT, and I am looking forward to putting those skills into practice. I am also excited to learn more about the field of school psychology and expand my abilities. UT has given me a great foundation, which I know will be significantly enhanced during my internship year.”

Watson has a split internship. Part of the time she will be working with the Korn Learning, Assessment, and Social Skills (KLASS) Center on campus. There, she will see clients for interventions and evaluations for ADHD and learning disabilities. The other part of her internship will be with Cherokee Health Systems in a school system.

“I am so blessed and thankful to be matched to an APA site. It opens up more opportunities down the road for licensure. I grew up in East Tennessee and I’m so excited to stay and work in the area. I’m also excited to finally start applying things I’ve been learning for the past four years!”