Catalog

Bodies reflect not only individual lifestyle choices but also an individual’s freedom or constraint in navigating health options and healthcare systems.  Reporting on “the obesity crisis” in America often overlooks the socioeconomic forces that allow or limit individual choices in food intake and physical activity, so while the first part of this book focuses on developing students’ scientific thinking and their ability to seek out and evaluate information, the second part of this book encourages skepticism in detecting misinformation in the study of the causes and nature of obesity.

This textbook provides students with guidelines for understanding writing tasks as intellectual work using Bloom’s Taxonomy and for treating the writing process as a set of variable activities that move along a trajectory from idea or assignment to a finished product. The book also includes chapters on strengthening reading strategies and on finding, evaluating, and using sources effectively.

Why Do I Have to Take This Course? A Guide to General Education developed out of many years of thinking about general education courses and curriculums. We, as university personnel, do not always succeed in explaining why we have certain requirements. Even though these courses make up a significant percentage of our college careers, there is not often time set aside to talk about general education and explore its purpose and goals. When we do not know the reason why we are doing something, it can sometimes lead to apathy and even resentment. Once we have an idea of the purpose, then we can start to appreciate and learn. It is worthwhile to spend some time thinking about these purposes, both “official” and personal ones, in order to maximize student learning.

This textbook helps students systematically study how general education requirements are developed, their history, post-graduation value, etc. It emphasizes exploration of the significance of individual learning outcomes, especially through the lens of John Lewis’ philosophy of “good, necessary trouble.” For instructors adopting this book, it is designed to assign in its entirety or in parts as instructors can choose to emphasize relevant learning outcomes. It is also designed for use by advisors, especially with advisees who express concerns over taking certain requirements.

Children, Families, Schools, and Communities is an introductory text in the field of Child and Family Studies.  It provides a lens for understanding the evolving definition of “family” through socially constructed and ecological theory frameworks.   It promotes strategies for culturally sustaining and deeply collaborative relationships between families, schools, and communities through the use of home-grown advocacy strategies based on community-driven data.  Children, Families, Schools, and Communities is an adapted OER text from Rebecca Laff’s and Wendy Ruiz’s Child, Family, and Community.