Category Archives: Praxis Independent Study

Sarah Phillips, Psychology, BMC ’22

An Insight into the Research Assistant Experience: Project MIME

Faculty Advisor: Professor Ariana Orvell

Field Site: The Mood and Cognition Lab at Temple University

Field Supervisor: Marin Kautz and Daniel Moriarity

Description of Course:

This course provides a holistic overview of the research experience at the mood disorder lab housed in the clinical psychology area of the Psychology Department at Temple University. It not only aims to help the student reflect on the research experience and its various considerations such as consent but also allows a student to deep dive into the research question being studied in the lab through further research and literature review. This is within the purview of Project MIME (Motivation, Immunity, and Mood in Emerging Adults) at Dr.Lauren Alloy’s Mood and Cognition. At a broad level, this lab investigates how differences in motivation might be associated with the immune system and a variety of mental health issues such as depression. Keeping that in mind, the primary aim of Project MIME is to see whether rumination and reward sensitivity predict inflammatory reactivity and depressive symptoms.

Praxis Project:

PhillipsSarah_PraxisBlog

Ellie Canty, Biology, HC ’22

Teaching Through Embodied Learning

Faculty Advisor: Alice Lesnick

Field Site: https://katyhawkins.teachable.com/

Field Supervisor: Katy Hawkins

Course Description:

In this Independent study I developed curriculum based on the theory of embodied learning that suggests that there is much untapped academic learning that can happen through movement rather than words. This practice also worked to provide mind/body integration and accommodates learning differences in the study of poetry. In practice, I helped to develop curricular content, generate prompts for reflection, and refine pedagogical tools for communicating complex ideas to a diverse student body. I also addressed any confusion from students, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and facilitating communication between students and the professor. My communication skills improved as I provided feedback to students, contributing to assessing student writing and creative work. These experiences, paired with my self-guided research and reflection on embodied learning, pushed me to understand more about implementing innovative ways of teaching across the body and mind divide.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here to access the presentation.

Michiko Ng, English, HC ’23

Poetry in Embodied Pedagogy

Faculty Advisor: Alice Lesnick

Field Site: katyhawkins.teachable.com/Bryn Mawr College

Field Supervisor: Katy Hawkins

Course Description:

While this course maintained its aim to explore how the embodiment of poetic analysis through yoga and sensory awareness can promote mental and physical wellness, my methods and roles have shifted during the process. Working in tandem with Field Supervisor Katy Hawkins and my Field/Praxis partner Ellie Canty, I have engaged in the poetry, music, and movements (combining aspects of yoga, dance, and improvisational motions/positions) from Katy Hawkins’ “The Yoga of Poetry” course derived from her Moving Poetics project. The one-semester PE class at Bryn Mawr was initially designed to address experiences of the pandemic that have separated us from an “inner wisdom,” but it evolved into a space that addressed all sorts of experiences, scratching at the surface of bodily, emotional, cultural, and societal traumas. I helped develop activities, writing prompts, mini-lessons, and informal assessments that would relate poetry with body to broaden understanding and appreciation for embodied analysis, as was initially planned. But as students in the class engaged in conversations with Hawkins about the potential appropriation that goes into modifying yoga for our work, my focus shifted from justifying multidisciplinary work to addressing issues of colonization, generational trauma, and privilege in education with care. It begged the question of whether there ever was an inner wisdom for us to return to, or if we are only now starting to develop one.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here to access the presentation.

Berit Kirkegaard, Sociology, BMC ’22

Beyond Preschool: Exploring the Impact of Early Childhood Education

Faculty Advisor: Amanda Cox

Field Site: Phebe Anna Thorne School

Field Supervisor: Jodie Baird

Course Description:

This course aims to examine the influence of the goals and curriculum of preschool on children’s social-emotional development and growth through critical observation of preschool classroom practices and children’s interactions. This course was originally designed to explore the outcomes of early childhood education through both a developmental and sociological lens, but throughout the semester has shifted to instead focus on the purpose of a pre-schooling experience. Interviews with preschool-aged parents, observations, and conversations with teachers at Thorne about their practices, provided me with a better understanding of the value of a preschool education.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here to access the presentation.

Estefania Torres, Environmental Studies, BMC ’23 & Saiqian Xiao, Growth and Structure of Cities, BMC ’23

Local Climate Action

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Don Barber

Field Site: Delaware County (participant in the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Local Climate Action Program)

Field Supervisor: Dr. Sharon Jaye

Description of the Course:

The Local Climate Action Program is a structured environmental program that partners students with their community environmental departments to formulate an ethical and sustainable climate action plan. The programming is focused on creating a stronger network within these locations, utilizing knowledge on real world-applications, learning about community development, creating a data-collection and analyzing greenhouse gas inventories, and more. This course serves as an outlook onto social work within and outside the governmental sphere of the local environmental department. The first part of the programming specifies on collecting, organizing, and analyzing greenhouse gas inventories, as well as begin on the initial stages of community outreach approaches.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here to access the video presentation.