Award-Winning Engaged Scholarship
TTU SUB- Matador Room
Partnerships with Public Schools
TTU SUB - Mesa Room
Presentation # 1: Clinical Programs of the School of Law
Presenters: Larry Spain, Professor of Law; Patrick Metze, Professor of Law; Dwight McDonald, Professor of Law; Terry Morgeson, Professor of Law; Donnie Yandell, Clinical Instructor; Wendy Tolson Ross, Professor of Law, TTU School of Law
The TTU School of Law's Clinical Programs have, for the past 21 years, worked collaboratively with community partners to provide legal and professional services at no cost to those who would otherwise be financially unable to obtain such services. Presenters will discuss and provide examples of how the Clinics promote equitable treatment in the civil and criminal legal systems in Texas as well as the practical skills and commitment to public service gained by TTU law students.
Presentation # 2: STEM Explorers Program
Presenter: Daniel Kelly, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction, TTU College of Education
The STEM Explorers program started in Lubbock during the spring semester of 2019 at a disciplinary alternative education program within Lubbock ISD with six students as a STEM/robotics education and behavioral intervention and has grown to include six sites in the spring of 2022. It explicitly incorporates social and emotional learning and cognitive behavioral techniques an strategies to support students beyond the STEM content. There have been marked improvements in student behavior, attitudes toward school, academic achievement, and future interest in both STEM and education. The program also provides undergraduate students (many studying to become teachers themselves) with an opportunity not found in many courses.
Presentation # 3: Community Engagement Through coral Reef Research Initiatives
Presenter: Stephanie Lockwood, Associate Professor of Practice, Dept. of Biological Sciences, TTU College of Arts and Sciences
Coral reefs are vital to healthy marine ecosystems but are in serious decline due to pollution, global warming, and other threats. This decline also has serious ecological consequences to communities that rely on tourism to coral reefs as a central source of income. In this presentation Dr. Stephanie Lockwood will discuss the multinational, study abroad undergraduate research program designed to promote safe and sustainable means to preserve and rehabilitate the coral reefs of Honduras, allowing real world research opportunities for students.
MESA Room:
Presentation # 1: Mental Health Screening and Prevention within Elementary Schools
Presenter: John Cooley, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychological Sciences, TTU College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. John Cooley, a clinical child psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences developed partnerships with two elementary schools in Frenship ISD to address the mental health needs of children. He will discuss the mental health issues facing the community's youth, the creation and findings of a comprehensive, evidence-based child and teacher assessment, and how the project has involved school administrators, teachers, children, and parents alike to effectively address children's mental health needs.
Presentation # 2: Sustaining a Long-Term Engaged Scholarship High School Partnership in Literacy
Presenters: Mellinee Lesley, Professor; Whitney Beach, Doctoral Candidate; Elizabeth Stewart, Doctoral Student; Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction/Language Diversity and Literacy Studies; TTU College of Education
Texas Tech literacy educators have been successfully working with Estacado High School in Lubbock, Texas, for three years on a project focused on improving adolescent writing achievement. This presentation will include testimonies of successful problem-solving methods, positive results for a diverse population of learners, and suggestions for building and maintaining sustained partnerships in engaged scholarship.