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Families for Forward Thinking: Partnering with Parents in the 21st Century

This immersive project involved partnering with Wee Wisdom Nursery School and Child Care Facility in Muncie.  Students enrolled in EDEL 231 worked collaboratively to create, design and launch a new program entitled, Families for Forward Thinking (FFT).  Alongside Wee Wisdom staff and families, students distinguished parental needs regarding positive home structures.  Participating students explored research proven and practical strategies that parents and families could implement at home to best provide a positive environment.  These strategies incorporated within a student-created FFT online source.  This dynamic resource was linked to the collaborating partner’s website at the end of the semester.  Through the site, parents have access to video vignettes of students/teachers working with children, relevant articles, and pragmatic resources on meaningful topics that enhance their child’s academic and social success.  In addition, Ball State students identified specific areas of parental interest and provided two parent education workshops/events.  Students also organized and planned an in-service session for Wee Wisdom staff to support their ongoing work with parents.

Faculty Mentor:  Stacey Allred
Department:  Elementary Education
Community Partner:  Wee Wisdom Nursery School and Child Care Facility
Students: Hunter Eineman, Christina Koehl, Bridget Millar, Shana Miller, Monique Moore, Daniel Skora, Eva Wehrle, Hannah Wiley

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ecoREHAB Studio: Thomas Park Avondale House Rehab

The Thomas Park/Avondale neighborhood has suffered since the closings of multiple important employers over recent years.  To help combat neighborhood decay ecoREHAB hopes to help stabilize the area by improving the housing stock. To initiate this endeavor, ecoREHAB identified an ideal property located 1 block from the Ross Community Center.  In 2014, the house was tagged by Muncie’s Unsafe Building Hearing Authority. Without costly remediation the house cannot be occupied and in its current state it could quickly fall into disrepair and become unsalvageable, leaving a hole in the urban fabric of the neighborhood that may never be mended. Working with Ball State University architecture students, ecoREHAB will rehabilitate this house turning it into a home that is affordable to operate and act as a catalyst for neighborhood improvement. LEARN MORE

Faculty Mentor:  Jonathan Spodek
Department:  Architecture
Community Partners:  Ball Brothers Foundation; ecoREHAB of Muncie, Inc.
Students: Craig Adams, Allison Berry, Brian Bracht, Hunter Crews, Alex DeKemper, Jordan Duke, Ana Karen Garcia, Jacob Hurt, Molly Schultz, Taylor Sheppard

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Building Better Health: Developing a Community Gold Standard

Cancer Services of East Central Indiana-Little Red Door needed assistance with multiple initiatives/programs. Some programs focused on promoting healthy living habits and others on developing promotional material for Little Red Door (LRD). Students helped promote and fundraise, researched underserved areas of our community, developed novel educational materials for that population, promoted LRD programs in schools and throughout the community, developed a new agency video and portfolio, developed material for Caring for the Caregiver program, and assisted with the Facing Cancer project. Students also presented their project at the Central States Communication Association Conference in Grand Rapids, MI.

Faculty Mentor:  Peggy Fisher
Department:  Communication Studies
Community Partner:  Little Red Door East Central Indiana
Students: John Anderson Jr, Theresa Barhorst, Lindsey Bryie, Kassie Ehman, Sumer Frain, Jenna McAbee, Chad Ragan, Leslie Thomas, Whitney Morgan

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Summer 2016 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this summer on a number of immersive learning projects.

Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center
Working collaboratively with the YOC, Ball State students will spend the summer making a real difference in the lives of young people. They will study psychological, environmental, and cultural factors that contribute to reading difficulties, develop skills in applying proven reading strategies, and ultimately implement a reading intervention program.
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors: Janay Sander, Educational Psychology and Ruth Jefferson, Special Education

Virginia B. Ball Center Summer Seminar – Water Quality Indiana
Students from Ball State University, Taylor University and the Indiana Academy will blend science and journalism through testing of local waterways with community partners from the Upper Mississinewa River Watershed Partnership. Students will have the opportunity to conduct interviews with stakeholders, produce defendable scientific results, generate multimedia products, and disseminate information to a public audience of consultants, regulators, and landowners to help create a sustainable future.
Community Partners: Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, Randolph County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Upper Mississinewa River Watershed Partnership
Faculty Mentors: Adam Kuban, Journalism and Lee Florea, Geological Science

Muncie Public Art Master Plan
Students will work with local citizens to generate policies regarding the future of public arts in Muncie. Policies also will be informed by goals and initiatives developed by the Committee for Public Arts of Muncie and the Muncie Arts and Culture Council Board of Directors.
Community Partner: Muncie Arts and Culture Council Committee for Public Art
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Dunaway, Urban Planning

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PUBLIC FORUM: “If ISTEP Is Out, What Should Be Next?” – April 23, 2016

Saturday, April 23
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Cornerstone Center for the Arts Auditorium, Muncie

LWV ISTEP public forum (2)All are welcome to attend this important public forum about the future of testing in our schools. You will have a chance to share your concerns and learn how we can advocate for student learning and actionable feedback for teachers and administrators.

Panelists will include:

  • Senator Tim Lanane
  • Greg Beumer
  • Sue Errington
  • Steven Baule, Superintendent, Muncie Community Schools
  • Alice Johnson, Superintendent, Alexandria Community Schools
  • Sam Snideman, Director of Government Relations, Ball State
  • Gregory Marchant, Professor of Educational Psychology, Ball State

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Muncie-Delaware County.

Co-sponsored by the following organizations: American Association of University Women Muncie Branch; Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.; Cornerstone Center for the Arts; Muncie Black Expo, Inc.; Muncie/Delaware County Chamber of Commerce; Muncie NAACP; Muncie Public Libraries; United Way of Delaware County; and the Whitely Community Council.