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Spring 2015
Volume 2: Issue 1
HDFS DEVELOPMENTS
The latest updates in Human Development and Family Studies in The Department of Human and Community Development at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign brought to you by the HDFS Undergraduate Ambassadors
Editor: Molly Harmon
HDFS 450: Practicum in HDFS
By Sharon Monday & Kale Monk
It is time again for us to start accepting applications for the Practicum in HDFS, an internship course. HDFS
450 is a supervised learning experience related to HDFS offered in conjunction with community agencies
or institutions. The practicum course is a required course for those pursuing the family life education
certification from the National Council on Family Relations (Certified Family Life Educator; CFLE). The class
is designed to provide (1) professional-level experience in a human service agency that corresponds with a
student's career interest; (2) an opportunity for students to use the skills they learn from their major and
apply content in a professional setting; and (3) an opportunity for students to further develop appropriate
professional-level skills.
STRONG KIDS/I-TOPP
STRONG Kids/I-TOPP received
the 2015 Team Award for
Excellence from the College of
ACES
Dr. Barbara Fiese
Dr. Barbara Fiese received the
2015 John Clyde and Henrietta
Downey Spitler Teaching Award
from the College of ACES
Sarai Coba Rodriguez
Sarai Coba Rodriguez received
a grant titled Promoting School
Readiness with Latina Mothers in
a Suburban Head Start ($5000)
from the University of Illinois
Office of Public Engagement
Kimberly Crossman
Kimberly “Kimi” Crossman
received the 2015 Louis V.
Logeman Graduate Student
Teaching Award from the
College of ACES
Brenda Eastham
Brenda Eastham received the
2015 Professional Staff Award for
Excellence, Sustained
Excellence in Administrative/
Management from the College
of ACES
Kale Monk
Kale Monk received the 2015
Grad Student Research Award PhD from the College of ACES
Maria Rund
Maria Rund received the 2015
Marcella M. Nance Staff Award
from the College of ACES
Linda Tortorelli
Linda Tortorelli received the
2015 Professional Staff Award for
Excellence, Innovation and
Creativity from the College of
ACES
This course better prepares students for the workplace and helps
them to be more marketable as they navigate the job market.
"HDFS 450 allows you to take your education into your own hands. With it you
gain the ability to challenge yourself uniquely. Sharon and Kale were great
instructors for the course; I felt really supported and I felt confident coming to
either one of them to discuss my placement." - Sara Hayden
"You learn more about yourself through your practicum. You also learn more
about working with others that you may not have thought of before. I have
changed in many ways since the beginning of the practicum. One of the most
noticeable changes is that I have become more open to networking." - Jasmine
Brown
This course meets once per week in the fall semester, and students are required to complete 12.5-20 hours
per week with the community agency at which he or she interns. Interested students need to attend the
mandatory informational meeting on Wednesday April 8th from 5-6 p.m. in room 7 of Christopher
Hall. Following this, we [the course instructors] would arrange to have interviews with students who are still
interested in the practicum. Any questions can be directed to Kale Monk ([email protected]). More
information can be found on our course website: http://hcd.illinois.edu/student_information/courses/
HDFS/450.html
HDFS 494: STRONG Kids
By Dr. Jill Bowers
The Family Resiliency Center will soon be accepting applications for the HDFS 494 Undergraduate
Research Course: STRONG Kids Program for Fall 2015/Spring 2016 (it’s a two semester commitment, and
undergraduates who have sophomore, juniors, or senior status in Fall 2015 are eligible). This applied
research methods course was designed to advance undergraduate students’ understanding of the causes
and consequences of childhood obesity, professional development, and research that will optimize their
opportunities for graduate studies and careers in obesity and family health. This course provides students
with first-hand experiences working as part of a research team and helps them develop a working
knowledge of the theory and applications of transdisciplinary research used to guide their research
projects. This class began as a face-to-face course, and Dr. Barbara Fiese, The Director of the Family
Resiliency Center and the course instructor, spear-headed an initiative to develop this course into a
blended one, such that students engage with microlectures that are delivered online prior to coming to
class and then, they meet every other week in class and engage in interactive activities and discussions
centered on the obesity and professional development topics for that week. Additional information
regarding the course and application for the 2015/2016 academic year will be available on The Family
Resiliency Center website soon: http://familyresiliency.illinois.edu/SKUnderResearch.htm
HDFS 494: Developmental Screenings and Assessments
By Meghan Fisher
The HDFS 494: Developmental Screenings and Assessments course provides students with opportunities to
integrate and apply knowledge and skills gained in the classroom to real-world practice. Students in this
course are immersed in the research literature on uses of standardized assessment tools with young
children while gaining experience conducting developmental screenings
with children enrolled in the Child Development Lab (CDL). Students will
receive training on two different developmental screenings instruments
(The Bayley-III and DENVER II) that are used to assess developmental
delays in children and for CDL research reports distributed to researchers
who work with children in the lab. There are 192 children at ECDL and CDL,
and the screening process could not be accomplished without the help of
undergraduate students on our team. This course is offered every fall
semester. Contact Dr. Brent McBride ([email protected]) or Meghan
Fisher ([email protected]) for more information.
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Spring 2015
Volume 2: Issue 1
Research Lab Highlight
Dr. Brent McBride’s Research
Graduate Student
Spotlight
Kimberly “Kimi” Crossman
Kimberly “Kimi” Crossman is a graduate
student in the Department who has been
actively involved in research, teaching, and
service. She has received several teaching
and research awards over the last few years at
the department, college, university, and
national levels. She has served as the
President of The Illinois Student Council on
Family Relations and The Illinois Council on
Family Relations, and the Student and New
Professional representative for the feminist
and family section of The National Council on
Family Relations. Her latest research has
involved interviews with divorcing mothers
o n t h e i r ex p e r i e n c e s o f a bu s e. H e r
dissertation research focused on analyzing
mothers’ reports of the abuse with a specific
focus on abuse in the context of coercive
control (or the use of nonviolent tactics aimed
at maintaining dominance of one’s partner,
including intimidation or isolation). Kimi
said,“Everyone controls their partner to some
extent. How to distinguish control that stems
from unhealthy relationship dynamics and
conflict (for example, unrealistic role
expectations) from coercive control aimed at
restricting a partner’s freedom, autonomy, and
sense of self is not clear in the literature.”
Through her data analysis, she has found key
similarities and differences between coercive
controlling behaviors and other forms of
nonphysical abuse, as well as the contexts in
which partners resort to or refrain from using
physical violence. Through this work, Kimi has
generated a theoretical explanation of what
m a k e s c o n t ro l c o e rc i v e i n a b u s i v e
relationships. She plans to defend her
dissertation in April and intends to graduate
in May. After graduating, she hopes to
continue to mentor students and remain
involved in teaching, research, service, and
leadership activities as a faculty member at a
university. Her colleagues describe her as
“intelligent, a young woman with great
integrity, and one of the most collegial people
with whom they’ve ever worked.” Best of luck
to you, Kimi!
Dr. Brent McBride began his career as an
elementary school teacher and has been a
professor and The Director of The Child
Development Laborator y (CDL) in T he
Department of Human and Community
Development at UIUC for the last 25 years. As
D i re c t o r o f T h e C D L , h e ove r s e e s a l l
administrative functions, including hiring and
training personnel, administering a $1,4000,000
+ budget, directing the early childhood and
u n d e rg r a d u a t e e d u c a t i o n a l p ro g r a m s ,
facilitating faculty and graduate student
research projects, and coordinating staff
development. Through this work, he continues to
stress the relationship between theory, research,
and practice in the early childhood profession,
setting standards for child care across the world.
Despite all of his work directing CDL
programming, he has remained a figure in
college classrooms, established himself as a world renowned researcher, and
engaged in a variety of community service activities.
Dr. McBride’s teaching, research, and service center on early childhood and
child care policies and practices. He has also taught Infancy and Early Childhood,
Youth and Child Services, and an applied research methods course focused on
research in early childhood. Some of Dr. McBride’s research has focused on
father involvement in childrearing. He has examined ways to increase father
involvement in child care settings, perceptions of parental competence, and the
quality of father-child interactions. Dr. McBride has also published several
papers from work with The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort
with which he has examined male involvement in families of children with and
without disabilities. Dr. McBride has also served as a senior investigator for the
STRONG Kids project for which he has worked with a transdisciplinary team to
longitudinally examine genetic, family, community, child care, and cultural
influences on childhood obesity. As a part of this team, he has examined feeding
practices and the impact of child care policies on teacher’s restrictive feeding
behaviors. With service, Dr. McBride conducts workshops and presentations for
early childhood educators at local, state, and national levels. He has also held
leadership positions and served on several executive committees and advisory
boards throughout the local early childhood community.
Dr. McBride is truly an inspiration as his work has influenced thousands of
students, teachers, and children over the last several decades. We hope you have
the opportunity to take a class, work with, or meet this prominent HCD faculty
member if you have not already.
HDFS Ambassadors
Spring 2015
Recruiting HDFS Student
Volunteers
The HDFS Program is conducting a summer
academy (June 21-24) for Illinois high school
students to introduce them to issues related to
children and families and the “college
experience.” We are recruiting students to
serve as HDFS Academy instructors. Contact
Dr. Robert Hughes ([email protected]) if
you would like additional information or the
application form. Applications are due
Friday, March 20, 2015.
Visit the HCD department website for more information: http://www.hcd.illinois.edu/ (Welcome to our newest members, names
bolded below)
Pictured (from left to right) 1st Row:
Kristen Herdegen, Samantha Addante,
Danette DeWeese. 2nd Row: Emily
Robinson, Vanida Vesuntia, Ashley-Tate
Hollis, Katie Erwin, Bryanna Johnson,
Rachel Wurtzel, Jasmine Brown, Jinwen Ye.
3rd Row: Daniel Goldine, Rachel Smith,
Stephanie Medina, Jordan Magold, Erin
LePoire, Molly Harmon, Abby Murin,
Lauren Adrien.
Not Pictured: Caroline Stevens, Devin
Weiss, Jazmyn Thomas, Jordan Johns,
Adrianna Domanico, and our Advisor,
Dr. Jill Bowers
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