Tag: Emily Simnitt

Volunteering at GrassRoots Garden: How to Grow Individual and Community Food Literacy

Presenter: Gabrielle Wille – English

Co-Presenter(s): Frida Graumann

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—Data and more Data

Most college students are often disconnected from their food sources and are unaware of the positive effects that gardening has on their physical, mental, and emotional health. This project reports our personal experiences of volunteering at Food For Lane County’s GrassRoots Garden, a community-funded garden that primarily grows produce for donation and strives to educate its volunteers. We have detailed the evolution of our understanding of gardening’s role in food insecurity and community food literacy. Inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, our research reveals the reciprocal relationship between individuals or communities and gardening. As much as we can do for a garden, a garden can do for us. Our intention for this project is to inspire more college students to get involved in a community garden to increase their food literacy, as well as raise awareness of the benefits that working in the soil has on all aspects of one’s health.

Public Speaking Literacy as a Counterstory

Presenter: Tristan Phillips – Business Administration

Co-Presenter(s): Claire Putnam

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Communication: How and Why

When asked about what skills are most important for communication, often reading and writing come to mind. It’s not often in our education that we find public speaking to be a skill that is emphasized as important. As a result, people don’t often put time and energy into becoming better public speakers and are afraid of it when they are required to give presentations. In this study, we examine how students feel about public speaking. How do students who have received practice or training feel compared to those who don’t have that training? The purpose of this study is to see how we can best tailor our public speaking workshops to the students. We want to get an idea of the perception people have of public speaking. More importantly, what qualities do people see as “good public speaking skills” and what does this tell us about public speaking literacy? We hope this data can be used by the university to allocate more resources toward public speaking education.

Data “Counterstory:” Academic Text Accessibility and Open Educational Resources

Presenter: Matthew Hampton − Planning, Public Policy and Management, Political Science

Co-Presenter(s): Grace Trammell

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—The Languages of Data

Textbooks are an essential aspect of learning in higher education curriculum. In many cases professors will require students to purchase one or multiple textbooks, creating an additional financial burden for students. When this happens, students are left with few options: find a lower- cost alternative, or drop the class. Thus, textbooks are a means of creating a literacy and education gap within higher education, with low-income students most impacted by it. However, Open Educational Resources (OERs) are a means to reduce this gap by providing equitable literature to all students within higher education. In recent years, (OERs), free academic texts, have in-part filled the gap by providing public knowledge to students and other groups. With the use of OERs openly accessible on the internet or in libraries, community members not affiliated with universities also have the opportunities to learn about various subjects they may not have had before. While working on an in-house University of Oregon OER, the Talking Stories website, we discovered that putting together a well-researched OER had as much to do with compiling credible academic information as presenting it in a way that anybody, regardless of education level, can understand. Based on this, we will share our experience and knowledge gained during this project to creating change and expanding community literacy. We will speak to how broadening academic text accessibility through OERs can increase community literacy.

Volunteering at GrassRoots Garden: How to Grow Individual and Community Food Literacy

Presenter(s): Frida Graumann – English

Co-Presenter(s): Gabrielle Wille

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—Data and more Data

Most college students are often disconnected from their food sources and are unaware of the positive effects that gardening has on their physical, mental, and emotional health. This project reports our personal experiences of volunteering at Food For Lane County’s GrassRoots Garden, a community-funded garden that primarily grows produce for donation and strives to educate its volunteers. We have detailed the evolution of our understanding of gardening’s role in food insecurity and community food literacy. Inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, our research reveals the reciprocal relationship between individuals or communities and gardening. As much as we can do for a garden, a garden can do for us. Our intention for this project is to inspire more college students to get involved in a community garden to increase their food literacy, as well as raise awareness of the benefits that working in the soil has on all aspects of one’s health.

Counterstory: Researching and Analyzing Public Speaking Literacy Amongst College Students

Presenter: Sally Campbell − Journalism

Co-Presenter(s): Greg Martin

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

(In-Person) Data Stories—The Languages of Data

Public speaking is one form of literacy that is used frequently but does not always get the same level of attention as other forms, such as writing and reading. According to UCLA, 75% of people suffer from some sort of anxiety preceding speeches and public speaking. It is a goal of mine, and a few others to get the resources on campus to aid those with public speaking anxiety. From a more narrow perspective, this study will work to uncover the difference between talent versus strength in terms of public speaking—with talent being a more natural capability, and a strength entailing more time and energy invested in the talent. By using already published statistics, other universities’ experiences, and focus groups specific to the University of Oregon, this study is working to find the necessary qualitative and quantitative data to build a successful resource for the university. Success in this context entails a place where all feel welcome, and the needs of each individual can be met . The research will be important to make this unique resource thrive.