Unique Training at FRC to Promote Transdisciplinary and Translational Mindsets, Skillsets

The Family Resiliency Center offers innovative training opportunities for community members, academics, service providers, policy makers, and students to build their transdisciplinary, participatory, and translational capacity. Our team members lead the following courses:

Participatory Research Methods: An Introduction to Frameworks and Applications

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Students from the Participatory Research Methods course at the Family Resiliency Center

(HDFS 581)

In this active learning class, students co-design and co-implement participatory projects with community partners who also develop capacity for implementing different methods and projects. The class covers major decisions and alternatives considered by a researcher who wants to engage community members in participatory research projects.

Email Jacinda Dariotis at dariotis@illinois.edu for information on when this course will be offered.

Partner Feedback on HDFS 581 Course

"The student team we worked with was as good as any paid consultants we have worked with in the past.”

Community Partner, Julie Pryde

“Initially, I was a bit reluctant to take on a new project with so many other responsibilities in front of me. However, I soon realized the potential benefits of such a project assisting with us supporting our funded agencies. So, I went for it! To my surprise, I was impressed that over half of our agency leaders participated in the GLA discussion. I expected maybe five to seven leaders to attend, but with our strategic planning to engage agency leaders, those numbers increased.”

Community Partner, Leon Bryson

Thoughts from an HDFS 581 Student

“It’s been 15 to 16 weeks of sharing physical and intellectual spaces with you all. Together, we have climbed (and descended) Arnstein’s ladder of citizenship participation and drifted back and forth on Key et al.’s continuum of community engagement. We have theorized, hypothesized, and conceptualized. We have built models and used ECLIPSEs and SPIDERs to refine webs of questions. Oh, we even had an octopus guest teacher. Anyone remember the first class? We’ve shared moments of silence, especially when we did not know the answers to Dr. Dariotis’s tricky questions or hadn’t fully done our readings. We have asked questions to clarify our confusion and to advance our understanding of this wonderful, convoluted PR world. And yes, so many times, we shared invaluable thoughts during class discussions to enrich our learning experience.”

Sarah D., Graduate Student

Survey Research Methodology Fundamentals: Study Design and Instrument Development (HDFS 580)

This course leads students through best practices related to survey research methodology including study design and instrument development. It provides a foundation in survey methods that will inform future survey work. Based on community-partner interest and availability, student teams work with community partners to design a study and draft a survey. Email Jacinda Dariotis at dariotis@illinois.edu for information on when this course will be offered.

 

Applied Research Methods (HDFS 494)

In this faculty-supervised research course, students participate for one year as researchers within a transdisciplinary team that investigates questions related to the health and well-being of children and families. Student researchers gain firsthand experience as part of a research team that develops a working knowledge of transdisciplinary research theory and application.

Student Feedback on HDFS 494 Course

"Working on STRONG Kids helped me understand some of the material I had been studying in my health statistics class this semester."

HDFS 494 student

"STRONG Kids gave me the opportunity to build relationships with faculty and students from multiple disciplines and to be involved in vital comprehensive research."

HDFS 494 student

"I think that this is great research experience that helps you to develop many skills such as communication, teamwork, flexibility, patience, and critical thinking, among many others."

— HDFS 494 student

"I think that anyone, especially if they're planning to go into health care or nutrition, would really gain useful experience, a grasp on medical problems, and realize first-hand how many factors can contribute to one issue, like obesity."

— HDFS 494 student

Future Learning Opportunities

In addition to the courses listed above, FRC will soon be offering seminars, workshops, trainings, professional development opportunities, and certificates. Visit this page to view future offerings and contact us at familyresiliency@illinois.edu for inquiries.