Blended PSYC 1200 for Osborne House

For the past couple of years, we have been offering PSYC 1200 in a blended format, as will quickly become apparent to all of you students who are enrolled in one of our 10 sections. The "web-based" part of the "blended" set-up mainly has to do with our delivery of lecture materials through on-line recordings. In class, students should also attend classes once per week to experience demonstrations and activities that are meant to bring the lecture and textbook material to life a bit. The classes also provide an opportunity for students to get their questions answered about material presented in online lectures and in the textbook. Finally, these classes are where you will write your exams. As mentioned in an earlier post, these weekly classes are led by a Section Instructor, so students actually do get contact with a live person with expertise in the course material and an understanding of the course's structure. Perhaps the downside is that students will not regularly have live contact with the instructors (us) whom they hear describing concepts on the lecture recordings. Often, the gain of one thing (the capacity to offer PSYC 1200 to hundreds of students under constraints having to do with the cost and availability of course instructors) results in the loss of something else (live contact with the people who are in charge of designing the course and presenting the lecture material).

In any case, there was a recent MacLean's article about this new trend of to trying to accommodate large classes by blending online with in-person instruction. Our PSYC 1200 class was specifically discussed in the article, the link to which is here:

http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/04/20/where-did-the-prof-go/

People are free to argue about whether blended learning approaches to teaching a course like Introduction to Psychology are good or bad, although there is some research suggesting that blended approaches can actually produce better outcomes for students than more traditional approaches (e.g., Wang & Newlin, 2000, Journal of Educational Psychology). Our experience is that things have gone pretty well. We wouldn't yet make any bold claims that our way of offering PSYC 1200 is better than the traditional, live-person lecture method. We are still trying to make our course better, year by year. We may well get to a point in which folks prefer our PSYC 1200 course to others. We certainly do hope that we can achieve that. 

One thing that occurred to us, now that we've offered PSYC 1200 in this way for a couple of years, is that there are obvious practical challenges associated with offering a course to 2,500+ students, but there are also unique opportunities. For one thing, we are able to reach a staggering (and, to be quite honest, intimidating) number of people such that the shear numbers involved might provide an avenue for doing some good for the community. 

What we've come up with, starting last year, is an effort to bind the various issues in our Intro Psyc course to a social problem that doesn't receive nearly as much attention as it should. Moreover, this social problem doesn't even receive as much financial support as it should. So, here it is: We think it would be fantastic if Winnipeg as a community could claim to provide adequate support to women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. Right now, it can't, and that is completely unacceptable. 

In Winnipeg, Osborne House Inc. provides a safe shelter for women and children whose safety is at risk on account of domestic violence. Over the past few years, this organization has slipped off the radar of what folks consider to be worthwhile causes to support, but hopefully that situation is improving. The organization has recently experienced a 75% drop in donations,  although we hope that all of the information about the financial troubles of Osborne House has helped generate a renewed commitment to the organization. All donations to Osborne House feed directly into operating costs of Osborne House's programs and not at all to the costs of advertising or fundraising. In other words, a very high proportion of donations actually go to pay for the services provided by the Osborne House (specifically, 100%). It isn't all that common for charities to devote such a high percentage of the cash that you give them to the actual providing of services. Even so, donations are very much in decline in support of Osborne House and requests by the organization for the City of Winnipeg to meet their funding shortfall have been rejected. It looks like the primary organization for promoting and helping to ensure the safety of women and children who find themselves at risk of violence in their home must seek support from sources other than our municipal government.

If it so wishes, the City of Winnipeg has the right to set its priorities and to de-prioritize the safety of its most vulnerable citizens. We  hope that a sufficient proportion of the rest of Winnipeg has different priorities and will choose to support Osborne House, Inc so that they may provide their very important services. We've taken a description of the organization and their stated goals from their Facebook page and posted them here:

About Osborne House

Osborne House is a Winnipeg non-profit shelter for women and children escaping domestic abuse. It provides a safe place to stay and rebuild independence.

Mission

Osborne House empowers women and their children, who are experiencing domestic abuse, by providing them with a safe and supportive environment through residential and non-residential programs and services.

Company Overview

Osborne House is one of the oldest women’s shelters in the world.

Osborne House, though not yet so named, was one of the first shelters to open in Canada. In 1972, a small pilot project funded by the Secretary of State was begun under the management of the Grey Nuns. The program and services offered were developed to serve the crisis needs of young women, 18 – 29 years of age, seeking to move from a dependent to an independent living situation.

In September 1974, the facility moved to a new location and the program focus changed to a 3 day crisis shelter for abused women and their children. By November, the Osborne Street address was available for 10 women and children.

By 1980, Osborne House had moved two more times and had survived a number of funding crises. The shelter was a pioneer in many ways and it resulted in the development and acceptance of spousal abuse as a community issue and responsibility.

In 1985, it became evident that the current facility had become inadequate and could no longer accommodate the range of programs and services now offered through Osborne House. In 1989, Osborne House moved to its present facility, which can accommodate 45 women and children and is the largest shelter in Canada.

Osborne House was for many years considered a forerunner and a model for Domestic Violence Shelter Facilities both in Canada and far beyond. Its commitment to continuing on as a pioneer and positive example has never waned.

Description

Osborne House now has a PayPal account to accept donations! Donations can be sent via PayPal to barbarajudt@osbornehouseinc.ca. 

Osborne House is a registered charity so tax receipts can be e-mailed/mailed to you if you donate via PayPal.

General Information

General Line and Donations: (204) 942-7373
24 hour Crisis Line: (204) 942-3052

Philosophy of Osborne House

• Violence and all types of abuse are unacceptable in our society.

• Women should not be forced to remain in a violent relationship due to lack of safe alternatives.

• Women have the right to be informed of alternatives and to make self-determined choices within the context of their own lives.

• Services are to be provided to women and children in a manner which respects client’s confidentiality and the right to privacy.

• Women have the right to receive services which are sensitive to and respect their cultural and linguistic heritage, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

• Services are provided in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.

• Education, training, and prevention are essential to end the generational cycle of violence.

• The delivery of enhanced services is achieved through the partnership of dedicated staff, volunteers, student field practicum placements, and work experience placements.

Goals of Osborne House

• To ensure a safe environment for women and their children, who have experienced domestic violence, on a 24 hours, 7 days a week basis.

• To provide women with information and support in making informed choices by helping them recognize and access available options.

• To assist women in developing and implementing an individual plan toward personal growth, increased independence, and empowerment, and toward living in a non-abusive environment.

• To assist women with identifying their needs and helping women access resources, programs, and services that meet their (and their children’s) identified needs.

• To assist women in establishing support networks in their communities.

• To increase women’s ability to protect themselves.

• To raise awareness and increase understanding of domestic violence issues within the community at large and among other social service providers.

We think that's all good stuff, so we are going to help in the best way that we can. What we intend to do is to incorporate a discussion of domestic violence and the consequences it has for individuals and families within the context of the diverse topics discussed in our Introduction to Psychology course. These topics  include biological, behavioural, cognitive, social, and clinical perspectives, among other things. In a series of brief articles, as we relate domestic violence to these various topics within psychology, we will post our writings here and elsewhere. We will encourage students to read them by embedding questions about the articles into our exams. Thus, you can expect about 3-4 questions about the articles we post to appear on each of our PSYC 1200 exams, throughout the year. With these articles, we hope that people might be inspired to help Osborne House or other, related organizations. It would be most excellent if any of the many students enrolled in PSYC 1200 donate cash or supplies or choose to volunteer for Osborne House as a result of our directing their attention to this issue. 

Already, Nelson Education, the publisher of the textbook we use for our PSYC 1200 course (Weiten & McCann's Psychology: Themes & Variations, 3rd Canadian Edition) has generously agreed to donate 75 cents to Osborne House for each new Weiten & McCann textbook that U of Manitoba PSYC 1200 students purchase this year. This donation did not increase the normal price of the textbook, whatsoever. It is a generous donation by Nelson Education in support of our efforts to raise awareness about the serious problem of domestic violence and the important work being carried out by Osborne House Inc.