Introduction to Human Development: Touching Lives (Script) - animation link
About: The Human Development: Touching Lives is a multimedia program created to introduce some of the programs and values of the Department of Human Development at Virginia Tech. Touching lives was selected to convey our core principle of making a difference in the quality of life for everyone we work with.

Students in the department, both graduate and undergraduate, were asked to comment on what they like about their program or major, while faculty commented on some aspect of their work. All faculty and students volunteered to participate, and none of the quotes were written for them. The Human Development: Touching Lives program includes the following 7 areas of our department:

Welcome to our department and we hope you find this program informative in learning more about us.
Functionality and Accessibility Notes
In order to view the main page animation and the below script, the free Flash 8 player (a browser plug-in that is simple to download and install) or higher is required. Our main page randomly loads one of the 8 areas listed above. If you do not have the flash player installed and visit our main page, you are redirected to an identical main page that does not include Human Development: Touching Lives. This page randomly loads images that we used in creating the program. Bookmark this page, instead of the main page, if you prefer not to see the program when you revisit our site.

Below you will find different ways, which include video, photos, audio, or text quotes/descriptions to access the content of Human Development: Touching Lives. The below page also allows people on dial up connections to access some of the content (e.g., photos and text). All links for video, photos, and audio load in the same separate pop-up window, which if your have a wide screen or dual monitors, you can pull this pop-up window to the side for easier viewing. For this pop-up window to function, you must have javascript enabled in your browser, which it usually is by default. When you click on a new link, this pop-up window should become “active” and return to the front. If you do not want to enable javascript and prefer to use your browser back button, please visit our alternative Human Development: Touching Lives script page.

 

 
Marriage and Family Therapy Program and the Family Therapy Center - animation link
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facilitating change Description
healing healers Description
reviewing cases Description
feeling strongly Description
seeing possibilities Description
   
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Graduate student in the Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program: click for seperate video window Graduate student in the Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program: "I am a graduate student in the marriage and family therapy program in the human development department, and I love being in this program because the research we are involved with is so in depth and very interesting, which is very helpful for our dissertation. And the clinical work here that we do is very beneficial. We see students, couples, families, from a variety of cultures, which is helpful in broadening our therapeutic skills." audio
Dr. Scott Johnson, Director of Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program: click for seperate video window Dr. Scott Johnson, Director of Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program: "Hi, I’m Scott Johnson, I’m the program director for the family therapy doctoral program here at Virginia Tech. I came here as a student about 17 years ago. I’d been an English teacher before that and I’d studied music before that. Like a lot of our faculty and a lot of our students, I came with a varied background. When our students come to us, one of the things that we try to nurture in them is those diverse life experiences that they’ve had, or different educational experiences that they bring to us. Blending those things together makes the experience of education here much richer and makes them much more prepared when they go out in the world to not just be one dimensional, but to be multi dimensional, as academics, as clinicians, as administrators, as commentators on the world around them." audio
Dr. Megan Dolbin-MacNab, faculty member: click for seperate video window Dr. Megan Dolbin-MacNab, faculty member: "I am a faculty member in the marriage and family therapy program. Here at the family therapy center we offer an undergraduate field placement study for students interested in learning about marriage and family therapy. During the field study, students observe family therapy sessions and this allows them to gain important experience that they can use for careers mental health and counseling professions." audio
 

 
Adult Day Services - animation link
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providing activities Description
educating families Description
finding companions Description
involving  students Description
   
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Human Services Major during her field placement at ADS: click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement at ADS: "Hi, I am working at the adult day center at Virginia Tech for my field study, and I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to work with these adults and use the skills and abilities I’ve learned in my classes in real life situations. " audio
Dr. Alison Galway, Director of Adult Day Services: click for seperate video window Dr. Alison Galway, Director of Adult Day Services: "I’m Alison Galway, Director of Adult Day Services here at Virginia Tech. Adult Day Services is a program dedicated to the service, research, and teaching of gerontology by engaging student and faculty in real life situations, with real life people, who attend Adult Day Services. I believe firmly that academia and the outside real world can mix together and be enriched by one another in a center like ours, and I am proud to be a part of this effort. " audio
Graduate Student in the Adult Development and Aging program: click for seperate video window Graduate Student in the Adult Development and Aging program: "I am in the adult development and aging program and one of the benefits I’ve found with this program is that it is very flexible. I’ve been able to do everything that I’ve wanted to do. When I’ve been interested in a certain area, I’ve gone to the professor who was involved and I’ve had the opportunity to pursue all of my interests. It has been really good for me." audio
 

 
Intergenerational Program: Neighbors Growing Together - animation link
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assisting research Description
sharing activities Description
joining generations Description
expanding knowledge Description
   
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Dr. Shannon Jarrott: click for video Dr. Shannon Jarrott, Director of the Intergenerational Program: "The Department of Human Development is home to Neighbors Growing Together, which consists of Virginia Tech’s adult day services program and the child development center. We bring together our older adult clients, college students, and young students to build positive relationships. Human development students are actively involved in this applied research program, which is unique because it’s the only shared site intergenerational program at a university in the country." audio

 

 
Child Development Center for Learning and Research - animation link
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fostering imagination Description
learning together Description
encouraging growth Description
creating possibilities Description
observing development Description
teaching concepts Description
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Dr. Fred Piercy, Deparment Head: click for sepDr. Isabel Bradburn, Director of Child Development Center for Learning and Research: opens in a separate video window Dr. Isabel Bradburn, Director of Child Development Center for Learning and Research: "Our child care facility here in human development is a wonderful place to learn all about children and their development. We regularly have students to come through to observe children in their natural environment, and faculty run a number of studies that we involve undergraduate and graduate students in our research looking at children in the context of their classrooms, as well as with their families, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to really learn first hand about developmental science and educational science." audio
 

 
Classroom- animation link
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generating ideas Description
thinking critically Description
practicing helping Description
learning collaboratively Description
dramatizing roles Description
engaging minds Description
   
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Dr. Mark Benson, faculty member: click for seperate video window Dr. Mark Benson, faculty member: "Dr. Mark Benson, faculty member: As a faculty member in human development, I particularly value our department’s commitment to research and teaching excellence. While being prolific researchers, our faculty are highly committed to teaching and experiential learning. For example, in one of my classes, Advanced Helping Skills, I present a power point lecture, video clips of professionals, and exercises that generate ideas. And in that course too, students practice helping skills and do interviews with adolescents. When students do their field study, they apply those skills in the community. In another undergraduate course, Middle Childhood and Adolescence, I integrate theory, research, and practice. I present my own research on parent and adolescent relationships, and students see how I develop a theoretical rationale, they hear anecdotes about data collection, and they gain insights into analyzing data. In general this is a superb department for developing professionals, who have a firm grounding in theory, research, and practice, and they go out and make a difference." audio
 

 
Human Services Major - animation link
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teaching fundamentals Description
facilitating learning Description
planning programs Description
providing instruction Description
gaining experience Description
   
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Human Services Major during her field placement (1): click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement:: "I am currently a human services major and I am actually working in a field study here in Blacksburg in a private elementary school. I love this experience because I get to actually take the theories I’ve learned in my classes and apply them to a real work setting. After graduation, I plan on getting my Master’s in elementary education and take what I’ve learned in the human services major and apply that to the rest of my life." audio
Human Services Major during her field placement (2): click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement:: "As a human services major, I’ve had the opportunity to do my field study at an elementary school. I was able to work with kindergarteners, as well as older elementary school students, and my classes helped prepare me for the children’s developmental levels. I hope to one day go to graduate school and be an elementary school teacher." audio
Human Services Major during her field placemen (3): click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement:: "Human Services Major during her field placement: What I like about human services is that it let me choose my field study. I chose to work with adolescents, because I hope to go into graduate school and eventually become a guidance counselor in either a middle school or an elementary school." audio
Human Services Major during her field placement (4): click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement:: "Human Services Major during her field placement: What I like most about the human services major is the practical work experience that I get. I am currently working at the YMCA at Virginia Tech helping them organize the programs that they run. It’s a lot of fun, and I am learning a lot. " audio
Human Services Major during her field placement (5): click for seperate video window Human Services Major during her field placement:: "Human Services Major during her field placement: What I like in this Human Services Major is that I can do the field study. I can get how this human services is delivered through working in a real professional setting. Currently I am working with international students who want to learn English. I had a hard time learning English too, so this is a very rewarding job. I can make lesson plans and create activities for students; we go on a field trip and we have international fairs. It is really fun, and the best thing is that I can write qualified resume in the future." audio
Junior Human Services Major: click for seperate video window Junior Human Services Major: "I am a junior in the human services major and one thing I really enjoy about our department are the professors and other staff member who help us discover our career aspirations. Next semester I’ll be working with the special olympics and I am really looking forward to this opportunity, because upon graduation I want to go into grad school in order to become a special education teacher." audio
Junior Human Services Major: click for seperate video window Junior Human Services Major: "What I really like about the human services major at Virginia Tech is that it is a very “hands-on” program. We have an intergenerational program, and we are the only college in the country to have a program like that. And it is something that I am planning getting involved in, the research with them, and I am plan on using the information I gain in my own career counseling children." audio
Dr. Rosemary Blieszner, faculty member: click for seperate video window Dr. Rosemary Blieszner, faculty member: "One of the things that I’ve enjoyed as a faculty member is seeing new students come into the department in their first year or when they transfer from another major. At first they have a lot of questions about this major, and the courses that they will be taking, then they get to know the faculty, they start thinking about their field study opportunities. And then by the time their ready to graduate they have a good idea about a job that they might like to try, or a field they could study in graduate school, and it is really rewarding to see that development take place over the years." audio
 

 
Research - animation link
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investigating factors Description
collecting data Description
presenting findings Description
gaining insights Description
discussing theory Description
   
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Dr. Cindy Smith, faculty member: click for seperate video window Dr. Cindy Smith, faculty member: "My research looks at young children’s social and emotional development, and I really enjoy getting students, both undergraduate and graduate involved in the research project. I have students who help with data collection, scoring the data, entering it, and analyzing it. My students tell me that they really enjoy getting a “hands-on” experience with research." audio
Child and Adolescent Development Graduate Student: click for seperate video window Child and Adolescent Development Graduate Student: "As a graduate student in the child and adolescent program, I am able to work with world-class faculty, as well as conduct exciting and challenging research. My classes prepare me for my future career in child development." audio
Dr. Peggy Meszaros, Director of the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families: click for seperate video window Dr. Peggy Meszaros, Director of the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families: "The Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families is a college wide center, and we use undergraduate and graduate students; a couple of examples of work we have done in the past with undergraduates. Last year a group of 12 undergraduate students formulated a college cell phone research study. They developed that research from the idea all they way through gathering data to actually providing a poster for the undergraduate research day. It was an excellent experience and we have really added to the literature about college cell phone studies. We also use undergraduate students in a variety of other research projects. They have done literature reviews; they have assisted on funded research from the National Science Foundation, from the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation. Undergraduate students are learning important both qualitative and quantitative research skills." audio
 

 

Human Development: Trouching Lives was produced by Mark Springston, a 1990 VT graduate in Human Services.