Friday, March 28, 2014

Webcast: Using Service-Learning to Teach Statistics and Critical Thinking Skills to Undergraduates


Clemson Collaborations in Service –Learning Webcast
Monday, March 31, 2014, 4:30 PM  EST
Using Service-Learning to Teach Statistics and Critical Thinking Skills to Undergraduates 

Description: Statistics can be an intimidating, less than exciting course filled with book learning, complex equations and lots of memorization.  Statistics, however, is by nature inferential which means critical thinking skills are imperative.  The question, then, is “how do we change this paradigm?”   In this webinar, students and faculty will share their experiences on working on a Service-Learning project for a local non-profit as part of a statistics class and how their learning was enhanced by this experience.

Laura Shick teaches Elementary Statistics in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University. She holds a BS in Textiles and MS in Statistics from the University of Delaware. Her professional career began in Business & Industry. She held various supervisory roles in Product Development and Marketing Research at Scott Paper, Campbell Soup, Insurance Company of North America (now CIGNA), and as Consulting Statistician for the Professional Products division of Kimberly Clark.  She has taught basic undergraduate level statistics at Villanova University, University of South Carolina-Aiken and currently, Clemson University.
Laura’s philosophy for teaching Statistics is that students should come away from the course knowing how to be informed consumers -- knowing how to question and interpret research -- rather than being able to do complex calculations. She employs Service-Learning and Critical Thinking components in these courses to help students gain the experience of applying the course concepts while exposing them to some challenges faced by community non-profit organizations.

Hayden Campbell  is a freshman Microbiology major who previously worked with Professor Shick in her Introductory Statistics 3010 course.   Hayden has continued his work with Professor Shick on this project with a creative inquiry designed to help charities and organizations in the local area with statistical analysis and organization.  His career goal is to attend medical school and eventually become an Ophthalmologist.
Genevieve Watkins is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science while working towards two minors which include Aerospace Studies (as a requirement towards her AFROTC involvement) and Digital Production Arts.  She participated in Professor Shick's Critical Thinking and Service Learning Introductory Statics Course and continues to stay involved in the project through Clemson's Creative Inquiry program, which enables students to work on research and projects over multiple semesters.

For Webcast information go to http://www.clemson.edu/public/servicealliance/faculty_fellows_program/webcast_page.html

For Webcast instructions the day of the broadcast, go to  http://www.clemson.edu/public/servicealliance/faculty_fellows_program/webcast_instructions.html

Seeking Visual Researchers for IVSA Conference Workshop

[Announcement from Comm-engagedscholarship]

Hi All! I am currently seeking academics with experience in visual research to be a part of my upcoming workshop. Please see the call for presenters here. If you are interested, visit my post to sign up: http://j.mp/1lfOXiJ Thanks! (Feel free to share widely.)

Call for Presenters:
Workshop Title: You Wanna Do WHAT? Using Visual Research to Forge a Path to Epistemological Flexibility
Conference: International Visual Sociology Association's (IVSA) annual conference
Dates: June 26-28, 2014
Location: Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA
Researchers have an ethical responsibility to be mindful of the impact our work has on the people and/or communities we study, regardless of discipline. Participatory and other visual methods support this ethical responsibility by honoring the perspectives and expertise of research participants. However, the majority of research bestows expertise upon the primary investigator and team. This poses the question, “What do we miss when research does not include the eyes, ears, voices, and actions of those whom we are researching?”
Community-based participatory research has shown how privileging the voice of participants through collaborative work not only supports ethical responsibility but also provides particularly rich data through the collaborative experience. Visual methods – particularly participatory ones – enhance the lens through which we understand our respondents’ lived experiences. However, many junior scholars face significant barriers to preparing for and launching careers in visual methods, whether participatory or not. While the use of visual methods in research dates back over 100 years, there is still significant hesitation to their acceptance in many disciplines. Larger institutions, funding sources, and other [powers that be in research] often view such work as “unscholarly”, lacking rigor, or too deeply rooted in the arts.
To address this hesitation, visual scholars are invited to participate in a workshop to help rising scholars prepare for research careers using visual methods, particularly in the absence of resources within their own institutions. The workshop organizer is seeking experts from various disciplines who utilize visual methods, especially participatory methodologies and non-positivist epistemologies, to field inquiries from students and early career researchers interested in employing visual methods in their careers. Issues of particular concern for this workshop include:
    • identifying and accessing training opportunities for visual research;
    • maximizing epistemological and methodological flexibility through visual methods, while maintaining ability to converse in the language of traditional research;
    • job security in visual research; and
    • managing political considerations when training for and engaging in non-positivist work.
The workshop agenda will consist of an introduction to the topic and experts, a dialogue about building one’s career as a visual researcher, small-group discussions, and identifying resources to support careers in visual research:
Agenda
10 mins: Introductions
30 mins: Discussion
45 mins: Small Group Discussions
5 mins: Wrap-up/Resources
Thanks for your consideration!
_____________________________________
Amanda Michelle Jones, M.S.
Engaged Scholar ◾ Youth Ally ◾ Creative ◾ AM/PhD Student
University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration
http://www.amandamichellejones.com
The Universe is my Classroom: every encounter 
is an opportunity to both teach and learn. - me


CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - Concept Mapping at 25: Special Issue of Evaluation and Program Planning

[Announcement from SCRA-L]

Call for Abstracts
for a Special Issue of
EVALUATION AND PROGRAM PLANNING

Concept Mapping at 25:
Development, Applications, and Future Directions

Issue Editors:  William Trochim, PhD & Daniel McLinden, EdD

Abstract Submissions Due: June 30, 2014

Twenty five years ago, Jon Morell, the then and still editor of Evaluation and Program Planning devoted a special issue of the journal to a relatively new and novel structured conceptualization methodology known as concept mapping (CM).  William Trochim was the developer of the method in the early 1980s and acted as guest editor for the volume which was published in 1989, (Volume 12, number 1). In many ways this volume can be viewed as the public inauguration of the concept mapping method which had been developed earlier but not previously widely published. Since that volume approximately twenty-five years ago, the methodology of concept mapping has matured and has been applied in a broad array of settings and for a wide range of applications. The purpose of this special 25-year anniversary issue is to revisit this important methodology, consider with the value of hindsight how it began and evolved, examine the varieties of applications that have been accomplished, discuss in detail key methodological and implementation issues, and consider the potential the methodology has moving into the future. This announcement calls for interested authors to submit abstracts of manuscripts that broadly address the methodology of concept mapping in all of its facets. Authors of accepted abstracts will then be invited to prepare full manuscripts for submission in this special issue.

Concept mapping (CM) is a mixed methods participatory approach that involves a number of group processes that are widely familiar – brainstorming, sorting and rating of ideas – and integrates these with a sequence of multivariate statistical analyses (most notably multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis) to yield two-dimensional idea and cluster maps and a variety of auxiliary graphical and statistical results. Over the past 25 years CM has been widely applied for a number of different purposes (program and policy planning and evaluation, theory development, measurement and scale development, as a framework for thematic coding of qualitative data, etc.) and in a wide array of fields (health and biomedicine, education, mental health, business, human services, etc.), has been the focus of well over fifty dissertations and theses, and has been the subject of numerous publications.

As a methodology concept mapping is unique.  The method is inclusive, participatory, collaborative, and inductive, moving from detailed idea generation by stakeholders to a higher-level conceptual representation that they jointly interpret and use. The analysis involves sophisticated multivariate analyses but is accessible to stakeholders because the results are visual and intuitive.  The approach is flexible and can be used to conceptualize virtually any topic.  It has been applied in program planning and evaluation, and in a host of other contexts.

The editors welcome both theoretical and empirically-based papers that focus on: important historical perspectives; unique or important examples of its application; methodological concerns or enhancements; cases where the methodology has been integrated with other approaches; new statistical or software tools; and, considerations of how the method might evolve over the next quarter century and beyond.  This call is deliberately broad in nature. Virtually any paper that addresses some aspect of the concept mapping methodology and its applications would be potentially appropriate. However, all submissions must be able to be linked directly to the concept mapping methodology in some manner. For instance, generation of a large set of statements that address a focus is central to the concept mapping methodology. Usually (but not necessarily) this is accomplished through some form of brainstorming.  A paper proposal that talks about new ways to generate sets of statements (such as by automated content analysis of internet materials) would only be acceptable if it includes a discussion of how such approaches might be integrated into the concept mapping methodology. We are also interested in receiving papers that provide a critique of all or of some aspect of the concept mapping method, or that compare the method to other approaches that set out to accomplish similar tasks. While simple write-ups of current or recent concept mapping projects may be of interest, such proposals will be greatly enhanced if they break new ground by describing novel application contexts, variations in implementation, integration with other methods, and so on.

NOTES FOR INTENDING AUTHORS

To submit an abstract for consideration, please complete the form at http://tinyurl.com/lpxv2cp (you can copy this link and paste it into a browser). The following information will be required your submission:

(1)      A title, author(s), and detailed narrative abstract of 250-500 words
(2)      Contact information for one of the authors who will be the correspondent on behalf of the proposal.

Abstracts must be submitted no later than June 30, 2014.

Authors may submit more than one abstract proposal. If you have any questions about how to submit your abstract or you would like to discuss the feasibility of an idea, please contact either William Trochim (wmt1@cornell.edu) or Daniel McLinden (Daniel.McLinden@cchmc.org) directly.


IMPORTANT DATES AND GENERAL PROCESS

For consideration, abstracts must be received by June 30, 2014. Authors will be notified about whether they are invited to submit a complete manuscript no later than September 1, 2014. Completed manuscripts must be submitted no later than December 31, 2014. The special issue is expected to be completed by June 2015 and published some time in 2015 or early 2016. Final paper submissions are expected to be formatted following guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition and will typically be between 15-25 manuscript pages in length. Specific paper guidelines and final deadlines will be included with notifications of accepted abstracts.


Call for Conference Proposals for 2015 Utah Conference


Call for Conference Proposals for 2015 Utah Conference
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Call for Conference Proposals for 2015 Utah Conference
2015 HETL Utah Conference
Theme: Reaching the Summit: Explorations in Meaningful Learning through Community Engagement
Proposal Deadline: April 11, 2014
Conference Dates: January 20 – January 22, 2015 (Tues., Wed., Thurs.)
Venue: Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, USA
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Open Education Resources
Read the HETL interview with Larry Kramer, a distinguished academic, education reformer, legal scholar, and current president of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.



 
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Emerald HETL Doctoral Awards
Emerald Group Publishing and the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL) are delighted to offer a grant award for a doctoral research project in the field of education. The award recognizes excellence in research in the field of education.
Submission Deadline: August 1, 2014
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Call for Papers for the International HETL Review (IHR)
HETL invites article submissions from professional educators from around the world. To submit an article, see the submission Instructions page.
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Call for Papers for the Journal of Meaning-Centered Education (JMCE)
The Institute for Meaning-Centered Education invites article submissions from professional educators from around the world. To submit an article, see the submission Instructions page.
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Invitation to Join the HETL Academic Discussion Forum on LinkedIn
Discover ways to enhance your career and stay connected with your colleagues. One of our most popular discussion questions:
What's your policy on student laptop use during class?
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Higher Education Teaching & Learning Association

• Phone: +1 (917) 745 7078
• Fax: +1 (917) 300 2127
E-mail: support@hetl.org
• Address: 118-35 Metropolitan Avenue, New York City
www.hetl.org

All rights reserved. ©2010-2014 HETL Association.
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April 9th Webinar: Setting Goals and Capturing Impacts and Outcomes of Community Engagement

[Announcement from Comm-engagedscholarship]

Faculty and Staff Professional Development Program
Webinar: Setting Goals and Capturing Impacts and Outcomes of Community Engagement
Wednesday, April 9, 201411:00 AM to 12:15 PM UTC/GMT

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The future of Community Engagement points toward the need for a more strategic and intentional agenda of work that aligns each higher education institution with regional, national and international issues and opportunities for partnership. Engaged scholarship is growing in strategic importance because of its beneficial impacts on academic and community goals.  Webinar participants will learn about these trends and new approaches to the planning of a community engagement agenda and the creation of systematic approaches to monitoring activities and capturing evidence of impacts and outcomes for internal and external purposes.

Register for the webinar here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BTVPPSW.
There is no registration fee for participation.
The session will be recorded and made available on the Talloires Network website for streaming in the future.


The Faculty and Staff Professional Development (FSPD) Program is a partnership initiative funded by the Pearson Foundation, between the Talloires Network and Innovations and Civic Participation. The FSPD Program aims to enhance capacity for Talloires Network member universities to build institutional frameworks focused on civic engagement. The program enables participant universities to expand and strengthen civic engagement programs at their universities, as well as to develop strategies and methods to promote institutional policy change and quality improvement.  For more information about the FSPD program contact Susan Stroud at sstroud@icicp.org.

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Community-Campus Partnerships for Health promotes health equity and social
justice through partnerships between communities and academic institutions.

Join us at CCPH’s 13th International Conference: From Rhetoric to Reality: Achieving Authentic,
Equitable & Transformative Partnerships, April 30 - May 3, 2014, Chicago, IL

Become a CCPH member and access resources to support genuine community-academic partnerships!

Stay on top of the latest CCPH news through Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter!

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Call for Nominations - IARSLCE Board of Directors and reminders





IARSLCE logo tree 

March 26, 2014
Call for Nominations - IARSLCE Board of Directors

We are seeking nominations for candidates to serve on the IARSLCE Board of Directors for terms beginning September 2014.  The openings are for three members at large, one international member and the Graduate Student Network (GSN) board representative. 

The Board of Directors is charged with providing vision and direction for the Association.  Through the work of committees, the Board engages with the membership to maximize the IARSLCE's role in advancing the study of service-learning and community engagement.

Board members are elected by the membership, have fiduciary responsibility for the organization, and play a key role in decision-making to advance IARSLCE initiatives. We recommend that nominees become familiar with the board-adopted reaffirmation statement that can be found here. We are seeking to fill five positions on the Board as of September 2014; these positions are for three-year terms (2014-2017) with the exception of the GSN board representative, which holds a two-year term (2014-2016).  New Board members will begin their terms of office in September 2014 at the IARSLCE Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Nominations are open until April 25, 2014.  Please title all nominations "IARSLCE Board Nomination - (Name)" and send totluparel@tulane.edu. Elections will be held from May 5 to May 23, 2014.  New Board members will be announced in June 2014.

We hope you will consider nominating a colleague or yourself to serve on IARSLCE's Board of Directors.  For complete details about nomination requirements, please click here. For questions, please contact Tara Luparello.



2014 Conference Proposal Deadline - JUST 2 DAYS AWAY

Due to popular demand, the March 21 deadline to submit proposals for the 2014 IARSLCE Conference has been extended to March 28, 2014.

The conference will take place September 29 - October , 2014 in New Orleans, LA at the Roosevelt Hotel and is hosted by Tulane University. Conference program co-chairs are Barbara Moely and Vicki Mayer.

The theme of this year's conference is Reaping What We Sow: Growing a Culture of Community Engagement. 

For more information about the 2014 conference as it becomes available, to view the call, or to submit a proposal, please click here


Call for Applications: Editor Deadline March 28, 2014
International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement

The International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) is seeking applications for the position of Editor of the journal, The International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IJRSLCE). IJRSLCE is a peer-reviewed, annual, online journal dedicated to the publication of high quality research focused on service-learning, community-campus engagement and the promotion of active and effective citizenship through education. An important aim of IJRSLCE is to reflect the diversity of topics of research on service-learning and community engagement, as well as the variety of forms of scholarship, research methodologies, and educational settings associated with these fields. 

The current editors of IJRSLCE, Cathy Burack and Alan Melchior, will be stepping down following the publication of the 2014 (second) issue of the journal. This call relates to potential editors for the 2015 issue and beyond.  IARSLCE wishes to thank Cathy and Alan for their outstanding work in launching IJRSLCE and serving as inaugural editors.

For more details, please click here.