Community Partnerships and Health Disparities Conference

See the announcement below from Community Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH). CCPH is a multidisciplinary organization focused on community health in the broadest sense. The conference below will be of interest to faculty who conduct research on community engagement, social justice, race, community health, and policies that affect local communities.

Applications are due October 12, 2012 for the 2nd National Community Partner Forum on Community-Engaged Health Disparities Research, December 5-7, 2012 in Washington DC. 
Click here for the Call for Applications.


The 2nd National Community Partner Forum seeks to advance community-engaged research as a tool for eliminating health disparities by:
1. Deepening the knowledge and skills needed by community partners to successfully conduct community-engaged research, negotiate community-academic research partnerships and serve in national leadership roles;
2. Disseminating innovative work of community partners that others can learn from and build on;
3. Engaging in constructive dialogue between community partners and key stakeholders in academic, government and philanthropic sectors to foster mutual understanding and supportive action; and
4. Growing and deepening a national network of community partners that facilitates professional development and has a significant voice in decisions about research practice and policy.

Call for Proposals, Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLOs)

Please see the call for proposals from the Undergraduate Studies office at UNF.

2013-2014 Transformational Learning Opportunity Applications

Central to the University's core mission is the ability to provide students with educational learning opportunities that will be rich and transformative. Full-time, non-visiting faculty and staff are encouraged to submit applications for an eighth round of Transformational Learning Opportunity (TLO) projects for fiscal year 2013-2014, July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. To obtain the application, click here. Before completing the TLO application, review the TLO Application Guide for completion instructions.

Applications from all categories are welcome, but special consideration will be given to proposals that align with the following designations that speak to UNF and the State University System Board of Governors' strategic goals: undergraduate research, community-based learning and global awareness experiences. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18. Submit both a hardcopy and electronic copy for undergraduate and graduate TLOs to Martina Perry, academic support services coordinator in Undergraduate Studies, at martina.perry@unf.edu and in Building 1, Daniel Hall, Undergraduate Studies, Room 1501.

Contact: Martina Perry at martina.perry@unf.edu or (904) 620-2607

Website: http://www.unf.edu/tlo/

Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLOs) Workshop

Designing Successful Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLOs)

Friday, September 21, 2012, 1:00-2:30 p.m.

Social Sciences Building (51), Room 1205
Register for this event by emailing drichard@unf.edu

Faculty and staff interested in applying for Transformational Learning Opportunity (TLO) funds are invited to attend the TLO workshop titled, "Designing Successful Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLOs)." This session will provide an overview of the TLO concept, some examples of past successful TLOs and guidelines for applying for financial support. A faculty and staff panel will engage in a question and answer period as part of the workshop.

Register drichard@unf.edu

Student Success and Quality Conference

Please see the information below for an upcoming American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) conference on student learning.


Student Success and The Quality Agenda
Conference Dates: April 4-6, 2013
Conference Location: Miami, Florida

Student Success and The Quality Agenda will examine the most important but least discussed component of the completion agenda—quality in student learning. This conference will encourage participants to discuss the new contexts for student learning given the diversity of today’s students, including their differing backgrounds, learning styles, and pathways to and through college. Participants will investigate the latest research on high-impact practices and teaching, student service, and assessment strategies that strengthen the quality of student learning and close student achievement gaps. Conference sessions will provide an opportunity to examine different approaches to faculty and student services leadership development and to campus and cross-institutional collaborations linked to a quality agenda.

Please join colleagues from across the country to share and examine promising practices in linking completion with quality and assuring optimal learning environments for the success of all students.     

Learn more about this conference and register online.
For more information, please call 202.387.3760, or write to Siah Annand at network@aacu.org. 

Do you Spin Your Research Outcomes?

Do you spin your research results? Often times we see news reports on scientific research and wonder if the claims made by the reporter are overblown, overstated, or just plain wrong. The results are conflicting reports and contradictory findings. Although scientists are supposed to have a healthy appreciation of  uncertainty within study results, and reporters are known for their bravado, a recent research article in PLOS Medicine suggests that "spin" in press coverage of scientific research is matched by "spin" in the original reports written by scientists. Paul Baskin, in a recent Chronicle article, discusses the study and encourages comments by the scientific community. It seems that consumers of research still need to beware of exaggerated claims, both from the media and from scientists.

To read the original article, visit the following website.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001308

To read the commentary or participate in the discussion, visit the following Chronicle article online.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/scientists-often-responsible-for-spin-of-their-results-researcher-finds/30872

What does a Credit Hour Represent If Not Time?

A new report out by the New America Foundation questions the logic and effects of the traditional definition of the credit hour. The report highlights several problems with the current model, one that uses time as a marker of progress. One convincing chart shows that students who have gained additional credit hours (from freshman to senior) do not necessarily perform better on standardized tests. Another issue addressed in the report is the influence of grade inflation on the interpretation of credit hours. For example, in 1961, only 15% of students received a letter grade of A in a college course. In recent years, the number has increased to 43%.
Recommendations to address the issue include changing the definition of the credit hour or going to a credential system, which would allow students to demonstrate learning despite the amount of time they spent accumulating that learning.
To read a summary of the report, read the report by the New America Foundation on their website.
http://education.newamerica.net/publications/policy/cracking_the_credit_hour
For the full report, visit the report website.
http://higheredwatch.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Cracking_the_Credit_Hour_Sept5_0.pdf

International Conference on Applied Social Science

Please see the announcement and call for proposals below for the 3rd annual International Conference on Applied Social Science.

2013 3rd International Conference on Applied Social Science (ICASS 2013)

January 15-16, 2013, Taipei, Taiwan

Website: http://www.icass-conf.org/

ICASS 2013 will be the most comprehensive conference focused on the various aspects of advances in Applied Social Science. This Conference provides a chance for academic and industry professionals to discuss recent progress in the area of Applied Social Science. Furthermore, we expect that the conference and its publications will be a trigger for further related research and technology improvements in this important subject.

Paper Submission Due：September 20, 2012

Contact Email: icass2013@163.com

For detailed information, please see http://www.icass-conf.org/ 

All papers accepted and registered will be included in conference proceedings published by IERI Publisher, which will be indexed by CPCI-SSH (ISSHP).

ICASS 2011 and ICASS 2012 Proceedings have been indexed by CPCI-SSH (ISSHP).

Adoption and Abandonment of Teaching Innovations

Innovative teaching techniques receive considerable press. Those promoting a new teaching innovation often promise significant results in terms of student success. In an environment that encourages efficiency and evidence, instructors working in institutions of higher education can be convinced to try new strategies to produce student learning, engagement, and success. Some instructors, however, abandon their attempts at incorporating these innovations into their teaching. According to a recent research article by Charles Henderson and colleagues at Western Michigan University, of the 72% of Physics faculty who attempt a teaching innovation (e.g., Scale-Up Studios, Open Source Physics, etc.), about one third abandon the strategies for more traditional methods. On the positive side, approximately 60% of the Physics professors who have tried a teaching innovation continue to use the teaching innovations, some with increased use over time.

To read the original Physics Review Special Topics article, visit this website.
http://prst-per.aps.org/pdf/PRSTPER/v8/i2/e020104

To hear more and see how others are responding to the results of the study, see the review article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Dan Berrett.

Asset-Based Community Development Case Studies

Please see the note below from the Campus Community Partnerships for Health (CCPH) program.
CCPH is a multidisciplinary higher-ed organization focusing on partnerships that improve community health (broadly defined). For more information on their organization, visit http://www.ccph.info/.

Dear community-engaged scholarship colleagues,

Minnesota Campus Compact is compiling case studies for a book focused on campus-community partnerships that have effectively employed the principles of asset-based community development (ABCD). These projects will have in some way increased social capital, while building on the skills, strengths, and vision of local residents, associations, and institutions. For more information on ABCD, visit http://bit.ly/OIZwI9

If you have questions or ideas for potential case studies, contact John Hamerlinck at john@mncampuscompact.org

On a related note - John McKnight, ABCD pioneer, was a keynote speaker at our first national conference in 1997.  He engaged the audience in table discussions around the question: how can higher educational institutions be assets to communities?  Read what they had to say on page 7-8 of the conference proceedings: http://bit.ly/SgiB9R

Thanks,

Rahma Osman

CCPH Program Assistant