Community Service and Critical Thinking: An Exploratory Analysis of Collegiate Influences

Interest in encouraging undergraduates to become involved in community service has grown rapidly over the past several years. In addition to the formation of groups such as the Campus Compact, this interest can be seen in the curricula of numerous colleges which have instituted community services requirements for graduation. Interest in critical thinking has increased as well, with widespread agreement among educators that critical thinking should be an important, if not central, goal of education. Although critical thinking has long been valued by educators at all (Siegel, 1980), the importance placed upon the development of critical thinking has recently been especially strong in colleges and universities and other institutions serving adult learners (Brookfield, 1987; Paul, 1985). Despite the centrality of critical thinking skills, a great many views exist as to how to best define (Ennis, 1986; Sternberg, 1985a) and develop (Sternberg, 1985b) critical thinking

Working with Low Survey Response Rates: The Efficacy of Weighting Adjustments

National data show a continuing decline in the willingness of people to respond to surveys. This trend is troubling given the central role that survey research plays in collecting data for institutional research purposes. This paper examines the effectiveness of a weighting procedure described by Astin and Molm for adjusting survey results to correct for nonresponse bias. Using data from a Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) follow-up survey, the results indicate that the weighting procedure is highly effective at reducing nonresponse bias in univariate distributions. The effectiveness of the weighting procedure in adjusting correlation and regression analyses is less clear. This may be due in part to the observation that even when individual variables are noticeably biased, their relationships with each other tend not to be.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43621/1/11162_2004_Article_424011.pd

Is Modeling of Freshman Engineering Success Different from Modeling of Non‐Engineering Success?

The engineering community has recognized the need for a higher retention rate in freshman engineering. If we are to increase the freshman retention rate, we need to better understand the characteristics of academic success for engineering students. One approach is to compare academic performance of engineering students to that of non‐engineering students. This study explores the differences in predicting academic success (defined as the first year GPA) for freshman engineering students compared to three non‐engineering student sectors (Pre‐Med, STEM, and non‐STEM disciplines) within a university. Academic success is predicted with pre‐college variables from the UCLA/CIRP survey using factor analysis and regression analysis. Except for the factor related to the high school GPA and rank, the predictors for each student sector were discipline specific. Predictors unique to the engineering sector included the factors related to quantitative skills (ACT Math and Science test scores and placement test scores) and confidence in quantitative skills.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95487/1/j.2168-9830.2008.tb00993.x.pd

College impact, student impact: A reconsideration of the role of students within American higher education

American college students tend to be viewed in terms of inputs and outcomes, due in part to the assessment movement and long-standing interest in college impact. A more complete view is one in which the relationship between students and the college environment is both reciprocal and dynamic. This ecological perspective portrays students as actively shaping their educational environments, with these environments simultaneously providing the potential for transforming the individual. Data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) are used to explore the ecological perspective.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42837/1/10734_2005_Article_BF01384097.pd

Dismantling the Walls: Peer-Facilitated Inter-Race/Ethnic Dialogue Processes and Experiences

Also PCMA Working Paper #49.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51296/1/532.pd

Accountability Planning as a Strategic Tool for Change

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87975/1/Taylor2000AccountabilityPlanning.pd

Breaking the Silence: Achieving a Positive Campus Climate for Diversity from the Staff Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that create a positive climate for diversity and to demonstrate how these factors predict outcomes related to achieving a positive campus climate for diversity. Based on survey data collected from 437 staff members employed at a large, public, predominantly White university in the Midwest, results suggest that the institution’s ability to achieve a positive climate for diversity reflects not only the personal characteristics of the staff member (race, gender, education level, and age) but also their perceptions of their immediate work environment. Implications are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43633/1/11162_2004_Article_8152.pd

Deposition of copper by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using a novel N-Heterocyclic carbene precursor

Two novel N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-containing copper(I) amides are reported as atomic layer deposition (ALD) precursors. 1,3-Diisopropyl-imidazolin-2-ylidene copper hexamethyldisilazide (1) and 4,5-dimethyl-1,3-diisopropyl-imidazol-2-ylidene copper hexamethyldisilazide (2) were synthesized and structurally characterized. The thermal behavior of both compounds was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and they were both found to be reasonably volatile compounds. Compound 1 had no residual mass in the TGA and showed long-term stability at temperatures as high as 130 °C, while 2 had a residual mass of 7.4%. Copper metal with good resistivity was deposited using 1 by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. The precursor demonstrated self-limiting behavior indicative of ALD, and gave a growth rate of 0.2 Å/cycle. Compound 2 was unsuccessful as an ALD precursor under similar conditions. Density functional theory calculations showed that both compounds adsorb dissociatively onto a growing copper film as long as there is some atomic roughness, via cleavage of the Cu-carbene bond

BVRI Light Curves for 29 Type Ia Supernovae

BVRI light curves are presented for 27 Type Ia supernovae discovered during the course of the Calan/Tololo Survey and for two other SNe Ia observed during the same period. Estimates of the maximum light magnitudes in the B, V, and I bands and the initial decline rate parameter m15(B) are also given.Comment: 17 pages, figures and tables are not included (contact first author if needed), to appear in the Astronomical Journa