Migrating Successful Student Engagement Strategies Online: Opportunities and Challenges Using Jigsaw Groups and Problem-Based Learning

Online courses may be criticized for failing to engage students. Faculty members teaching in the classroom often employ a number of strategies that capture the interest of students, but may find the migration to the online environment a daunting prospect. This paper describes the transitioning of two common strategies to engage students in the classroom – jigsaw groups and problem-based learning – from face-to-face to online courses in sociology and soil science, respectively. The paper discusses the challenges and opportunities that were found to be common to the implementation of both these strategies online, and provides suggestions for faculty considering this transition

Track 3: Health and Family Leave – Policy Relevant Research on Paid Family and Medical Leave: What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know?

With no federal paid family and medical leave policy, some states have created their own programs and other states have new legislation pending. State-specific policy relevant research becomes critical in launching the discussion and demonstrating support for a policy, as well as showing who has access to employer-provided paid leave for different types of leave. Additionally, actuarial analyses are important to understand the costs of a program and how the costs would vary depending on different program parameters. Finally, program evaluation of existing state-run programs can help fine tune the policy and identify gaps in knowledge and participation. Moderator: Kristin Smith, Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire Panelists: Pronita Gupta, Deputy Director, Women’s Bureau, Department of Labor Randy Albelda, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts-Boston Helen Mederer, Professor of Sociology and Labor Research, University of RI Barbara Silver, Research Coordinator, Schmidt Labor Research Center, University of Rhode Islan

ADVANCING WOMEN SCIENTISTS: EXPLORING A THEORETICALLY GROUNDED CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOP MODEL

Universities in the United States have an increasing need to recruit the best and the brightest faculty to remain globally competitive, but the majority of schools share a profile that includes a low percentage of women in most of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Changes in university culture are needed to enable departmental diversity growth, to expand offerings and perspectives, and to strengthen the view that STEM is an attractive choice for female students and prospective faculty. This paper describes the theoretical models used to develop a prototype workshop series implemented in departments to help faculty progress in their readiness to advance women scientists, defined as collaborating, mentoring, sharing resources, and generating support through community. The three theoretical underpinnings are the gender-as-structure theory of organizational change, Appreciative Inquiry, and the Transtheoretical Model. These workshops are one aspect of the climate change efforts implemented by the ADVANCE program of the University of Rhode Island. Copyright © 2007 by Begell House, Inc

A warmer climate for women in engineering

In 2000, University of Rhode Island (URI) President Carothers acknowledged, following an extended and sometimes acrimonious AAUP faculty union grievance process, that there had been a climate hostile to women faculty in the College of Engineering. The purpose of this paper is to describe the positive steps that were taken at URI subsequent to that grievance to improve the climate for women faculty in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields, and to place these steps within a framework for climate change. The paper starts with an overview of the percentages of women nationally in Engineering, followed by a description of the hostile grievance process that took place at URI. Next is a discussion of pro-active measures that were taken by many communities of faculty on the URI campus, including most recently, those of the ADVANCE grant funded by the National Science Foundation. These measures have been guided by a grounded theory approach to climate change that posits simultaneous change in individuals, interactional contexts, and institutional practices. As a result, URI has recruited a significant percentage of new women faculty in STEM fields in a relatively short time, and is working hard to ensure that they are retained. There have been many recent national initiatives to address the problem of the under representation of women in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. It is well recognized that, beyond workplace equity, diversifying the practitioners in Engineering and other STEM fields will enrich these disciplines by bringing different perspectives, skills, and values to the fore, will help America remain globally competitive, and will more responsibly integrate Engineering practice with societal needs. Importantly, women and minority faculty also provide critically needed role models needed to attract and retain a more diverse student population. In Engineering, women comprise only about 20% of bachelor degree recipients, and are only 6% of full professors, 12% of associate professors, and 18% of assistant professors.[1] In addition to recruitment barriers, retention and advancement provide additional obstacles. Reduced tenure rates, slower promotion rates, inflexible and demanding work schedules that make balancing work and family difficult, heavy service and teaching loads, and a male-dominated, often hostile work climate that does not validate the needs or contributions of women participants all contribute to a higher attrition rate[2]-[5] for women than for men STEM faculty. The University of Rhode Island was representative of these trends until a series of events, culminating in the activities of the NSF ADVANCE program, provided avenues for positive change in the College of Engineering, which now serves as a model for diversity at the University. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006

Broadening participation in computing: Issues and challenges

In this paper we survey the literature to identify the issues and challenges of broadening participation in computer science, and provide some suggestions to address these challenges. Our attention focuses on redefining the way we approach computing education so that we can successfully entice students to computing that have not traditionally participated, thereby promoting diversity and increasing the total numbers of computing professionals. Based on the literature review, we propose an interactional model from the social sciences to inform the way in which we might restructure and broaden the definition of computing and provide some examples of strategies that we have found to be successful in practice. Copyright 2007 ACM

From Negative to Positive Integration. European State Aid Control through Soft and Hard Law

European state aid control, a part of competition policy, typically follows the logic of negative integration. It constrains the potential for Member States to distort competition by reducing their ability to subsidize industry. In addition, this paper argues, ambiguous Treaty rules and heterogeneous Member States' preferences have enabled the European Commission to act as a supranational entrepreneur, not only enforcing the prohibition of distortive state aid, but also developing its own vision of “good” state aid policy. In order to prevent or to settle political conflict about individual decisions, the Commission has sought to establish more general criteria for the state aid which it still deems admissible. These criteria have been codified into a complex system of soft law and, more recently, hard state aid law. The Commission has thus created positive integration “from above” and increasingly influences the objectives of national state aid policies