The 2009 Assessment Institute - October 25-27, 2009

Join us for the 2009 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis on October 25-27, 2009. There is a special track for Civic Engagement, with a focus on assessing civic learning outcomes, service learning, or campus-community partnerships.

There will be special track plenary sessions and workshops emphasizing assessment in:

• Civic Engagement
• ePortfolios
• Faculty Development
• First-Year Experience
• Student Development And Diversity
  

In addition, there will be sessions with national assessment leaders, the Best Practices Fair, and additional learning opportunities emphasizing:

• Accreditation
• All Major Fields
• Assessment Methods
• Community Colleges
• General Education

KEYNOTE PANEL:

• Thomas A. Angelo, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
• Trudy W. Banta, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
• Peter T. Ewell, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
• George D. Kuh, Indiana University
• Jamie P. Merisotis, Lumina Foundation
• Jeffrey A. Seybert, Johnson County (KS) Community College

2009 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, IN - October 25-27, 2009

We would like to extend to you and your colleagues an invitation to join us for the 2009 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis October 25-27, 2009.  There is a special track for Civic Engagement, and your work in assessing civic learning outcomes, service learning, or campus-community partnerships would be of interest to these attendees.  Please consider submitting a proposal by Friday, March 20 using the link below.  We would be particularly pleased to receive proposals addressing any of the ten tracks listed in the bullet points below.  To submit a proposal, go to: http://planning.iupui.edu/institute/callforproposals . 
 
For more information, please consult our campus website:  www.planning.iupui.edu (click on ‘Assessment Institute - October 25-27, 2009’)
 
There will be special track plenary sessions and workshops emphasizing assessment in:
 
          o Civic Engagement           o ePortfolios           o Faculty Development           o First-Year Experience           o Student Development And Diversity
 
In addition, there will be sessions with national assessment leaders, the Best Practices Fair, and additional learning opportunities emphasizing:
 
·         Accreditation
·         All Major Fields
·         Assessment Methods
·         Community Colleges
·         General Education
 
KEYNOTE PANEL:
·         Thomas A. Angelo, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
·         Trudy W. Banta, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
·         Peter T. Ewell, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
·         George D. Kuh, Indiana University
·         Jamie P. Merisotis, Lumina Foundation
·         Jeffrey A. Seybert, Johnson County (KS) Community College

Mt. Hood Community College Course Takes Students ‘Into the Wild'

By Kelsi L. McKenzie, The Advocate Online
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The newest in the series of learning community classes (a team-taught course where two classes are integrated with a focus on non-lecture teaching) offered on campus is “Into the Wild,” a wilderness survival and principles of sociology combined curriculum course.

With a mutual love of the wilderness and having had interesting sociological conversations, instructors Cindy Harnly and Naomi Abrahams decided to co-teach this course. Harnly teaches health classes and Abrahams is a sociology instructor; the two are like-minded in their respect for the environment, Harnly said.

Abrahams said the class will look at understanding how to survive in the back country, how to navigate using a map and compass while also layering on issues of cultural survival for the people of the land. “The learning community aspect is going to lead us to be able to do a lot of group work,” Harnly said. “The idea is for it to really be a community of learning, with everybody contributing,” Abrahams added.

The teaching strategies for this course center on learning as a social act, Abrahams said. Integrating curriculum creates unique opportunities for experiential and collaborative learning as well as critical thinking, she said.

Students have a choice of which weekend they would like to take their field trip to central Oregon. The class will be staying at Smith Rock State Park and doing some sort of service learning on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation helping the people or the land. The class will be staying in The Grasslands of Smith Rock State Park. Harnly said that location was chosen because of the ability for students to look at elevation changes on a map, as well as its sheer beauty.

“It won’t be primitive camping,” Harnly said. “It’s a little bit of a step up from car camping.” According to Abrahams, they wanted an environment where students can actually do some of the things they were learning in the classroom, and hopefully have some downtime to hike and explore.

There is no additional cost for the weekend field trip, just the standard $50 course fee for all outdoor education classes.

“By tying together their wilderness experience with people of that land, they will interact with and develop a greater appreciation for the physical and social space they will be surrounded by,” Abrahams said. “They will learn about issues of concern in terms of cultural and economic survival of the people of the land.”

Along with the weekend trip, challenge course activities will add new layers of collaborative learning, Abrahams said. Also, according to Harnly, students will explore the movement of cultures as well as doing mapping activities on campus. “Through the challenges and debriefing sessions, students will integrate sociological analysis of group dynamics, norms, social control, and deviance into their leadership and group training activities,” said Abrahams.

Creative Fundraising Will Send Western Oregon University Turtle Protectors to Costa Rica

By Eric Howald, Willamette Live Online

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For ten days this summer, a group of Western Oregon University students will act as heroes to halfshells.

Provided, that is, they can raise the funds necessary to make the trip.

Six WOU students and two staff advisers are planning a trip to Costa Rica to assist La Tortuga Feliz, a non–profit organization dedicated to the protection of sea turtles. “We’ll be walking the beach to make sure the turtle eggs are safe from poachers,” Sam Goodwin, a sophomore and one of two project leaders, said. “I’m sort of hoping our presence is enough to deter them,” quipped Melissa Ineck, one of the staff members accompanying the trip.

Students and staff are planning the trip as part of the university’s Alternate Break program, which dispatches groups of volunteers around the country and the globe to participate in service learning projects. In Costa Rica, the group will “patrol” the beach in Tortuguero National Park and the harbor of Limón, the site to which the four largest species of marine turtles journey to lay their eggs. Past trips have included projects in Alaska, New Orleans, Peru and Vietnam.

To raise money needed to finance their travels, the group members have planned midnight movies, a dance, bottle and can collection drives, flower and water sales at graduation ceremonies, and offered babysitting, housework, and yard work services to faculty and staff. “We’re always looking for new ways to fund-raise. We’d even be open to local businesses letting us put out donation cans at their workplace,” Stacey Walen, a WOU freshman and coordinator for the Costa Rica trip, said.

The Costa Rica-bound students still need to raise about $10,000 to cover their travel and associated expenses, but the group won’t be lazing in the sun at five-star hotels. “It’s going to be pretty much like camping,” Ineck said. “We’ll have plumbing, but that’s about it. We’ll spend each night in the outdoors.”

Goodwin explained that the trip is something of a departure from past Alternative Break programs. “We’ve never planned a trip with a mission of conservation,” she said. “Up to this point, most of the trips have dealt with human needs.”

Goodwin traveled to San Diego as part of the Alternative Break program last year. She and other students spent the trip volunteering at the Storefront Emergency Shelter for homeless and runaway youth. She came back a changed person. “It definitely made me realize how fortunate I had been to come into contact with teens that had been so abused we couldn’t even touch them. It’s a whole other level of reality,” she said.

As part of their schedules, the students selected for Alternate Break trips have weekly meetings to learn about their intended destination. “We’ve had everything from cultural lessons to lessons about the turtles to Spanish lessons,” Walen said. “One of our trip members made a mock travel video to show during our meeting.”

Given recent economic hardships, the trip members understand that they are asking for a lot to make the trip a reality, but they’ve got a compelling reason driving them. “We’re asking the community to support us because they’ve raised us to want to help. To do something for the world. To do something right. What we’re asking for is the opportunity to do it,” Goodwin said.

For more information about the alternative break program or to make a donation, visit www.wou.edu/student/career/ASB.php. Local businesses willing to host a donation jar for the trip can contact Walen at swalen07@wou.edu.

PCC Rock Creek Construction Students Ramp up the Help with Local Non-profit ReFit

By David Holley, The Beaverton Valley Times

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Sam Taha lays in bed most days watching television, avoiding movement because of the pain he still feels from a stroke he had a year ago. But Taha has to make frequent trips to the doctor, a task nearly impossible for him and his 5-foot-tall wife, Fafi.

Not only is it grueling for her to help Sam Taha into his wheelchair, but they have to negotiate stairs whichever way they leave the house. Guiding a much larger man down stairs in a wheelchair is not easy, Fafi Taha said.

To bring a little respite to the Taha’s lives, a local nonprofit, ReFit, and students from construction classes at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus built a ramp in the family’s garage last weekend. It may not solve financial problems caused by the stroke, or rehabilitate Sam Taha so he can walk again, but this ramp will make their lives that much easier, Fafi Taha said.

“I’m thrilled!” she said. About sixteen total students from PCC spent March 6 and 7 at the Taha’s home in Beaverton. They used materials donated by Pacific Lumber to build the ramp, which the students designed themselves. A construction professional, typically a member of ReFit, was with the students at all times, advising them on their work.

Debbie Anderson, a director on ReFit’s board, said the organization’s goal is to keep people with disabilities in their homes by refitting the homes to their needs. She said this project works out perfectly, because the PCC students produce a free, quality product for the family and the students also learn about construction.

“It gives them a learning opportunity, and a way to get involved in the community as well,” Anderson said.

Peter Field, a student in the PCC building construction program, said working on this project has been a great experience. It’s not only gratifying to help a family in need, he said, but he also gains real construction knowledge. “That’s the thing that makes the program so great: We do all hands-on work,” Field said. Stephanie Lugan agreed.

A student in her second quarter of the building construction technology program, she wants to eventually get into design. But on March 6, her only goal was to help build the ramp. “It’s feel-good work and it’s practice,” Lugan said.

ReFit does more than just ramps. The organization, which was founded in 1997, is made up of the heads of various local construction and remodeling companies. They work to raise money so that they can help people in need with various housing remodels, from expanding doorways to revamping entire rooms.

Fafi Taha found ReFit by contacting Washington County during her constant search for help for her husband. The new ramp comes at a time when the Taha’s haven’t had much going their way. When Sam Taha, 58, had the stroke in March 2008, they didn’t have insurance. After being left paralyzed, he couldn’t work and Fafi Taha was forced to quit her job to care for him. Now, when she’s not caring for her husband, Fafi Taha spends most of her time negotiating public health care programs and trying to get her husband into rehabilitation. “I’m just living day by day,” said Fafi Taha.

Campus Profile: University of Oregon / O Heroes

While student-athletes at the University of Oregon have always valued giving back to the community that supports them, their commitment to service has recently been solidified through the creation of a non-profit organization called Oregon Heroes.

O Heroes, which formed in 2008 and operates under the direction of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serves to enhance student service efforts through developing partnerships with community organizations, building greater awareness and recognition of engaged student-athletes in the community, and providing the ability to donate funds to local organizations and individuals.

With an emphasis on health, education, and service, O Heroes engages the UO campus by hosting Day and Week of Service events, as well as managing previously existing service programs, such as the Duckling program, which raises awareness and funding for local children with serious ailments.

Last October, shortly after the unveiling of the program, the first O Heroes Day of Service saw atheletes from every University of Oregon sport serving in the Eugene/Springfield community. Students painted the Vivian Olum Child Development Center and cleaned up its outdoor play areas, served in the Food for Lane County Churchill Garden, visited children at Sacred Heart's River Bend Hospital, and more.

On March 2-6, 2009, students spent an O Heroes Week of Service serving as positive role models to local youth. In conjunction with the National Education Association's Read Across America Day, students engaged with local K-8 students by playing sports, encouraging physical education, writing and sharing motivational letters, and more.

The next O Heroes Week of Service will take place in May.

Because student-athletes act as role models to local youth (often to their peers, as well), O Heroes is proving to be a powerful way to raise visibility of the service these students provide, and the positive impact that they have on the community.

To learn more about O Heroes click here, or contact James Harris at jharris@uoregon.edu.

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Community Partner Profile: PeaceJam / PeaceJam Northwest

PeaceJam, a year-long international education and leadership program for youth, directly links high school-aged students with Nobel Peace Laureates. Eleven peace prize winners sit on the board of directors. Their goal is to teach skills in peacemaking, leadership, and conflict resolution, in order to empower youth to bring real change on a global scale.

The PeaceJam Northwest Conference (PJNW), held annually on the Oregon State University campus, is a two-day event convening high school-aged youth from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Hawaii. Participants develop leadership skills, network with like-minded peers, take part in a service project, and connect with adult mentors who can assist them in planning and implementing community engagement efforts in their community.

Oregon State is one of 15 PeaceJam affiliates around the world, only three of which are housed at universities. The work of PeaceJam NW embodies the mission statement of the University: “Oregon State University, a land grant institution, promotes economic, social, cultural and environmental progress for people across Oregon, the nation, and the world.”

This year's PJNW will be held on April 25 and 26. 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi will work directly with about 250 youth and their college mentors, telling her personal story, working beside them on service projects, and hearing what work they are doing to make the world a better place. Ebadi will also present a public talk open to the community on April 24 at 7:30 in the OSU Memorial Union Ballroom.

Each  year, in preparation for the conference, about 40 OSU students train in the curriculum and process of engaging the PJNW participants. These trained OSU students work in pairs with groups of 10 participants for the entire conference weekend, helping the teens engage in thoughtful discussions and plan for meaningful civic engagement once they return home.

Additionally, the service project that participants will take part in was organized by OSU’s Service Center. Through this project, PJNW anticipates between 600 and 800 hours of service to be logged. The PeaceJam conference committee works closely with the OSU Service Center to create a university-wide service initiative that can link the volunteer activities of students with the Nobel Laureates’ Global Call to Action.

Launched in 1996, PeaceJam is the only foundation worldwide to have such a large number of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (currently 11) working together continuously on one cause, empowering youth.

The goal and spirit of PeaceJam and the PeaceJam Northwest Conference is to inspire today's youth to peacefully transform their local communities, themselves, and the world. To find out how to get involved as an individual, organization, or educational institution, or to sponsor a student participant contact the PeaceJam NW office at peacejam@oregonstate.edu or (541) 737- 3172 at Oregon State University.