Connie Kubo Della-Piana

Performing community: Community service as cultural conversation

Despite the recovery of the traditions of community in public philosophy, political science, and organizational studies, little attention has been given to the social construction of the meaningfulness of community by organizational members. This study examined the ways in which the term community was central to the discourse and organizing practices of a community service organization. Organizational practices referenced both organizational and cultural significances particularly in the conflicting traditions and themes of individualism and social commitment. In addition, “community service” blurred the boundaries between the external and internal workings of the organization. Emphasizing the relationships between cultural systems of signification and meaningful practices of organizing provided a way of understanding the increasingly less clear boundaries of the postmodern organization.

Affinity groups: a framework for developing workplace skills

This paper describes the affinity group concept and model as an alternative to traditional research groups in university computer science programs. The affinity research groups provide a physical setting in a cooperative environment in which undergraduate and graduate college students engage in research. Affinity groups involve students with a wide range of experiences, talents, interests and skill levels, and provide them with an opportunity to deepen their knowledge in a computer science area and to develop skills and strategies that will make them effective leaders and successful in academia and industry. The structured activities that are characteristic of affinity groups facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills from an academic setting to the workplace. The paper addresses issues in the development of workplace skills, the challenges of the transfer of knowledge and skills and the particular ways in which the affinity group processes take into account what is known about transfer and the development of research, technical and social skills.

CircLES: a retention program for entering students in engineering, mathematics and science

Summary form only given. Circles of Learning for Entering Students (CircLES) is a comprehensive retention program targeting first-time freshmen and transfer students in engineering, mathematics and science. The goals of CircLES are to: (1) create an environment which emphasizes student success in engineering, mathematics and science through the mastery of life-long learning habits; (2) significantly increase the retention rate of pre-engineering and pre-science students; and (3) develop an integrated approach to retention. We have emphasized four areas in our model: a mandatory college-specific orientation program in the summer prior to matriculation; mandatory placement in learning communities (Clusters) in the first year; strong developmental advising and scheduling; and early intervention. This integrated approach has proved to be highly effective in enhancing the success of our pre-engineering and pre-science students. We discuss the structure and management of CircLES, our orientation strategy, the development and implementation of our Cluster groupings and our aggressive advising and intervention programs. We also discuss the success of the program.

Evaluating the undergraduate research experience in computer science: developing a framework for gathering information about effectiveness and impact

As undergraduate research experience programs proliferate to include all students, the need to evaluate and assess these types of programs also grows. This paper presents an overview of the evaluation/assessment process and a framework for developing an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness and impact of the undergraduate research experience. Drawing on the ongoing evaluation of the Affinity Research Group at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA, the framework is designed to: (1) focus on issues and questions that form the basis for the design and implementation of the evaluation of undergraduate research experience programs in computer science; and (2) provide examples of indicators and tools for assessing program outcomes and process.

Workshop - designing and implementing an evaluation plan for curricular and pedagogical development projects

The session is intended to enable engineering faculty members to plan and complete an evaluation of a curricular or pedagogical development project and to enhance their ability to write a convincing evaluation plan in educational development proposals

Microelectronics-an introduction to formal cooperative learning

Summary form only given. Over the past three semesters, the authors have implemented a format cooperative learning strategy in a junior level microelectronics course. Their intent is not only to ensure that students engage in an active learning mode but also to develop positive interdependence and group processing skills that are beyond the scope of the traditional electrical and computer engineering curriculum. From the onset of the course, students are grouped in triads and assigned team responsibilities. Their feedback is overwhelmingly positive: students appreciate the need for practicing communication and leadership skills and feel better prepared to tackle capstone design courses.