Welcome to the School of Education's newsletter, Sigma, which you can access online at http://www.soe.umich.edu/sigma/index.html. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to . Deadline for submissions is noon on Wednesday. The next Sigma will be Friday, March 7, 2003.
Sigma Vol. XXXII, No. 08, February 28, 2003
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CALENDAR: March 1 - 7
**Qualitative Research Methods Conference
RSVP Deadline: Monday, March 3
Alford Young, Jr., ayoun at umich.edu
**PEO Brown Bag Video Series
"The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America"
Date: Tuesday, March 4
Time: Noon - 1:15 p.m.
Location: Whitney Auditorium, SEB
**LUCY: Images of the Possible
"A Gathering of Elders: Student and Community Elders Reflect on the Process of Entering and Respectfully Serving Urban Communities"
Date: Tuesday, March 4
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Schorling Auditorium, SEB
**Spring Commencement Student Speaker Submission
Deadline: Wednesday, March, 5
Packets should be delivered to the Office of the Vice President for Communications, 2040 Fleming, ATTN: Student Speaker Entries. For more information call 647.6974.
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1. STUDENT ONE OF ONLY TEN SELECTED TO ATTEND INSTITUTE
2. KRAJCIK MAKES AAAS PRESENTATION
3. UPCOMING ORAL DEFENSES
4. WELCOME NEW EMPLOYEE
5. KELLOGG FORUM AWARDS AVAILABLE
6. UNDERGRADUATE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
7. RHODES, MARSHALL, & MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
8. CHANGES TO GRADUATE STUDENT PARKING PERMITS
9. PEO VIDEO SERIES
10. LUCY: IMAGES OF THE POSSIBLE WORKSHOP
11. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS CONFERENCE
12. 43RD ANNUAL MSTC
13. SOE GUEST LECTURER
14. FACULTY MEETING MINUTES
15. NEED TO ADVERTISE A SUBLET OR ITEMS FOR SALE?
16. SQUIRREL ALERT
17. LIBRARY NEWS
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1. STUDENT ONE OF TEN SELECTED TO ATTEND INSTITUTE
SOE student Clare Penlington, an advisee of Prof. Gary Fenstermacher, is one of only 10 doctoral students selected to attend the first Stanford/Illinois Institute for Philosophy of Education. The Institute, funded by the Spencer Foundation to aid in the development of exceptional young philosophers of education, will be held this summer at Stanford. Notable scholars such as Denis Phillips, Meira Levinson, Eamonn Callam and Walter Fienberg will be part of the Institute's faculty.
2. KRAJCIK MAKES AAAS PRESENTATION
Joseph Krajcik was a presenter and organizer of a symposium at the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, which drew more than 5,000 attendees. Prof. Krajcik co-organized the symposium titled, "Inquiry and the Development of Scientific Ideas: Selected Case Studies." At the same event he spoke on "Designing Middle School Chemistry Materials Aligned with National Science Standards."
3. UPCOMING ORAL DEFENSES
Candidate: David Fortus
Date: Monday, March 3
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Dean's Conference Room, 1211 SEB
Dissertation Title: "Design-based Science and the Transfer of Science Knowledge and Real-world Problem-solving Skills"
Candidate: Ann Rivet
Date: Monday, March 10
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Brownlee Room, 2327 SEB
Dissertation Title: "Contextualizing Instruction and Student Learning in Middle School Project-based Science Classrooms"
4. WELCOME NEW EMPLOYEE
Frank Fanzone started Monday, February 24 as the OSS receptionist. Frank comes to OSS from U-M News Services. He can be reached at 764-7563, ffanzone at umich.edu, or in 1033 SEB.
5. KELLOGG FORUM AWARDS AVAILABLE
The Kellogg Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good is sponsoring up to five awards of $3,000 for pre-tenured faculty, early career practitioners, and advanced graduate students in any discipline in U. higher education institutions who engage in research that explores higher education's role in serving the public good. Applicants should hold a doctorate (no more than five years post degree) or be at the dissertation stage of their doctoral studies; they must also be affiliated with a higher educational institution. The award to individuals will have the following additional support: 1) Conference registration fees waived to attend one of the national conferences of a collaborating association. 2) Participation in the Kellogg Forum Higher Educational Intergenerational Scholars Symposium. 3) Inclusion of their project manuscript in a Kellogg Forum edited monograph and consideration for publication in the peer review journals of the collaborating associations. Application material, expectations and instructions are available at http://www.kelloggforum.org/activities/rising_scholars.html. Submission deadline is Tuesday, April 1.
6. UNDERGRADUATE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
The Michigan Space Grant Consortium is offering the MSGC Undergraduate Fellowship Program to support undergraduate research and public service fellowships to students in aerospace, space science, Earth system science and other related science, engineering or mathematics fields. Undergraduate students working on educational research topics in mathematics, science, or technology are also eligible to apply. Preference is given to projects directly related to aerospace, space science, Earth system science, and directly related educational efforts. The program is available to undergraduate students who are US citizens. Applicants must have a good academic record and be in good academic standing to qualify for an award.
Students are required to identify a mentor in the faculty research, education, or public service communities, with whom they intend to work, and who is available to write a letter of recommendation for the student. Fellowship awards will be for $2,500. For more information, please contact Bonnie Bryant at 764-9508 or blbryant at umich.edu. Completed application packets must be received by March 31.
7. RHODES, MARSHALL, & MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
Information about the Rhodes, Marshall and Mitchell Scholarships is available on the web at: http://www.umich.edu/~provost/scholars. Information about other scholarship opportunities is available at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/honors/sships.html.
8. CHANGES TO GRADUATE STUDENT PARKING PERMITS
The following changes will take effect on July 1, 2003.
*Graduate students will have five parking options
After Hours permit only ($44)
Student Orange only ($57)
Student Yellow only ($115)
Student Orange with an After Hours decal ($101)
Student Yellow with an After Hours decal ($159)
If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Seiser at rseiser at umich.edu.
9. PEO VIDEO SERIES
The popular PEO brown bag video series returns with the theme "Equity and Justice." The planned events, which will be Noon - 1:15 p.m. in Whitney Auditorium, are:
Date: Tuesday, March 4
"The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America"
The story of a Hmong shaman and his family living in Appleton, WI. This film shows a shaman's struggle to maintain his ancient traditions as his children embrace American culture.
Date: Thursday, March 13, double feature
"Foster Kids, Our Kids"
Explores issues surrounding foster care for teens. Features candid interviews with current and former foster teens, foster parents, and foster care expert Mark Courtney, and outlines both the positive and negative aspects of foster care.
and
"Dr. Ralph Bunche: The Legend & The Legacy"
Born in Detroit in 1903, Ralph Bunche made substantial contributions to international peace and civil rights struggles, and, in 1950 became the first person of color to win a Nobel Prize for negotiating the first peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. This biography is part of a year-long celebration of his life and legacy.
Wednesday, March 26
"Teen Connection: Bipolar Disorder"
This is a tape of a television broadcast with teens who deal every day with bipolar disorder discussing the challenges they face, produced by some of the teens themselves. Includes some time with live audience call-ins and responses by the teen panelists.
10. LUCY: IMAGES OF THE POSSIBLE WORKSHOP
The last workshop in the Lives of Urban Children and Youth Initiative (LUCY) The Images of the Possible series will be "A Gathering of Elders: Student and Community Elders Reflect on the Process of Entering and Respectfully Serving Urban Communities."
Date: Tuesday, March 4
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Schorling Auditorium, SEB
11. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS CONFERENCE
The 2003 Conference on Qualitative Research Methods for Faculty and Graduate Students will be held May 8 and 9. The organizers designed this year's conference with the goal of providing U-M faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows with opportunities to converse about experiences in applying qualitative research methods and analyzing qualitative data. The conference will function as a 1-1/2 day series of organized conversations and presentations for the sharing of research ideas, advice, and techniques. Please RSVP by Monday, March 3 to Alford Young, Jr., ayoun at umich.edu and state: 1) If you plan to attend (This is not a formal commitment; we just need to estimate attendance.) 2) Whether you would be interested in serving on one of the following discussion panels:
==Refining One's Research Question in Qualitative Research: Issues and Approaches
==Confronting Problems and Circumstances in Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
==The Rhetoric of Reporting Qualitative Findings: Making Choices in Writing our Studies
3) Whether you want to make a presentation on how you utilize a particular qualitative method and the successes and problems that resulted from your efforts (Please state your proposed topic)
12. 43RD ANNUAL MSTC
For the past 42 years, the School of Education has co-sponsored the Michigan School Testing Conference (MSTC). This year, MSTC is being held Tuesday, March 4 and Wednesday, March 5. Keynote speakers will be Tom Watkins, Michigan's State Superintendent, and Sue Rigney, from the US Department of Education. "Education, Yes!," Michigan's latest accreditation template, and "No Child Left Behind" will be the source of discussion and reflection. School of Education faculty members Joanne Carlisle, Michael Nettles, and Scott Paris will be presenting, as will teachers involved in Lesley Rex's Southfield professional development initiative.
13. SOE GUEST LECTURER
"Second Thoughts: One Historian's Encounter with the Culture Wars"
by Jonathan Zimmerman, New York University
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Location: Whitney Auditorium
Refreshments will be served after the presentation
14. FACULTY MEETING MINUTES
Minutes of the November 14 and December 19 faculty meetings are available on the web at http://www.soe.umich.edu/newsevents/minutes.
15. NEED TO ADVERTISE A SUBLET OR ITEMS FOR SALE?
DON'T USE EMAIL.
As the end of winter term approaches, you may need to advertise summer sublet opportunities and/or items for sale. Please remember that off-topic spam sent to University-maintained official email lists is considered to be abuse of network resources. A better choice for these kinds of advertisements is http://marketplace.umich.edu (U-M's official site) or http://www.orangesorbet.com (a commercial site that gets lots of U-M traffic) to post your ads and sublet announcements. You'll reach far more people as well as avoid the wrath of the campus IT folks by placing your ads in one of these locations.
16. SQUIRREL ALERT
Please be aware that squirrels do like to enter the building through open rooms, especially when no one is around and can inflict considerable damage to drapes, blinds and other items. When you use SEB rooms please check the windows to make sure they are closed. Thanks for everyone's assistance in preserving this beautiful old building.
17. LIBRARY NEWS
**New Library Management System
The University Library has contracted with Ex Libris for a new library management system to replace MIRLYN. The new system will provide users with much greater search capability including the ability to search across multiple databases, greater user customization features, a more intuitive user interface, and the ability to integrate other web-based resources. Estimated completion date of the project is early summer 2004.
**New JSTOR content
JSTOR added 47 new journals to its Arts & Sciences II collection, which cover interdisciplinary subject areas such as African Studies, Classical Studies, History of Science, and Middle East Studies. A detailed list of all the available Arts & Sciences II titles is at http://www.jstor.org/about/asii_content.html.
**New content in Oxford Reference Online
The Oxford Reference Online database recently added four new titles to its collection: "The Concise Dictionary of Archeology," "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology," "Dictionary of the Social Sciences," and "World Encyclopedia." The database is accessible at http://www.lib.umich.edu/eresources/index.php.
**New tutorial
The Shapiro Undergraduate Library has developed a self-paced web tutorial designed for undergraduates who would like an introduction to doing research at the University Library. The six modules can be used separately to explore various aspects of research. They can be reviewed individually or as a sequence at http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/searchpath.
**ERIC/OERI Reauthorization
The ERIC Clearinghouses are up for reauthorization this year. The education librarian at Michigan State University has gathered information about the reauthorization process and provides information on who to contact to provide input on the process on the web at http://www.lib.msu.edu/corby/education/doe.htm. --Marija Freeland
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Sigma is a weekly publication of the University of Michigan School of Education (bi-weekly during the summer). To subscribe to Sigma, please send an email to . SUBSCRIBE should be the subject.