March 2015 Message from the VP
March 2015 Message from the VP
 
March Message from Division VP
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March 2015  

Hello Division H Members!

As I write this message we are exactly one month away from the start of the 2015 AERA annual meeting in Chicago.  With more than 1,500 sessions, AERA will provide the opportunity for you to gain additional knowledge and insight from a variety of topics and perspectives.  Our Division H Program Committee has organized 49 sessions focusing on research, evaluation and assessment in schools, among them 5 Vice Presidential Invited Speaker Sessions (including sessions focused on Affirmative Action/Diversity, International and Graduate Student focused topics), 1 Demonstration, 7 Paper Sessions, 4 Poster Sessions, 13 Round Table Sessions, 10 Symposia/Multi-paper Sessions, 1 Working Group Round Table, and 1 Workshop.

We want you to receive your “academic nourishment” while attending the various sessions in our and other Divisions and Special Interest Groups; but please also take the opportunity to round out your AERA annual meeting experience by networking and engaging in conversations as you enjoy the conviviality of our four social receptions and the Sunday morning Division H Breakfast Business Meeting (reminder-purchase your breakfast ticket for $10 online at AERA annual meeting registration before they sell out).  We will have three back-to-back receptions hosted by our Membership, International and Graduate Student Committees on Saturday afternoon/early evening in the Vice President’s Suite in the Marriott (actual suite number will be provided once assigned by the hotel) and our always festive Social Reception on Sunday evening on the 67th floor of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower).

The details of our Division H activities are contained in the pre-conference issue of Reality Test, the Division H newsletter, which is posted on our website at http://bit.ly/DivH2015PreConf.  Many thanks to Immediate Past Vice President Judy Arter for gathering and editing the information in the newsletter and to webmaster Matt Lavery for quickly posting it.

Safe travels!

 

Zollie Stevenson, Jr., Division H Vice President

Reality Test: The Division H Newsletter, 2015 Pre-Conference Edition
(http://bit.ly/DivH2015PreConf)

 March 17, 2015

THE PRE-CONFERENCE ISSUE OF REALITY TEST IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBPAGE!

The pre-convention issue of Reality Test, which will share highlights of the 2015 annual meeting in Chicago…with a focus on Division H program sessions, committee hosted receptions, the Breakfast Meeting and our 67th floor Social Reception…is posted on our website!  http://bit.ly/DivH2015PreConf

 

NEW DIVISION H GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE SELECTED

Please welcome Ms. Stephanie Peters as the newly appointed Division H Graduate Student Council (GSC) Junior Representative.  Stephanie’s tenure will begin at the end of AERA in Chicago. Stephanie applied for the position and her application was screened by GSC representatives.  She was one of two candidates recommended to the Division H VP for the GSC position.  Stephanie has previously served Division H as a reviewer of program session submissions and as a presenter during GSC poster sessions at AERA.  She has also participated in various GSC meetings.

Stephanie earned the M.Ed. from Rutgers University in Education Statistics, Measurement and Evaluation. She is pursuing the Ph.D. in Education Research, Assessment, and Evaluation at Seton Hall University.

Since 2012, she has been a Research Coordinator for a large multi-site school reform grant (School System Improvement (SSI) Project; 2012-2017 - 39 million dollars) funded by the U.S. Department of Education – Teacher Incentive Fund Program. The SSI project is conducted in collaboration with the Arizona State University and over 21 high poverty school districts in New Jersey. During this time I worked closely with principle investigator, Dr. Linda Reddy (of Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology), on research related to the development and validity of a formative assessment for educator evaluation.

Starting in April 2015 she will being working with the Research & Development Division at Educational Testing Services (ETS) in Princeton, NJ.

DIVISION H GS ROUNDTABLE CALL

Graduate Students!  Are you looking for an arena to display and speak about your early research? Well you have that opportunity this April in Chicago, IL at AERA’s Division H Graduate Student Round Table. This is a unique opportunity to meet and discuss your research with researchers currently in the field. Please see the attached call for Roundtable proposals for Division H.

COFFEE MENTORSHIP IS BACK AGAIN!

It’s time for the ever popular coffee mentorship program, again!  Each year at the Annual Meeting we pair up graduate students with veteran members of Division H who are interested in similar research questions and/or career paths.  If you are a graduate student members of Division H, plan to attend the AERA Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 16-20, and would like to be put in contact with a mentor to share coffee and conversation in Chicago, visit http://bit.ly/2015Coffee to sign up.

COFFEE MENTORS NEEDED!

 

If you are a veteran member of Division H and would like to serve as a mentor for one of our graduate students, please visit http://bit.ly/2015CoffeeMentor to sign up as a mentor.  We will pair you with a graduate student who has similar research interests and forward their contact information to you.  You will arrange to meet up with them in Chicago to discuss their research and career goals over coffee or snacks.  Save your receipts as Division H will reimburse you up to $25 for the refreshments that you purchase.

 

DIVISION H MEMBERS TO RECEIVE $50 IN SUPPORT --REGISTER FOR DIVISION H-SPONSORED AERA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRE-CONFERENCE COURSE

The AERA Professional Development committee has selected a pre-conference course Improving Skills of School Leaders in Using Data to Drive Improvement:  Building on a tested District Model, for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago. The course is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2015, 8:00 am – 3:45 PM.  It is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Fairmont Hotel, Second Level - State. The course is modeled on a school and district leaders’ training program that was developed and delivered by the Wake County (NC) Public Schools research and evaluation staff.  Wake County managers will serve as instructors for the six-hour course being offered by Division H.  All participants will receive copies of the materials and course activities developed by Wake County staff. 

Please note that this professional development session will be recorded by AERA and that you can register and pay a fee to see it later…for those members that plan to attend other activities and meetings during the date and time of the pre-session.  

When you register for the AERA Annual Meeting at the website (www.aera.net) you can select this pre-conference course, and all Division H members who attend the pre-session in person will be reimbursed $50 of the course costs by Division H.  Reimbursement forms will be provided at the pre-conference session.  The course application was organized by the Div. H Professional Development committee.  The contact for further information is the committee chair, Rolf Blank rolfb444@gmail.com.

 

INFORMATION SESSION ON THE DIVISION H MENTORSHIP PROGRAM PLANNED FOR AERA CHICAGO

An Informational Session on the Division H Mentorship Program will be held at the annual meeting.  The session will be hosted by the Division H Early Career Mentorship Chair Toni Stroter.  The information session will tentatively take place on Sunday afternoon of AERA.  Additional details are provided in the pre-conference issue of Reality Test Please contact Toni for additional information (adstroter@liberty.edu).

 

VOLUNTEER TO HELP AT THE DIVISION H EXHIBIT BOOTH

It is that time, again! The 2015 Division H Exhibit Booth Committee is looking for volunteers to help out at AERA’s Annual Meeting, in Chicago, Illinois. We invite you to participate in the Doodle poll "Volunteer for AERA 2015 Division H Exhibit Booth (Booth 208)”, in order to select time slots that work for you. You can find this poll at (copy and paste into your browser or copy, click and open link):

https://doodle.com/e82vc43rh3xerue2

Be sure to write your full name, and check off the time slots you choose. Remember to hit the save button (you must scroll all the way to the right of the poll). After you hit “Save,” a window will pop up. It will prompt you to provide your email address, so that we can send out additional information to all of our volunteers as AERA gets nearer.

Don’t forget to write down the dates and times that you volunteer for, and prepare to arrive at least 5 minutes early.

Please feel free to share this link with other Division H members, and sign up for a time slot today!

Booth hours are:

Friday, 04/17 9am - 6pm

Saturday, 04/18 9am - 4pm

Sunday, 04/19 9am - 5pm

Thank you for continuing to make Division H successful!

Exhibit Booth Co-Chairs: Glynn Ligon (gligon@espsg.com) and Sarah D. Newton (sarah.newton@uconn.edu)

Location: Sheraton Chicago, River Exhibition Hall, First Level, Booth 208.

SUMMER WORKSHOP ON QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS PLANNED

The Institute for Education Sciences announces a new two-week training workshop on quasi-experimental designs. This two-week workshop will expose attendees to state-of-the-art quasi-experimental methods for evaluating education interventions, as well as will offer participants opportunities to conduct hands-on analyses of quasi-experimental data that we will provide. Past participants of the IES Quasi-Experimental workshop who wish to have hands-on training with data are encouraged to apply. The format will consist of lectures, small group discussions and consultations, as well as applied activities. 

Dates:  August 3 - August 14, 2015

Location: Northwestern University at Evanston, IL

Participants: The workshop is limited to 30 participants. It is intended for faculty who teach research methods; education researchers who use quasi-experimental methods, including university faculty and staff at contract research firms, government agencies, and/or school districts; and advanced graduate students and post-docs working on causal issues or quasi-experimental designs. Past participants of the QE workshop are welcome to apply.

Workshop Instructors:

Thomas D. Cook, Northwestern University

William R. Shadish, University of California, Merced

Peter Steiner, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Coady Wing, Indiana University, Bloomington

Vivian Wong, University of Virginia

 Applications

Applications to attend the workshop should be submitted by April 20, 2015. Decisions will be made by May 1, 2015. The application process requires an application form, a vita, and a letter describing past, present, or future involvements with the conduct of quasi-experimental studies in education.

For further information and the application form, please view the workshop website: http://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/workshops/annual-summer-workshops/quasi-experimental-design-and-analysis/

Please contact Ms. Rebecca Morris at rebecca.morris@northwestern.edu with any questions not answered on the website.

Submit vita and the letter to rebecca.morris@northwestern.edu