Publication Type: Roundtable Discussion/Poster
Abstract: The writing abilities of students in higher education remain an area of great concern for faculty at all levels and across a number of disciplines. Little attention has been devoted, however, to learning about faculty members’ attitudes and behaviors concerning assigned writing activities, the writing instruction provided to students, and the manner in which students’ written work is evaluated. A survey was conducted among faculty and instructors in one college of education at a large Midwestern university to learn about faculty practices and attitudes regarding students’ writing. Results showed that, while faculty assigned a variety of writing projects and activities, they provided little in-class writing instruction, and did not refer many students to the university’s writing center – even though they reported extensive problems in their students’ written work. The results suggest the need for additional research that examines faculty attitudes and practices regarding the assignment of written work.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In the 2002 general election a field experiment was conducted in San Francisco. 5% of the call list for a GOTV mobilization drive was segregated into a control group; the rest were called as planned. Following the election, a comparison of the treatment and control groups revealed that the GOTV calls had virtually no effect on voter turnout. However, not everyone in the treatment group actually received the treatment – i.e., answering the telephone and listening to the message. Looking at only successfully completed calls, there was an apparent large effect, because these people voted at much higher rates than either the control group or members of the treatment group who did not receive the call. This is, of course, a selection effect – it is why we randomize. People who are available and willing to receive a GOTV call are different from people who are either not available or not willing. Indeed, there are even differences among those people who did not receive the call. I have data on the disposition of each call. While people who were successfully contacted voted at the highest rates, this is not the only distinction. The unwilling people vote at the next highest rate – people who answered the phone but hung up on the caller. Other distinctions exist as well. Among people who apparently were not home, people who had answering machines voted at higher rates than people who did not. This would be unsurprising if the callers left messages, but in fact they did not. There was also a very large distinction between wrong numbers and disconnected lines. This paper provides these data and explains some of the underlying theoretical reasons for these distinctions. It explains what the selection effect is, why it exists, and how experimental controls deal with it. It also discusses the methodological reasoning for analyzing data from both a random and non-random perspective to maximally leverage the information at one’s disposal.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper introduces the notion of a sociologist/college librarian collaboration and primarily demonstrates two outcomes of this partnership. With a background that recognizes differences in learning styles, especially those reflective of the “Net Generation” or “N-Geners” (Tapscott, 1998), we use technology to enhance sociological research assignments with online components. The partnership arose out of a shared desire to increase research skills and to improve “information literacy” (Grafstein, 2002; American Library Association, 1989). The results of this collaboration were mixed, with some students welcoming the integration of technology, while others preferred the method of face-to-face instruction exclusively. Even though more students favored verbal instructions, a contingent also acknowledged the usefulness of this method in tandem with online assignments. We end by discussing the unique characteristics of our students compared to typical N-Geners, and mention limitations of and future directions for our collaboration.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The college campus gives students the freedom to explore friendships in a diverse age-homogeneous society of scholars, but this freedom occurs within the constraints of the university as an institution. The institution can influence interracial friendship formation using residence hall segregation and roommate assignments to maximize interracial exposure in residence halls. Proximity of interracial potential ties around campus, in residence halls, and in the dorm room influence the inter-group propinquity in the freshman student population. The residential university provides the opportunity for repeated contact in local communities and campus social areas, a necessary antecedent to friendship. This study examines the extent to which residence hall segregation affects friendship segregation on a first-year student campus. Using data from a panel study of campus life at an elite university, this study finds that interracial exposure is a key factor in interracial friendship for minority students, but white students form friendship without regard for residential segregation. Both white and minority students find interracial roommate assignments a strong source for out-group friendship. Measures of weak ties find that minority students explore other residence halls to seek out same-race potential ties.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: To increase student engagement and enhance critical thinking, I have used a variety of focused Web-based discussion activities and assignments in fact-to-face race and ethnic relations classes. In this paper, I focus on two different approaches used in these classes and the way those approaches informed a hybrid or blended course offered this past semester. Examples of focused Web-based discussions over two years are analyzed to illustrate the extent to which the assigned topic increased student engagement of key course concepts. The assignments began as an adaptation of the process described by Persell in an upper level seminar and moved to a new set of assignments created to meet the needs of students at a different type of institution and in a different type of course. Students’ assessment of the value of different assignments to student learning will be presented. A comparison will be made of the effectiveness of Web-based assignments in face-to-face and blended classes.