Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: As a political scientist and the director of a service learning program, I have a unique perspective on the values and benefits of service learning. This paper attempts to examine the effect of service learning assignments inside the classroom. During the Fall 2005 semester there was service learning components offered in five sections of our US Politics survey course and in five upper level major courses. This paper compares the students who selected a service learning opportunity against those that did not. Did students who selected a service assignment participate more often in the classroom? Were they more engaged in that class? Did their engagement or participation affect the classroom atmosphere? Are their grades better both in that class and others? Were there other benefits to the service learning assignments?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Enhancing Data Collection from "Other Language" Households

Authors: Mary Cay Murray, Mike Battaglia, Jessica Cardoni, Abt Associates Inc.

The national Immunization Survey (NIS) measures vaccination coverage among children aged 19-35 months in the U.S., the 50 states, and 28 urban areas. The NIS is conducted by Abt Associates for the National Immunization Program and the National Centers for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It uses a random-digit-dial telephone survey to identify age-eligible chcildren. The NIS samples over 3 million telephone numbers annually, makes over 12 million calls, identifies 900,000 households, and interviews over 34,000 parents/guardians with age-eligible children. Screening and interviewing are conducted in Spanish as well as English.

Since 1995, the NIS has used the AT&T Language line to include households in the study that do not speak either English or Spanish, i.e. "other language" households. This AT&T service provides simultaneous translations for telephone calls in many languages. By taking advantage of this service, the NIS is able to include many households that would otherwise be excluded from the survey. In this paper, we examine the languages that are most commonly used in the NIS and the chanages in the use of those languages over the years. We look at the impact of using the AT&T Language Line on the screening, interviewing, and provider consent rates for the NIS. We also examine the impact of the use of this service on the etimation of vaccination rates for the United States as a whole, for the 4 Census regions and for specific IAP areas with relatively large numbers of households using this service.

Publication Type: Roundtable
Abstract: Individuals’ attributes, communication and cognitive, provide an insight into a person’s attributes that link to effective teacher traits. How could we redesign programs to enhance effective teacher attributes?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study analyzes the inquiry skills and analytical discourse of a cohort of five preservice secondary science teachers as they student teach and prepare the PACT Teaching Event.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In-depth interviews with 33 parents of children with disability (8 African-American, 10 Latino, and 15 Caucasian parents) serve as a basis for an examination of parents' perspectives of the collaboration process following diagnosis of disability in a child. A model of parent adjustment will be presented with applications for fostering home-school collaboration.