Synopsis
A cooperative learning approach to involving students with diverse backgrounds, an Affinity Research Group (ARG) is an effective means of ensuring student engagement. Through a structured team approach, students learn how to conduct scholarly research, lead effective team discussions, kick off a research project, and much more. The ARG model, researched and documented with the support of the National Science Foundation, delivered results at the University of Texas, El Paso. During an evaluation of 175 group members over five years: * 78% of members participating in undergraduate research came from underrepresented student groups; * 30% of undergraduates continued to graduate school; * 100 papers have been published with student coauthors. Now, with this practical handbook, supplemented by author workshops nationwide, the success of the Affinity Research Group model can spread to all sorts of programs in a wide range of institutions.
About the Author
Ann Quiroz Gates is the Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Projects at the University of Texas at El Paso and past chair of the Computer Science Department. Her research areas are software property elicitation and specification, and workflow-driven ontologies. Gates directs the NSF-funded Cyber-ShARE Center that focuses on developing and sharing resources through cyberinfrastructure to advance research and education. She is a member of the NSF Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure, and she serves on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Computer Society. In 2003, Gates was named to Hispanic Business magazine's 100 Influential Hispanics in 2006 for her work on the Affinity Research Group model. Steve Roach is associate professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at El Paso. His areas of expertise are in formal approaches to software assurance and software engineering. His software-development efforts include the theory compilation component of the Amphion deductive synthesis system, the Saturn Viewer and CASVU programs for NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn, and a variety of data acquisition, process control, and modeling programs. Roach is a member of the IEEE and the ACM. Elsa Villa is a lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education, Division of Mathematics, Science and Technology, at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She formerly served as the director of the Engineering Programs Office at UTEP for 11 years where she worked closely with engineering faculty in designing and implementing instructional strategies to improve classroom learning. Kerrie Kephart is assistant professor of Bilingual Education/ESL in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her research interests include advanced academic literacy, professional and disciplinary socialization, and second-language learning. Connie Kubo Della-Piana has directed, published, and consulted on education and at the federal level. Currently, she is a Program Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation. Gabriel Della-Piana is Professor Emeritus in Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. He is currently a consultant in educational program design, development, research, and evaluation.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
