Abell Foundation Report Highlights UMBC Course Redesign Success

The Abell Foundation’s January report highlights the success of course redesigns at UMBC in introductory chemistry and psychology classes.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry redesigned CHEM 101 in the fall of 2005, and later did the same thing with CHEM 102, adding two-hour “discovery learning” sessions to help students engage with the material. Chair Bill LaCourse points to a key statistic highlighting the success of this approach—pass rates have risen from about 70 percent to almost 85 percent, even as the department raised the cut-offs to earn an A, B or a C.

The Department of Psychology took a similar approach when it redesigned PSYC 100, adding small-group sessions for students to discuss and engage with the subject. The effort, led by Eileen O’Brien, a lecturer in psychology, has resulted in higher pass rates and increased student satisfaction.

The article in the Abell Report, “How Course Redesign at the University of Maryland is Improving Learning, Lowering Costs, and Increasing Graduation Rates,” examines these successes and those at other Maryland institutions.

“One big reason that course redesign works is because the learning strategy aligns with the culture of the current generation of students,” Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan of the University System of Maryland is quoted as saying. “The course-redesign strategy makes them active participants in the learning process.”

Sara Poggio, Spanish, Recognized for “Outstanding Title”

Sara Poggio, associate professor of Spanish and social sciences, is a co-author of a chapter in a book that recently received recognition as an “Outstanding Title 2010” by Choice magazine.

The book, “Women’s Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean: Engendering Social Justice, Democratizing Citizenship,” analyzes and documents women’s experiences and organizing in Latin America and the Caribbean during the past four decades. It was edited by Elizabeth Maier and Nathalie Lebon. Poggio co-authored a chapter entitled “Women’s Work and Neoliberal Globalization: Implications for Gender Equity” with Alice Colon.

Dominique Wheeler Doswell ’10 Receives Scholarship From ASTD

The American Society for Training and Development awarded Dominique Wheeler Doswell ’10 a complimentary registration to the 2011 ASTD International Conference in Orlando, Florida, May 22-25.

More information on ASTD and its student awards can be found here.

Carmelo Torres ’10 Awarded Fellowship

Congratulations to Carmelo Torres ’10, visual arts, who is the recipient of a Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color. The fund seeks to help recruit, support and retain individuals of color as public school teachers by providing them with support, including a $30,000 stipend toward the cost of a master’s degree.

Torres will enroll in a master’s program in Art Education in fall 2011 and teach art in high-needs urban schools. A former marine and graphic artist, Torres is passionate about teaching art to young people and believes firmly in the transformative value of creative expression.

Read more about the Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color here.

Yelena Yesha, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Honored at IBM Conference

Yelena Yesha, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering, was one of three researchers honored with the Special Contribution Award at IBM’s 2010 Centre for Advanced Studies Conference (CASCON).

“This award is to recognize the CAS Research Visiting Scientists who have been instrumental in enabling the publication of the first volume of the CAS Research Book Series,” explains an announcement about the award. “The book captures the advancement of sciences that empower users to integrate and conduct simple tasks on an every day basis using web as a platform, yet without programming requirements.”

Zeynep Tufekci, Sociology, at Wikileaks Symposium

UMBC Assistant Professor of Sociology Zeynep Tufekci spoke on December 11 at the Symposium on Wikileaks and Internet Freedom organized by the Personal Democracy Forum in New York. Tufekci is an expert on interactions between technology and society. In her event comments, Tufekci argued, “Respected journalists are the best candidates to serve [the] crucial function of vetting, contextualizing and presenting [leaked government information]. But first, they must re-establish themselves as outsiders to power… Old style-journalism is dying and this is the way forward.” See the symposium video at personaldemocracy.com/pdfleaks and follow Tufekci on Twitter through @techsoc.

Levi Houapeu ’12 Invited to MLS Combine

Levi Houapeu ’12 was invited to participate in the 2011 Adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine. He is one of 54 college seniors from 36 Division I schools invited to attend. At the combine, the students will separate into four teams and play two games per day on January 8, 10 and 11.

Read more on umbcretrievers.com.

UMBC Alumnus Ben Lloyd Honored by Harford County

Agriculture Marketing Specialist Ben Lloyd ’05 M.A., public policy, has been named November 2010 Harford County Employee of the Month in recognition of his work on a “Buy Local” agriculture campaign and the Harford County Farm Fair. Deputy Chief John Sullivan III also noted Lloyd’s service on the Emergency Public Information team for Harford County.

Book by Christopher Corbett, English, Named “Best in the West”

Professor of the Practice of English Christopher Corbett’s book “The Poker Bride” was recently named as a “Best Book in the West” by New West magazine.

Corbett’s account of the life of Polly Bemis, a Chinese Immigrant who crossed the Pacific during the gold rush-era West and was eventually won in a poker game by the man who would become her husband, was published in February 2010 and will be published in paperback in 2011. “Even though Corbett sticks to a straightforward, just-the-facts delivery of Polly’s story, the reader can’t help but become caught up in it,” the magazine says.

See the full list of the “best books in the west” on New West’s website.

UMBC Alumni Named to Baltimore County Executive Team

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz submitted his executive team nominees to the County Council for confirmation today, including three UMBC alumni: Outgoing County Councilman Vincent J. Gardina ’78, geography and environmental systems, to head the county’s Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability; John E. Beverungen ’87, English for Administrative Law Judge (designated as Deputy Zoning Commissioner); and Keith A. Dorsey ’76, economics, for Budget and Finance. For details, see the Baltimore Business Journal’s coverage of these appointments.