Past Events

January 9, 2006

The CUFA Graduate Session Call for Papers for presentation at the annual conference proposal application is now available for download and submission. The call is requested early in order to allow graduate students whose proposals are not accepted revise them in time for re-submission to the general CUFA program session. Please note that the deadline for receipt of papers is February 1st and that all applicants will be notified if their proposal is accepted or rejected by February 8th.

News from the Graduate Student SIG

Shelli A. Whitworth  

Travel Grants - This year we received a record number of 30 applications for five available grants of $400 each. Our blind review process had the challenging task of reviewing applications and carefully making their selections based on the SIG criteria. Those awarded a grant should submit receipts, mailing address and NCSS membership number by November 30, 2006 to Bruce Larson at Bruce.Larson@wwu.edu or via fax (360) 650-7516Congratulations to the following individuals:

The SIG was also able to offer an additional $300 grant with remaining funds to a sixth candidate. Congratulations:

Call for Elections 2005 – Elections for the 2005-2006 positions will take place at The Graduate Student SIG Business Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:15 p.m. We are currently accepting nominations for the elected positions of Vice Chair and Secretary of the CUFA Graduate Student SIG and the appointed position of Program Chair.

The Chair is a one year position (being Vice-Chair 05-06). Mindy Spearman ( University of Texas at Austin ), served as Vice-Chair 05-06 and will become Chair at the Conference and will continue to serve in that role until November 2006. The Chair submits the spring, fall newsletters to the CUFA Newsletter, coordinates all communication between officers and the Board Liaison, maintains an annual calendar in order to meet deadlines, and serves as the primary contact and coordinator of the blind review process for grant applications.

The Vice Chair is a two-year position (becoming chair '06-'07). It best suited for someone who will graduate in '07 or later. The V-C assists the program chair to meet deadlines and assists the chair when needed. The Vice Chair prepares the upcoming annual calendar of events and documents for the next year’s meeting and elections. The Vice Chair also serves as a blind reviewer on the Executive Committee for grant applications. The current Vice Chair, Mindy Spearman ( University of Texas at Austin ), will become Chair at the Conference and will continue to serve in that role until November 2006.

The Secretary position is responsible for submitting new information to the webmaster of the CUFA webpage and maintaining a current SIG list-serve, membership, matching roommates for conferences. The Secretary also serves as a blind reviewer on the Executive Committee for grant applications. Additionally, the Secretary assists the other three leadership positions and maintains records for the SIG. Technology experience would be helpful. Todd Hawley ( University of Georgia ) is the current Secretary.

The Program The Program Chair is responsible for receiving paper proposals, sending them for blind review, creating SIG session themed titles, locating appropriate discussants for SIG sessions, and working with the CUFA or AERA social studies program chair. The SIG Program Chair is selected by the SIG Chair in consultation with the other SIG officers. Experience presenting or attending past CUFA/NCSS conferences is desirable. If you are interested in serving as the Program Chair for the 2006 Meeting (which will be held in Washington , D.C. ) please contact Mindy Spearman at MindySpearman@mail.utexas.edu.

Please feel free to nominate yourself or someone else for these positions by contacting Mindy Spearman at MindySpearman@mail.utexas.edu . Please send a brief bio about yourself no later than October 30th. Nominations will be posted online for review prior to the Grad Student SIG Business Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:15 p.m. (Location to be announced). We will also accept nominations at the meeting.

Mindy Spearman, Vice Chair & Chair-Elect, 2004-2005
MindySpearman@mail.utexas.edu

Graduate Student SIG Session – We are pleased to announce the following session to take place during CUFA this fall on Wednesday, November 16 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Congratulations to students who were selected to present their research.

Issues in 21 st Century Social Studies Education: Race, High Stakes Testing, and Teacher Education

Chair: Jeremy Stoddard, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Discussant: Margaret S. Crocco, Teachers College, Columbia University

Shortchanging middle school social studies: Elementary and secondary preservice teachers’ subject backgrounds and beliefs about young adolescents’ intellectual capabilities

Hilary Conklin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Acknowledging Race (ism)

Makini Walker-Sharpe & Shaza Khan, University of Rochester

Deciding What Matters Most: The selective tradition and the development of Texas ’ new high-stakes social studies exams

Michelle Reidel , University of Colorado-Boulder

From the Chair – Thank you to everyone for being so active this year. We have received great recommendations to make the SIG stronger and to serve our members better. The current officers and I have been working to make sure many of your suggestions are put into place before the elections. You may have noticed more news and information is now available to you online. In the near future we will post an annual calendar of all of our events and deadlines including NCSS/CUFA, CUFA Retreat, and AERA. We are working on a list-serve and a means to communicate online via a discussion board. This will put more information at your fingertips. With the direction of our current CUFA Board Liaison, Carolyn O'Mahony at Oakland University , we are will re-work our budget to offer a few more Travel Grants. I feel strongly that Mindy will continue our efforts to offer more support to doctoral students. I’ve met and worked with wonderful people since my involvement with the SIG and truly have enjoyed working with my officers and appointees this year. Thank you for all of you involvement and dedication to the SIG. ~ Shelli

May/June Announcements

SIG Sessions at CUFA 2005 – Jeremy Stoddard, the SIG Program Chair for the 2004 Annual Meeting, will be overseeing the two SIG sessions in Baltimore this fall. He is pleased to announce that the panel session includes.

• Hilary Conklin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Shortchanging middle school social studies: Elementary and secondary preservice teachers’ subject backgrounds and beliefs about young adolescents’ intellectual capabilities
• Makini Walker-Sharpe & Shaza Khan, University of Rochester, Acknowledging Race(ism)
• Michelle Reidel, University of Colorado – Boulder, Deciding What Matters Most: The Selective Tradition and the Development of Texas’ New High-Stakes Social Studies Exams
• Robin Robinson Kapavik, University of Texas – Austin, Perspectives of Teachers on the Possibility of the Social Studies Classroom as a ‘Radical Space’

The second session is currently being organized and will be in a roundtable format. The focus will be on professional development opportunities for doctoral students, e.g., publishing, networking, attending and presenting at conferences, job searching, and the like. More information on this session will be provided through the SIG website in midsummer.

AERA 2005 Montreal, Canada – Thank you to those that attended and met during at the meetings of the Research in Social Studies Education SIG at AERA and at the SIG social gathering.

Congratulations to the four doctoral students that received a $400 travel grant to attend AERA this year:

• Eric Freedman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Steven Havick, University of Georgia
• Michelle Reidel, University of Colorado – Boulder
• Robin Robinson Kapavik, University of Texas at Austin

Travel Grants – We are pleased to announce that the SIG will continue to offer travel grants in the amount of $400. Information on the travel grant application process is available on the SIG website and will be emailed to members. For more information email Shelli Whitworth at swhitwor@chuma1.cas.usf.edu.

Deadlines for NCSS/CUFA 2005 (Kansas City) Travel Grants are:

• August 30, 2005 - Graduate Student SIG Travel Gant Application deadline
• September 15, 2005 - Notification of travel grant recipients
• November 30, 2005 - Travel grant recipient documentation deadline