Revolutionary Scholarship: Innovation of Community Engagement Models Welcome to Boston, where tradition meets innovation! Boston is home to historic Faneuil Hall and The Old State House, places where revolution and freedom were debated. Boston is also home of the Innovation District, an expansive new creative space nestled next to the historic Boston Harbor, where art and science collide to fuel the new entrepreneurship sector. IARSLCE is excited to bring researchers, teachers, students, and community members to Boston to reflect on our history within the field of service- learning and community engagement, while expanding the depth and breadth of the field to highlight cutting edge methods and practices. Our conference will highlight the historical foundations of modern innovation to reveal how past research inspires original research questions and innovative methods to advance the field into the 21st Century. Innovation is the integration of new ideas, new models, and new methods. Effective and efficient innovation is the ability to utilize these news ideas, models, and methods to advance research and practice and promote revolutionary outcomes. Innovation requires thoughtful reflection and the integration of lessons learned from the past. Inspired from tradition, the research of service- learning and community engagement seeks to inspire a new vision for the future. A new vision will consider the foundation of the field while integrating innovative research techniques and targets to advance our understanding on the impact of service- learning and community engagement on all stakeholders. Although community engagement has been embedded in the mission of higher education, building a community of scholars committed to intentional research and evaluation about these efforts is still emerging. How have we evolved as a community of scholars? What is the way forward? What is the
power and potential of convening as we seek to create knowledge while reflecting and building on a robust body of scholarship? Key speakers for this year s conference will ponder our past accomplishments, highlight our current endeavors, and develop projections for our future. We will consider how current research, teaching, and practice serve as products of our past and our pathways to the future. We will ask about the future of service- learning and community engagement across different settings and within different communities. We will consider how the research of today will shape tomorrow. We hope our program will encourage the exchange of ideas within and across disciplines and communities, to provide a foundation for the future of innovation. IARSLCE Conference The IARSLCE annual research conference is targeted to scholars, practitioners, students, and community partners interested in research on service- learning, community- based research, campus- community partnerships, and civic learning outcomes in P- 20 education. Attendees include faculty, administrators, and scholar- practitioners in higher education, community partners, educators in P- 12, and professionals and leaders in educational policy and community development. To advance understanding of scholarship from international perspectives, scholars from outside of the United States are particularly encouraged to submit proposals. Please note that this year, full drafts of papers will be due two weeks in advance of the conference to ensure that data has been sufficiently developed and analyzed prior to the presentation. Take this into account when submitting your proposal and develop a timeline for your research that will ensure you have data to present in November where appropriate. Proposal Submission Timeline Submissions accepted starting: Deadline for submissions: Notification of acceptance: Confirmation of participation as presenter: Deadline to submit full paper: February 20, 2015 March 27, 2015, 5:00 p.m. (CST) May 29, 2015 June 12, 2015 Friday, October 23, 2015 To submit a proposal, please visit: http://precis2.preciscentral.com/public/userlogin.aspx?p=d805325baa88d2eab2e09607c903c6ff&i D=686DCE6331717118. All presenters are expected to register for the conference. Detailed information about the registration process is available on the IARSLCE website: www.researchslce.org/conferences. Publication Opportunities
Accepted proposals will be summarized in Conference Proceedings. Presenters may also submit their full papers after the conference to IARSLCE s new peer- reviewed journal. (Check out The International Journal of Research on Service- Learning and Community Engagement at: http://www.researchslce.org/publications/journal/.) Tracks Details Our tracks are intended to spark interest in and discussion of the conference themes. We welcome papers reporting formative and summative research, with theory- building or evaluation aims, involving qualitative or quantitative measurement, participatory action research, community- based research, etc., as well as innovative designs and measurement tools. Submit your work to the track below that best represents your area of interest: 1. Theories, Research Methodologies, and Evaluation Techniques Elucidating the groundwork for how service learning and community engagement are envisioned and studied, through theories and conceptual models that provide the foundations for research. New research methods and technologies for gathering and treating data. 2. International/Global Programs Research on the impacts on students of participation in international programs, impacts on communities, new models for engagement resulting from international collaborations. 3. P- 12 Programs and Student Outcomes Research on program development in P- 12 grades, and research on the impacts of service- learning experiences received or offered by P- 12 students. 4. Campus- Community Partnerships, Program Development and Sustainability Development of programs for the involvement of students in service learning and civic engagement. Partnership formation and growth. Assessment of the quality and effectiveness of partnerships and programs and efforts made to assure sustainability. 5. Community Impacts Research on the costs and benefits of service- learning and other engagement projects for participating community agencies. Direct and indirect impacts on the larger communities within which engagement projects are conducted. 6. Faculty and Instructional Innovations Research on faculty professional development, roles and rewards, attitudes and skills. Formation and assessment of innovative instructional techniques, including use of social media and other new technologies. 7. Students Civic Engagement Research on students civic attitudes (e.g. civic responsibility, social justice, diversity values) and competence (knowledge and skills for civic action, voting, political action, etc.) and factors affecting these, including participation in service- learning and other community engagement activities.
8. Students Academic Learning and Success Research on students knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors and factors affecting these, including participation in service- learning and other community engagement activities. Papers might focus on cognitive development, STEM, P- 12 school achievement, as well as retention and success in programs of study. 9. Off the Beaten Track If your scholarship takes non- traditional forms or embodies an approach you believe is missing in research related to service- learning and community engagement, please submit into this track. Examples include (but are not limited to) work that is arts- based or performative in nature; involves narrative methods, storytelling, or social media; or emerges from indigenous, non- western, or other worldviews that are under- represented in our field. 10. Social Justice Track The social justice track is a scholarly focus on the topic and issues of inequity and marginalized groups through engaged pedagogy and/or various research methodologies and theoretical frameworks. Format Details Pre- Conference Workshop Pre- Conference Workshops should focus on scholarship/research, evaluation, or professional development. Submissions should include the purpose of the workshop, target audience, learning outcomes for participants, fit with IARSLCE mission, and facilitators relevant experience. Pre- Conference Workshop proposals will be evaluated on Session Focus, Experience of Facilitators, Potential Audience Appeal, and Balance of Workshops by Content Area. Pre- Conference Workshops should be designed to last 3 hours (a 6- hour format will be considered if justified by the breadth and approach to the topic). Research Paper Presentation Research Papers should advance service- learning and community engagement research by presenting the results of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies, or report the findings of studies that use historical, ethnographic, or other analytical methods. These studies may involve either original data collection or secondary data analysis. Research Paper proposals will be evaluated based on Significance of Research Question, Theoretical Framework, Research Design and Methods, Interpretation of Findings, Scholarly Contribution, and Potential Audience Appeal.
Research Paper presentations may last 60, 30 or 20 minutes, including time for audience questions and discussion. Scholarly Paper Presentation Scholarly Papers should present well- developed arguments on philosophical, theoretical, or practical issues in the study of service- learning and community engagement. Presentations are not required to adhere to an empirical research design. Rather, scholarly papers pose analytical questions, synthesize divergent bodies of literature, or elaborate new theoretical or conceptual frameworks. Scholarly Paper proposals will be evaluated based on Significance of the Topic, Analytical Argument, Relevance of Conclusions, Implications for Research, and Potential Audience Appeal. Scholarly Paper presentations depending on the number of sessions may last 60, 30 or 20 minutes, including time for audience questions and discussion. Themed Panel Research Presentation Themed Panels should involve a set of papers on similar themes or research issues. Members of the panel will make brief presentations linking their research and/or scholarly reflections with the theme. Opportunity should remain for discussion among the panelist and with the audience. The submission may include the name of a distinguished scholar who will serve as Facilitator and Discussant during the presentation. Themed Panel proposals will be evaluated on Significance and Relevance of the Topic, Coherence of Panel, Contributions of Panelists, and Potential Audience Appeal. Themed Panel presentations will last 60 minutes, including time for audience questions and discussion. Stakeholder Team Research Presentation Stakeholder Team presentations should involve multiple stakeholders (e.g., at least 3 of the following: community partner, faculty, funder, service- learning coordinator, staff member, student, teacher) who have worked together on a teaching, research or outreach community engagement project. Their presentations will describe research that has been accomplished through the project, highlighting the contributions of each participant to the design, implementation, and/or interpretation of findings. Stakeholder Team proposals will be evaluated on Significance and Relevance of the Research, Structure of the Team, Contributions of Team Members to the Research, and Potential Audience Appeal. Stakeholder Team presentations depending on the number of sessions may last 60, 30 or 20 minutes, including time for audience questions and discussion. Poster Display & Discussion
Poster presentations should encourage scholars to engage in active discussion with other conference participants about completed or nearly- completed research projects. Posters might also describe international programs, community partnerships, or other collaborations that might provide opportunities for innovative future research. Poster proposals will be evaluated on Significance of the Topic, Methodology and/or Conceptualization, Clarity of Outcomes, Opportunities for Collaboration, and Potential Audience Appeal. The poster presentation session is one- hour long and will be scheduled sometime during the conference.