Your Feedback Invited on the Proposed Strategic Plan for Research 2008-2011

Members of the University community are invited to review the Draft Strategic Plan for Research and provide comments to Ted Hewitt at hewitt@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

Faculty Seminar Series – Last Talk for 2007-08

The next installment of the Faculty Seminar Series:

Dr. Allen Pearson
Faculty of Education

The scholarship of teaching: Issues and challenges for a research-intensive university.
 
Tuesday, April 1 
1:00 p.m.
Room 1010, Faculty of Education
 
 All Welcome
Refreshments to Follow!

Visitor from Australia to Speak

Dr. Andrew Cousins
Dean of Middle Learning and Head of Science
Somerset College, Queensland, Australia
presents a seminar and discussion

Gender Inclusivity in Secondary Chemistry: A Case Study of the ‘story-behind’ Participation Patterns in Secondary School Chemistry

Thursday, April 3
11:00 – 12:00
Faculty of Education Room 1010

Refreshments provided
All are welcome.

Abstract: This talk will deal with an extract from Andrew’s PhD which was published in the International Journal of Science Education in May 2007.  The discussion will give a nuanced analysis of participation rates in secondary chemistry by developing the ‘story’ behind national trends and subject selection patterns within an independent school located in a large Australian city.  It supplements the documented quantitative data by presenting a case study where 30 Year 12 chemistry students were interviewed about what motivated them to enrol in secondary chemistry.  The students’ comments indicate that despite the quantitative transformations which demonstrate increasing female success over the last few decades, chemistry is not totally gender inclusive.  Secondary chemistry has not yet reached total gender inclusion due to the common gender differences that still occur in the students’ motivation to select chemistry and the influence that gender stereotypes still have on students’ subject selection.

Research Hour Hosted by the Centre for Inclusive Education

The Centre for Inclusive Education’s last Research Hour for this academic year will be held

Monday, March 31st
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Stevenson-Lawson Building Room 292

Michelle Pompeo
PhD Candidate 
will discuss

The “New” Sociological Imagination for Disability Studies: A new way of thinking about our students with disabilities.

RSVP to Grace Howell at ghowell@uwo.ca or ext. 88619

Edmund’s Book Featured in Annual Review of New Books by Western Faculty

Alan Edmund’s book, Special Education in Canada, co-authored by Gail Edmunds, is featured in this week’s edition of the Western News (on page 11).

…[Edmunds] and wife Gail use the power of storytelling in “Special Education in Canada” to tell the real-life stories of six children with exceptionalities. The stories outline the challenges of students with learning disabilities, behaviour disorders, intellectual disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities and those who are gifted and talented.

Alan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education.

Creating a Presentation Poster using PowerPoint

Thank you to Dr. Mark McDayter, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, for these easy to understand instructions for creating a presentation poster using PowerPoint. If you need further assistance with your poster for Education Research Day please contact Colin Couchman at ccouchman@uwo.ca.

Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) – Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF)

Deadline: June 2008

CFI LOF Program Objectives
• Permits universities to acquire infrastructure for their leading research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research in areas identified as priorities for the university
• To strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities, by attracting and retaining leading researchers to Canadian institutions
• To enhance the research training environment at Canadian institutions

CFI Eligibility
• Applicant(s) must hold a full-time academic appointment or be an identified candidate
• Proposals must be in a priority area as identified in the Strategic Research Plan of the University:
• Must be a recognized leader in their field of research OR show promise of becoming a research leader
• Must be engaged in or beginning an innovative research program for which the infrastructure is essential
• The infrastructure must enhance the training environment

Western’s LOF Eligibility Policy
In addition to the CFI eligibility criteria, LOF applicants from Western must:
• currently hold, or have held in the recent past, multi-year operating grant funding from tri-council (NSERC, CIHR, or SSHRC), or other significant peer reviewed external funding sources

The infrastructure requested shall:
• not exceed a CFI  request of $200,000 (total budget of $500,000).  Typical total budgets expected to range between $150,000 and $500,000. 
• be available to other qualified researchers at Western as appropriate

CFI LOF Program Design
• CFI is a federal matching fund program: CFI provides 40% of eligible expenses, the Province (ORF) provides a 40% match, and the applicant secures the remaining 20% match
• The applicant may use cash and/or in-kind contributions for the 20% match.  This can be sourced from vendors (usually as in-kind contributions), start-up funds, ADF (internal), or other sources (external, industry, private, other)
• CANNOT use tri-council (NSERC, SHRC, CIHR) grants as matching funds.
• Infrastructure must be that which you need to make a “quantum leap” forward and put you in the lead in your field

CFI’s Annual Deadlines:
February 15
June 15
October 15
Please also see schedule of Western’s Internal Deadlines

Questions and requests for assistance should be directed to Alison Ariss aariss@uwo.ca
CFI LOF Information Package
CFI LOF Sample Form

Centre for Inclusive Education’s First Newsletter

The Centre for Inclusive Education recently released its first newsletter.  The newsletter will be published twice a year. The first issue includes articles on last year’s conference, researcher profiles and descriptions of ongoing projects. Congratulations!