2004 FPG Summer Project #00177

Last Modified: Mar 23, 2004

Name	College	Department or Division
Ann Ewing	Mesa Community College	Psychology
Employee ID	E-mail Address	Work Phone
xxxxxxxx	ewing@mail.mc.maricopa.edu	461-7028
Project
Title		Location
2004 American Psychological Association 112th Annual Convention and Invited Presentation		Honolulu, Hawaii
Group Application
This is not a group project

Project Dates and Amounts
	Summer I view timeline details	Summer II view timeline details
Timeline Dates	(none)	Jul 28 - Aug 1, 2004
Hours	0	30
Wages	$0.00	$666.90
Registration Fees	0.00	185.00
Subtotals	$0.00	$851.90
Total Proposal Amount		$851.90

Details
Abstract Write a concise overview with descriptive information about your project (location, time span, etc.) not to exceed 120 words. To take advantage of spelling and word count tools, you can compose this in a blank Word document, copy the text, and paste it in below (all formatting will be reset to normal text).
I would like to attend the 2004 Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) that will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from July 28 through August 1, 2004. This is the largest psychology convention in the world and draws outstanding speakers who present cutting edge research from all areas of psychology. It provides a wonderful opportunity to meet, hear, and interact with the leaders in my academic field. In addition to attending sessions eight hours per day and learning much new information at this convention, I will be presenting an invited address (The Ruth Hubbard Cousins Distinguished Lecture). I will also present a paper on getting students involved in research, and I will chair a third session on outcomes assessment.
Purpose Explain your purpose in depth and include relevancy and components of the project. Include a statement of goals and objectives. This is what you want to do and why.
The American Psychological Association convention brings together approximately 15,000 Psychologists from all over the world to share cutting edge research, innovations in instructional techniques and assessment, and opportunities for networking. Attendance at the APA convention will afford me the opportunity to stay current in my field, improve my teaching expertise, and to network with a diverse array of colleagues from across the country. I teach Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, and Introduction to Statistics. At this convention I will have the opportunity to listen to the outstanding psychologists who are doing the cutting edge research and writing the articles and books that I teach my students about. I will also have the opportunity to attend sessions on how to teach Psychology so that I can learn to be not only more knowledgeable about my field but also more effective in the classroom. I will also have the opportunity to acquire software for use in my Statistics course. In addition, I will be attending several professional meetings for organizations that I actively participate in. I will also be directly involved in three different presentations at this convention. I have the honor of being invited to deliver the Ruth Hubbard Cousins Distinguished Lecture this year. The title of my presentation will be "Teaching for Passion or Passion for Teaching? "It will be the first time that a community college person has been invited to give this lecture. I have also been asked to present a paper entitled ""To Coerce or Co-opt? Getting Students to do Research" in a session billed as Creative Approaches to Getting Students Involved in Research. In addition, I am chairing a session entitled "Surviving Outcomes Assessment". The specific dates and times of these three presentations have not yet been published. As the titles of the sessions indicate, these presentations all relate directly to the challenge of teaching, research and assessment. Since I teach Statistics, research and assessment are particularly relevant to my area of expertise. I am a founding member and inaugural chair of a national APA organization called PT@CC (Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges) that formed in 2003. The Executive Committee of this 500 member group, will hold one of its two annual meetings at this convention. As a member of this committee, It is imperative that I attend this Executive Committee meeting.
Professional Growth Your own professional growth is a large part of your project. Your professional growth is important to you, your students, and possibly other colleagues. How will this project affect you professionally? What skills will you learn? What environment will you be working in, and how will it influence your teaching or other responsibilities?
I have pursued both personal and professional growth opportunities throughout my fifteen year career as a Residential Faculty member at Mesa Community College. Continual growth is an integral component of who I am as a psychologist and teacher. The opportunity to be exposed to cutting edge research is a critical component of the professional growth afforded by attendance at the 2004 Annual APA Convention. Teaching Introduction to Psychology requires a breadth of knowledge in the field. It is difficult to stay current in all the different specialty areas so a broad based convention like this is especially helpful. Not only will I improve my mastery of the academic field by attendance at this convention, but the opportunity to meet the leading researchers and teachers is also inspirational. This contact generates enthusiasm for Psychology and teaching that carries over into the classroom. The opportunity to present an invited address such as the Ruth Hubbard Cousins Distinguished Lecture is a tremendous professional growth opportunity. Due to the three presentations that I am giving at this convention, Mesa Community College and the Maricopa County Community College District will achieve a level of visibility and notoriety. I also plan to take advantage of the opportunity to hear addresses presented by Phillip Zimbardo, David Myers, and Elliot Aronson. These prominent social psychologists authored texts that I use in my Social Psychology course. Personal exposure to these giants in my field of expertise enriches my teaching background tremendously. As a result of attendance at previous APA Conventions, I have had the opportunity to network with other community college faculty and that networking has contributed to the establishment of PT@CC, the national organization for community college psychology faculty. Since I will attend the Executive Committee meeting of this organization, the opportunity for continued professional growth in this arena is obvious. This organization is designed to facilitate communication and enhance opportunities for excellence in teaching among all community college psychology faculty nationwide.
Benefits
Select the primary area of benefit:	Benefits for students
What benefit is this project to the group checked above? What new information, ideas, attitudes, skills, appreciation, etc. will you bring back?
Attendance at the APA Convention will result in benefits for my students, my college, my department and my colleagues. The primary benefit is ultimately for my students because I will be able to provide a richer classroom experience for them. As a result of my attendance at this convention, I will become a better informed and more effective teacher. I will update and broaden my knowledge base in Psychology and learn new techniques in teaching, assessing, and utilizing technology that will facilitate my classroom performance. I will bring home new exercises that will engage students in doing psychology as well as discussing it. I will also be energized by exposure to the real celebrities of the field of Psychology. Attendance at this convention will facilitate networking with colleagues from diverse educational settings across the country. I will be exposed to new ideas that I can share with my colleagues and my department. Attendance at the Executive Committee meeting of PT@CC (Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges) will enable me to continue working for the betterment of all community college faculty. PT@CC strives to provide benefits for Psychology faculty at community colleges across the country. Finally, my exposure as an invited speaker at this convention will provide visibility and notoriety to Mesa College and MCCCD.