Making the case for WatCACE

by Judene Pretti, director, Waterloo Centre for the Advancement of Co-operative Education.

The Waterloo Centre for Advancement of Co-operative Education (WatCACE) is a small unit on campus whose main function is to conduct and promote research on co-operative education and other forms of work-integrated learning (WIL).  In addition to a director, WatCACE has a number of active associates who conduct and promote WIL research as well as acting as advisors for the director.  

Within the university, WatCACE offers research seminars, research grants, and works with CECA and the Co-operative Education Council. Last year WatCACE’s director, Judene Pretti, chaired a review of Co-operative Education at Waterloo. Outside the university, WatCACE sponsors and runs WIL research symposia and workshops at national and international conferences.

One of the ways that WatCACE promotes the advancement of co-op research is through a grant program available to faculty and staff. A recent example of a project funded by WatCACE that impacted faculty, students and employers is the redevelopment of the student performance evaluation form completed by employers each work term. The project was based upon Waterloo’s interest in using employer feedback on individual student performance as a source of data to document co-op students’ ability to achieve specific outcomes. However, in order to use the data for that purpose, the form needed to be examined for its validity and reliability.

A research project completed by Rocco Fondacaro, CECA, Wayne Parker, Engineering, and graduate student, Margaret McBeath resulted in a new evaluation form. This form was unveiled to students and employers during the Winter 2013 term, and the data collected from those evaluations can now be used by faculties in their program review processes.  

A number of past grant recipients have gone on to have their research published. For example, Dr. Maureen Drysdale of Psychology at St. Jerome’s, and her graduate student Margaret McBeath, conducted a study on the psychological effects of co-operative education, specifically self-concept and tacit knowledge. Co-op students demonstrated higher levels of math and academic self-concept than non-co-op students. However in most measures of tacit knowledge, the co-op and non-co-op students had similar perceptions of their tacit knowledge and in some cases the non-co-op students had stronger perceptions.

These results have prompted additional research questions to be investigated by the WIL research community. The study is published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Co-operative Education. A second article from this large study - and currently in press with the APJCE - reports on the study skills, motivation, and attitudes of both co-op and non-co-op students.  

This week’s question: How many WatCACE associates are there? Hint: for the answer, see the WatCACE website.

Take a guess and enter to win a mug!

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Technion university prez to address campus

Professor Peretz Lavie, president of Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, is giving a guest lecture at the University of Waterloo on Tuesday, November 12 at 2:00 p.m. in the Accelerator Centre at the David Johnston Research + Technology Park.

Founded in 1912, Technion bills itself as "one of the world's top ten science and research universities dedicated to the creation of knowledge and the development of human capital and leadership, for the advancement of the State of Israel and all humanity."

Lavie earned his BA in Psychology and Statistics from Tel Aviv University, and his PhD in Physiological Psychology at the University of Florida. He is an expert on sleep disorders and has founded several startup companies. He has been president of Technion since 2009.

Members of the campus community are invited to join Professor Lavie as he shares how Technion is helping to shape the world of technology and innovation.

RSVP online or by calling extension 33580.

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Library unveils revamped copyright site

The Library has launched a new Copyright Guidelines website, built on the WCMS.

The site is the first one to go live as part of the Library's major Library Website Redesign and Migration Project.

The copyright site includes a Fair Dealing flowchart, a detailed guide for instructors, and a list of resources.

The URL is https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-guidelines/ and differs from the Library's old copyright website, so change your bookmarks accordingly.

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Retired prof takes readers to the edge

Paul Socken, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of French Studies, has brought together a group of writers, editors, philosophers, librarians, archivists, and literary critics from around the world to ruminate on the state of literature in the twenty-first century.

The Edge of the Precipice, published by McGill-Queen's University Press and available in the Waterloo BookStore, is subtitled Why Read Literature in the Digital Age? and features essays by Alberto Manguel, Mark Kingwell, Lori Saint-Martin, Sven Birkerts, Katia Grubisic, Drew Nelles, and J. Hillis Miller.

The contributors grapple with the notion of how literature can still matter in an era of instant information, and whether it is possible to advocate for "serious, sustained reading with all manner of social media distracting us, fragmenting our concentration, and demanding short, rapid communication".

The Waterloo Bookstore has invited Socken to an author event on Wednesday, November 13, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. He will be speaking about his book and taking time to sign autographs. Copies of the book will be available and refreshments will be served.

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Shovels in the ground and other notes

Construction fences have gone up and trees have come down in the vicinity of Needles Hall as preliminary work is done for the upcoming 3-story addition to the administrative building. The projected completion date of this project, which will be breaking ground soon, is late spring 2015.

Just across the ring road, you may have noticed an excavator sitting astride the creek. Workers are currently installing and connecting a new storm line to an existing line on the west side of the creek. Work should be completed within the next two weeks.

Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers should all take care as they navigate the stretch of Ring Road that includes the Science Teaching Complex, Needles Hall and the storm line installation sites, as there are a number of large construction vehicles present.

While we're on the topic of construction, at last Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting, the Building & Properties Committee informed the board that they had passed a motion to approve a project budget of $4.775M to design and construct a 10,000 gross square foot "infill addition" to Hagey Hall. The committee's report reads "This is a project that emerges from the Faculty of Arts strategic plan, and allows the faculty to expand its student space without the necessity of constructing an additional building." The new facility will be constructed to occupy the existing courtyard and will be integrated into Hagey Hall proper. The timeline for the project, according to the committee, will be between 18 to 24 months.

Food Services has announced that Williams Fresh Café in Environment 3 now takes debit.

If you were experiencing issues with your work BlackBerry this morning between 8:00 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., it is because the server that provides connectivity for BlackBerry 10 devices, the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES), is being upgraded. This was a necessary upgrade, done by Information Systems & Technology (IST) in preparation for a BES software upgrade planned for mid-to-late November. You may have not been able to send or receive email on your device during the upgrade window, and emails you have composed and sent on your device during that window may fail to send and may need to be sent again. Email received during the upgrade window that could not be delivered will be delivered to your device after the hardware upgrade is finished. Anyone with questions should contact the IST Service Desk at helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or at extension 84357.

Another word about storm closings: A few bits in yesterday's piece about storm closings need clarification. According to the university's updated Weather / Emergency Closing Guidelines, notice of a campus closing will be posted on the university's homepage, normally by 6:00 a.m., remaining in effect until 6:00 a.m. or later the next day, not 7:00 a.m. as had been originally posted.

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