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Best assessment practice results from careful consideration of the costs and benefits of the range of available approaches. It may be tempting to choose an inexpensive, quick assessment, but decision-makers should consider the impact of assessment methods on students, faculty, and programs. The return on investment from the direct assessment of writing by instructor-evaluators includes student learning, professional development of faculty, and program development. These benefits far outweigh the presumed benefits of cost, speed, and simplicity that machine scoring might seem to promise.
Best assessment practice is continually under review and subject to change by well-informed faculty, administrators, and legislators. Anyone charged with the responsibility of designing an assessment program must be cognizant of the relevant research and must stay abreast of developments in the field. The theory and practice of writing assessment is continually informed by significant publications in professional journals and by presentations at regional and national conferences. The easy availability of this research to practitioners makes ignorance of its content reprehensible.
Assessment in the Classroom
In a course context, writing assessment should be part of the highly social activity within the community of faculty and students in the class. This social activity includes:
* a period of un-graded work (prior to the completion of graded work) that receives response from multiple readers, including peer reviewers,
* Assessment of texts—from initial through to final drafts—by human readers, and
* More than one opportunity to demonstrate outcomes.
Self-assessment should also be encouraged. Assessment practices and criteria should match the particular kind of text being created and its purpose. These criteria should be clearly communicated to students in advance so that the students can be guided by the criteria while writing.

A. The methods and criteria that readers use to assess writing should be locally developed, deriving from the particular context and purposes for the writing being assessed. The individual writing program, institution, or consortium, should be recognized as a community of interpreters whose knowledge of context and purpose is integral to the assessment. There is no test which can be used in all environments for all purposes, and the best assessment for any group of students must be locally determined and may well be locally designed.

B. Best assessment practice clearly communicates what is valued and expected, and does not distort the nature of writing or writing practices. If ability to compose for various audiences is valued, then an assessment will assess this capability. For other contexts and purposes, other writing abilities might be valued, for instance, to develop a position on the basis of reading multiple sources or to compose a multi-media piece, using text and images. Values and purposes should drive assessment, not the reverse. A corollary to this statement is that assessment practices and criteria should change as conceptions of texts and values change.

C. Best assessment practice enables students to demonstrate what they do well in writing. Standardized tests tend to focus on readily accessed features of the language (grammatical correctness, stylistic choices) and on error rather than on the appropriateness of the rhetorical choices that have been made. Consequently, the outcome of such assessments is negative: students are said to demonstrate what they do wrong with language rather than what they do well. Quality assessments will provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate the ways they can write, displaying the strategies or skills taught in the relevant environment.

A. Best assessment practice uses multiple measures. One piece of writing—even if it is generated under the most desirable conditions—can never serve as an indicator of overall writing ability, particularly for high-stakes decisions. Ideally, writing ability must be assessed by more than one piece of writing, in more than one genre, written on different occasions, for different audiences, and responded to and evaluated by multiple readers as part of a substantial and sustained writing process.

B. Best assessment practice respects language variety and diversity and assesses writing on the basis of effectiveness for readers, acknowledging that as purposes vary, criteria will as well. Standardized tests that rely more on identifying grammatical and stylistic errors than authentic rhetorical choices disadvantage students whose home dialect is not the dominant dialect. Assessing authentic acts of writing simultaneously raises performance standards and provides multiple avenues to success. Thus students are not arbitrarily punished for linguistic differences that in some contexts make them more, not less, effective communicators. Furthermore, assessments that are keyed closely to an American cultural context may disadvantage second language writers. The CCCC Statement on Second Language Writing and Writers calls on us “to recognize the regular presence of second-language writers in writing classes, to understand their characteristics, and to develop instructional and administrative practices that are sensitive to their linguistic and cultural needs.” Best assessment practice responds to this call by creating assessments that are sensitive to the language varieties in use among the local population and sensitive to the context-specific outcomes being assessed.

C. Best assessment practice includes assessment by peers, instructors, and the student writer himself or herself. Valid assessment requires combining multiple perspectives on a performance and generating an overall assessment out of the combined descriptions of those multiple perspectives. As a result, assessments should include formative and summative assessments from all these kinds of readers. Reflection by the writer on her or his own writing processes and performances holds particular promise as a way of generating knowledge about writing and increasing the ability to write successfully

Writing assessment can be used for a variety of appropriate purposes, both inside the classroom and outside: providing assistance to students, awarding a grade, placing students in appropriate courses, allowing them to exit a course or sequence of courses, certifying proficiency, and evaluating programs– to name some of the more obvious. Given the high stakes nature of many of these assessment purposes, it is crucial that assessment practices be guided by sound principles to insure that they are valid, fair, and appropriate to the context and purposes for which they designed. This position statement aims to provide that guidance.

In spite of the diverse uses to which writing assessment is put, the general principles undergirding it are similar:

Assessments of written literacy should be designed and evaluated by well-informed current or future teachers of the students being assessed, for purposes clearly understood by all the participants; should elicit from student writers a variety of pieces, preferably over a substantial period of time; should encourage and reinforce good teaching practices; and should be solidly grounded in the latest research on language learning as well as accepted best assessment practices.

Reasons why this is important:

1. Writing assessment is useful primarily as a means of improving teaching and learning. The primary purpose of any assessment should govern its design, its implementation, and the generation and dissemination of its results.

As a result…

A. Best assessment practice is informed by pedagogical and curricular goals, which are in turn formatively affected by the assessment. Teachers or administrators designing assessments should ground the assessment in the classroom, program or departmental context. The goals or outcomes assessed should lead to assessment data which is fed back to those involved with the regular activities assessed so that assessment results may be used to make changes in practice.

B. Best assessment practice is undertaken in response to local goals, not external pressures. Even when external forces require assessment, the local community must assert control of the assessment process, including selection of the assessment instrument and criteria.

C. Best assessment practice provides regular professional development opportunities. Colleges, universities, and secondary schools should make use of assessments as opportunities for professional development and for the exchange of information about student abilities and institutional expectations.

2. Writing is by definition social. Learning to write entails learning to accomplish a range of purposes for a range of audiences in a range of settings.

As a result…

A. Best assessment practice engages students in contextualized, meaningful writing. The assessment of writing must strive to set up writing tasks and situations that identify purposes appropriate to and appealing to the particular students being tested. Additionally, assessment must be contextualized in terms of why, where, and for what purpose it is being undertaken; this context must also be clear to the students being assessed and to all stakeholders.

B. Best assessment practice supports and harmonizes with what practice and research have demonstrated to be effective ways of teaching writing. What is easiest to measure—often by means of a multiple choice test—may correspond least to good writing; choosing a correct response from a set of possible answers is not composing. As important, just asking students to write does not make the assessment instrument a good one. Essay tests that ask students to form and articulate opinions about some important issue, for instance, without time to reflect, talk to others, read on the subject, revise, and have a human audience promote distorted notions of what writing is. They also encourage poor teaching and little learning. Even teachers who recognize and employ the methods used by real writers in working with students can find their best efforts undercut by assessments such as these.

C. Best assessment practice is direct assessment by human readers. Assessment that isolates students and forbids discussion and feedback from others conflicts with what we know about language use and the benefits of social interaction during the writing process; it also is out of step with much classroom practice. Direct assessment in the classroom should provide response that serves formative purposes, helping writers develop and shape ideas, as well as organize, craft sentences, and edit. As stated by the CCCC Position Statement on Teaching, Learning, and Assessing Writing in Digital Environments, “we oppose the use of machine-scored writing in the assessment of writing.” Automated assessment programs do not respond as human readers. While they may promise consistency, they distort the very nature of writing as a complex and context-rich interaction between people. They simplify writing in ways that can mislead writers to focus more on structure and grammar than on what they are saying by using a given structure and style.

Over the past few years collaborative has become more popular as school districts search for ways to best serve the needs of their English language learners. What is collaborative teaching? Does it work? We will try to explain how collaborative teaching works for English language learners in class room situation.

In a collaborative setting, the ESL teacher “pushes into” the general education classroom to collaborate with the teacher. Collaborative teaching involves two credentialed professionals who are partners in the instruction of the lesson. One professional is usually a classroom or subject area teacher and the other is a certified ESL teacher. Ideally, co-teachers have equal responsibilities for planning instruction. Together the two teachers are lowering the student-teacher ratio and providing differentiated instruction in a manner that is not possible for one teacher.

Collaborative teachers are using the same physical space. Students are not pulled out of the classroom for one of the teachers to instruct. Although small heterogeneous groups may occasionally be pulled aside for reinforcement, I think that English language learners should not be isolated from mainstream students in the back of the classroom. In elementary schools, ESL teachers may come into the classroom for one instructional period each day.

Over the past few years collaborative teaching has become more popular as school districts search for ways to best serve the needs of their English language learners. If you ask ESL teachers who have tried co-teaching, you will hear both negative and positive responses.

Here is an example for a poor collaborative teaching situation. Paulo is a “push-in ESL teacher in a large school district in N.J. He teams with five different teachers each school day. He also teaches two classes of beginners in a pullout setting. Because of his work load, he is unable to plan lessons with his co-teachers. When Paulo goes into some classrooms, the teacher turns the students over to him and uses the time as a prep period. In others, he is helping a few ESL students at the back of the room while the classroom teacher works with the rest of the students. Usually, he serves as a classroom aide, roving around the room to help students who do not understand the instruction. He is not necessarily scheduled into a classroom when the students need him most. In one class, he comes in when kids are eating snack.

This is collaborative teaching at its worse. ESL professionals are not classroom aides. They should not be relegated to the back of the room with English language learners. What is the point of “push-in” ESL if students are kept on the fringes of the “real” instruction? Both teachers have a contribution to make. The classroom teacher contributes knowledge of the curriculum and of all the students in the class while the ESL teacher brings information about teaching strategies, second language acquisition and diverse cultures.

It is my experience that ESL teachers who are pushing into general education classrooms are generally more satisfied if they:

* have input into their schedule and whom they will be teaching with.
* co-teach specific subject and are in the classroom each time the subject is taught.
* have time to plan with the co-teacher
* enjoy equal status with the co-teacher.
* can discuss and decide their role and responsibilities in advance.

Collaborative teaching using this technique in Secondary Classes:

* Teach and write. One teacher teaches the lesson while the other records the important points on an overhead or chalkboard. ELLs benefit from this because information is being presented to them through different modalities. Station teaching. Students rotate through predetermined stations or activities. Each teachers works with all the students as they come through the station.
* Parallel teaching. The class is divided into two groups and each teacher delivers the content information to their group simultaneously. This allows teachers with distinctly different styles to work together.
* Alternative teaching. Teachers divide responsibility for planning. The majority of the students work in a large group setting but some students are pulled into to a smaller group for pre-teaching or other types of individualized instruction. The same students should not be pulled into the small group each time.
* Team Teaching. Teachers co-teach each lesson. This requires a great deal of planning and cooperation. Both teachers are responsible for all of the students.
* Lead and support. The lead teacher instructs the class while the supporting teacher provides assistance as she roams around the room. The supporting teacher may elaborate the important points or retell parts of the lesson. Ideally, classroom and ESL teachers should alternate roles so that one is not always the lead teacher. This type of instruction can be misused and the ESL teacher may find herself in a subordinate role.

There are many obvious benefits to co-teaching for students. ESL students have both academic and social benefits. They are exposed to the mainstream content but have the support of a second teacher. They are not pulled out of the class and learn with their classmates.

ESL teachers, however, cite many concerns. They do not want to lose ownership of their students be relegated to the status of an aide. They feel that collaboration is a lot of additional work especially if they are co-teaching with several different teachers. ESL teachers are concerned about beginners, who they feel do not really benefit from learning in the large group setting.

I think the benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks. When teachers share the responsibility of instruction, lessons are more creative because two people are planning them. It’s nice to have another adult in the room to be able to provide a range of support to students and to share those “ah-ha” moments. Lower teacher – student ratio
Classroom of diverse learners
Teachers can respond effectively to varied needs of students
Another professional can provide different viewpoints and more ideas for instruction.
Teachers can be motivational for one another.
Co-teaching can positively affect the general educator’s instructional behavior

There is nothing new or remarkable about these environmental considerations. We consider most of them when using our native “common sense”. We often make individual adjustments to our living and learning space(s) to be more functional or comfortable. However, sometimes these adjustments may diminish an others opportunity for learning. Tin foil or shades on windows reduce occasions for a view of the sky, a beautiful sunset, the landscape or an outside object used to illustrate a particular lesson. Shrinking the height of an existing classroom to reduce heating or cooling costs may alter the sound qualities or prevent the display of student work. Brightly colored walls or high light levels may increase glare and possibly unwanted heat gain through lamp radiation. Hard cleanable surfaces may simplify maintenance tasks but increase reverberation or prevent teacher or student displays and consequently provide an atmosphere which is unpleasant to learn or teach within. All of these well intended decisions resulted in unintentional problems which are known to affect childrens’ learning ability or make education more difficult.
When planning or remodeling a classroom environment, a successful (subjective) learning space requires that both the educator and environmental designer understand the affects of each criteria quality with respect to learning as well as each criteria’s interrelationship to each other.
Generally, the larger the room the more flexibility and the smaller, the more intimate. A rectangular shaped room affords more interactive visibility between occupants whereas “L” shaped ones or ones with alcoves allow for variety of privacy to individual learners. Movable wall devices can accommodate many different shapes. Scientific observations indicate that the student builds confidence through achievement. The ability to relate to elements within a room affords a degree of self empowering through scale that is relative. Size and locations of counters, windows, furniture and storage elements all should be considered or be adapted to the scale of the user.
Several studies indicate that teachers rather than students are more upset by temperature fluctuations within a classroom. Test scores are not adversely affected by temperatures except under extreme conditions. Students generally like the temperature slightly cooler (5 degrees to 10 degrees) than do teachers. Traditionally, boy’s or men’s clothing insulates their bodies slightly better than doe’s girl’s or women’s clothing. Because the temperature, humidity and ventilation of an enclosed space will depend on a number of factors including the configuration and materials of the building, amount of glazing, size and volume of the space, number of occupants and their current state of activity as well as the heating and cooling system, flexibility for manipulating that system is extremely important for comfort. If the teacher must override existing controls by opening doors or windows to augment their comfort, the system is self defeated and the teacher probably agitated (i.e. not doing the best teaching). Controls should be independent for each space and be simple to operate.
A good classroom must include the possibility for individual control as well as provide a well proportioned, stimulating and comfortable learning space which takes advantage of local character, solar orientation, appropriate views, proper functional interaction with adjoining learning elements and strong connections with the surrounding community. Allowing teachers to easily adapt learning environments to their individual pedagogical style(s) will increase the opportunity for student learning.

How Organize Panel Discussion:

1. Identify, or help participants identify, an issue or topic that involves an important conflict in values and/or interests. The issue or topic may be set forth as a topical question, a hypothetical incident, a student experience, an actual case, etc.
2. Select panelists who are well informed about and have specific points of view regarding the issue or topic. A panel discussion that includes three to five panelists is usually most workable. Select a leader or moderator.
3. Indicate to panelists the objectives the panel discussion is designed to promote and allow-time for panel members to prepare for the discussion. In some situations ten or fifteen minutes may be sufficient time for preparation while in other situations, panel members may need to prepare several weeks in advance of the scheduled discussion.
4. Decide upon the format the panel discussion will follow. Various formats are appropriate. The following procedures have been used effectively:

a. The leader or moderator introduces the topic and the panelists present their views and opinions regarding the issue or topic for a set amount of time.
b. The panelists discuss the issue or topic with each other by asking questions or reacting to the views and opinions of other panel members. A specific amount of time should be established.
c. The leader or moderator closes the discussion and provides a summary of panel presentations and discussion.
d. The leader or moderator calls for a forum period during which the members of the class may participate by addressing questions to various panel members or by voicing their views and opinions. The forum period should be conducted by the panel leader or moderator.

Principal Responsibilities of the Instructor

1. Identify, or help participants identify, issues or topics upon which to base a panel discussion.
2. Insure that all panelists and the moderator are familiar with the procedures for panel discussion in advance of the discussion itself so that they will be able to fulfill the responsibilities of their roles.
3. Assist panelists and participants (when necessary) in preparation for the discussion by directing them to various source materials, authorities in the field, etc.
4. Help participants understand the need for fair procedures in discussing an issue or topic, e.g., the freedom to discuss an issue, the obligation to listen to other points of view, the need for orderly, courteous discussion, etc.

planning, organization, and instructional benefits:
Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn’t the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion. Though logical consistency, factual accuracy and some degree of emotional appeal to the audience are important elements of the art of persuasion, in debating, one side often prevails over the other side by presenting a superior “context” and/or framework of the issue, which is far more subtle and strategic.
In a formal debating contest, there are rules for people to discuss and decide on differences, within a framework defining how they will interact. Informal debate is a common occurrence, the quality and depth of a debate improves with knowledge and skill of its participants as debaters. Deliberative bodies such as parliaments, legislative assemblies, and meetings of all sorts engage in debates. The outcome of a debate may be decided by audience vote, by judges, or by some combination of the two. Although this implies that facts are based on consensus, which is not factual. Formal debates between candidates for elected office, such as the leaders debates and the U.S. presidential election debates, are common in democracies.
The major goal of the study of debate as a method or art is to develop one’s ability to play from either position with equal ease. To inexperienced debaters, some propositions appear easier to defend or to destroy; to experienced debaters, any proposition can be defended or destroyed after the same amount of preparation time, usually quite short. Lawyers argue forcefully on behalf of their client, even if the facts appear against them. However one large misconception about debate is that it is all about strong beliefs; it is not.

Panel discussion planning, organization, and instructional benefits:
Panel discussion for example, if an issue is too complex for one person to handle, a panel may be covered so a group of specialists can speak. Or perhaps the audience need to introduced or exposed to various people or viewpoints at the same session.Panel discussions, however, differ from team presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views; in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present different views. Also in a team presentations, usually speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions, usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other speakers here one another for the time at the session itself.

Technically, a panel discussion consists of questions and answers only, and a symposium consists of a series of prepared speeches, followed by questions and answers. The compare must monitor time and manage questions. If each participant is making a speech for a set period of time, he should signal the speakers at the one minute to go mark and at the stop mark. If a speakers goes more than one or two minute he can stop them to gave the equal rights to each speakers. The compare must be a biased person; he is neither in nor against the topic.At the end the compare should summarize the discussion and thank the panel members

A panel discussion is designed to provide an opportunity for a group to hear several people knowledgeable about a specific issue or topic present information and discuss personal views. A panel discussion may help the audience further clarify and evaluate their positions regarding specific issues or topics being discussed and increase their understanding of the positions of others

Types of Indian climate varied due to India’s unique geography and geology that strongly influenced its climate. This is particularly true of the Himalayas in the north and the Thar Desert in the northwest. The Himalayas act as a barrier to the frigid katabatic winds coming down from Central Asia. Although the Tropic of Cancer is the boundary between the tropics and subtropics and passes through the middle of India, the whole country is considered to be tropical one.

India is home to extraordinary types of Indian climate, ranging from tropical in the south to temperate and alpine in the Himalayan north, where eminent regions receive sustained winter snowfall. The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert. The Himalayas, along with the Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan, prohibit cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, thus keeping the volume of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.

The Thar Desert plays a role in attracting moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds between June and October that provide the majority of India`s rainfall. Four major climatic groupings rule over, into which seven climatic zones as designated by experts, are included on the basis of such features as temperature and precipitation.

The types of Indian climate are as follows -

Tropical wet – A tropical rainy climate covers regions experiencing constant warm or high temperatures, which usually do not fall below 18 °C (64 °F). The most humid is the tropical wet monsoon climate that encompasses a strip of southwestern lowlands adjoining the Malabar Coast, the Western Ghats, and southern Assam. India`s two island territories, Lakshwadeep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also witness this climate.

Tropical dry – A tropical arid and semi-arid climate in India dominates regions where the rate of moisture loss through evapotranspiration exceeds than that from precipitation; it is subdivided into three climatic subtypes. The first, a tropical semi-arid steppe climate, predominates over the south of Tropic of Cancer and east of the Western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills. Most of western Rajasthan experiences a parched climatic regime. Rainfall is responsible for virtually all of the region`s annual precipitation, which counts upto less than 300 millimeters. Such bursts happen when monsoon winds sweep into the region during July, August, and September. East of the Thar Desert, the region running from Punjab and Haryana to Kathiawar experiences a tropical and sub-tropical steppe climate.

Subtropical humid – Most of Northeast India and much of North India are subject to a humid sub-tropical climate. They experience hot summers, temperatures during the coldest months may fall as low as 0 °C (32 °F). In most of this region, there is very little precipitation during the winter, high wind speed and summer rainfall with powerful thunderstorms associated with the southwest summer monsoon; occasional tropical cyclones also occur.

Montane – India`s northernmost lands are subject to a montane, or alpine, climate. Climates ranging from nearly tropical in the foothills to tundra above the snow line can co-exist within several dozen miles of each other. Sharp temperature contrasts between sunny and shady slopes, high diurnal temperature variability, temperature inversions, and altitude-dependent variability in rainfall are also common. The northern side of the western Himalayas, also known as the trans-Himalayan belt, is a section of barren, arid, frosty, and wind-blown wastelands.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) designates four official seasons in India, namely the winter, summer, monsoon and post monsoon. Winter occurs between January and March. The year`s coldest months are December and January, when temperatures average around 10-15 °C (50-59 °F) in the northwest. Summer or pre-monsoon season, lasts from March to June (April to July in northwestern India). In western and southern regions, the hottest month is April; for northern regions, May is the hottest month.

Monsoon or rainy season lasts from June to September. The season is dominated by the humid southwest summer monsoon, which slowly swaps across the country starting in late May or early June. Post-monsoon season lasts from October to December. South India usually receives more precipitation. Monsoon rains begin to withdraw from North India at the beginning of October. The types of Indian climate are responsible for the variation of weather in different parts of the Indian subcontinent.

In 1992, the Board of Directors of National Council for the Social Studies, the primary membership organization for social studies educators, adopted the following definition:
Social studies are the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

Social studies is taught in kindergarten through grade 12 in schools across the nation. As a field of study, social studies may be more difficult to define than is a single discipline such as history or geography, precisely because it is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary and because it is sometimes taught in one class (perhaps called “social studies”) and sometimes in separate discipline-based classes within a department of social studies.

The significance of Social Studies and secondary School curriculum.
Social studies programs have as a major purpose the promotion of civic competence-which is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of students to be able to assume “the office of citizen” (as Thomas Jefferson called it) in our democratic republic. Although civic competence is not the only responsibility of social studies nor is it exclusive to the field, it is more central to social studies than any other subject area in the schools.

It is important for secondary students in social studies programs to begin to understand, appreciate, and apply knowledge, processes, and attitudes from academic disciplines. But even such discipline-based learning draws simultaneously from several disciplines in clarifying specific concepts. A study of the concept of “the common good,” for example, may draw upon some or all of the following:
* the discipline of history, to determine the concept’s origin, study primary source documents that define and address the concept, and analyze the concept’s development over time;
* the discipline of geography, to locate where the concept was first developed, map its movement from one continent or nation to another, and recognize the power of the diffusion of ideas as an example of global linkage;
* the discipline of _political science, _to determine the developing meaning of the concept as it is promoted or limited through existing political institutions, to study examples of actual practice related to the common good, and to acknowledge the need for citizen involvement in closing the distance between the ideal and reality;
* the discipline of sociology, to examine the role of individuals, groups, and institutions and their relationship and responsibility to the common good, and to develop an understanding of the complexities of those relationships resulting from the diversity of beliefs, values, and structures within and among them; and
* Communication abilities from language arts/English and the fine arts to enable students to express their understanding of the concept in a personally meaningful way.
* Social issues, such as poverty, crime, and public health, are increasingly understood to transcend the boundaries of disciplines, cultures, and nations. As these issues grow increasingly complex, the work to develop solutions demands an increasingly integrated view of scholarly domains and of the world itself.