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Mini-Grant Recipients for 2009 |
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FLTC funded three projects this year that incorporate the use of
latest technologies into existing foreign language and culture courses
to achieve specific learning objectives.
Recipients of the FLTC Mini-Grants typically begin and complete
working on their project during the Spring/Summer semester and implement
their projects in the Fall semester.
Each year the FLTC selects proposals that involve innovative use
of technology in teaching and awards each proposal up to a maximum
of $2000. All full-time and part-time faculty and graduate teaching
assistants teaching foreign languages are eligible to submit a proposal.
A description of funded projects, in the words of the recipients,
follows:
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Creating
Islamic law: voices that speak for Islam by Layla Saatchi, Lecturer,
Islamic Studies, Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures,
and Cultures |
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primary purpose of this project is to create an initial database
of interviews that will help students understand the diversity of
legal opinions concerning Islamic personal law. This project aims
to videotape five separate interviews with prominent Islamic legal
scholars; one from each of the five major schools of law - Hanafi,
Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Ja’afari. These interviews
will query the legal position taken by these various schools on
personal law cases, such as inheritance, divorce, and child custody.
The scholars will also be asked to comment on the importance, applicability,
relevance, and possible adaptation of this law to Muslim-minority
communities in the United States. The interviews will be used to
enhance the curriculum of the 5000 level Muslim Personal Law course
offered in the Fall 2009 to a mix of undergraduate and graduate
students. |
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Online
Retention in Italian Basic Courses by Laura Schneider, Lecturer, Department
of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures |
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underlying idea behind this project is to teach students a variety
of learning strategies and techniques for learning a foreign language,
and appropriate study habits. While instructors usually provide
some guidance about useful strategies for learning a foreign language,
this is not a major component of Italian courses. This project aims
at bridging this gap. Ultimately, the project aims at improving
retention of students who are identified by their instructors as
scoring a C- or below
in the Early Academic Assessment by offering targeted online resources.
These students would be enrolled in a Blackboard site specifically
designed to offer resources for learning a foreign language, online
tutoring, and a variety of listening, reading, grammar activities
as well as self-check assessments.
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Russian
Voices in Russia: Interviews with Russians in the Russian Federation
by Laura Kline, Senior Lecturer in Russian, Department
of Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and
Cultures |
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goal of this project is to videotape seven interviews with Russians
in Russia from a variety of backgrounds and then create accompanying
online exercises in Respondus. The interviews would then be broken
down into 14 segments (one for each week of the semester). The proposed
interviewees are a rural veterinarian, a handicapped female artist,
a physical therapist, a small business owner, an athlete, an accountant
and a survivor of the 900-day Siege of Leningrad during WWII. The
interviews and exercises would be used in intensive/advanced Russian
language classes to develop listening comprehension skills and cultural
knowledge. Students would watch the interviews online, at home or
elsewhere, and then complete the exercises on Blackboard. These
materials would be geared more toward the comprehension of ideas
than of specific words by students. These interviews would also
include a valuable cultural component as it would introduce students
to contemporary Russians in a variety of walks of life. |
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