Cultural Studies and the Undergraduate Curriculum in Spanish

Finding Your “Spanish Voice” Through Popular Media: Improving Students’ Confidence and Fluency

“…Noting these challenges, several authors have problematized the lack of cultural understanding developing from the Spanish FL curriculum (see O'Neill, 2000), and the literature reveals that these shortcomings could be addressed through a revision of the existing curricular approach. Compitello (2008) argues that cultural studies can help students develop critical thinking skills and reflect on sociocultural issues in their undergraduate experience, and recommends that this be achieved by extending the curriculum beyond literature and text. Ellissondo (2000) posits, "there is an urgent need to move from traditional undergraduate curricula to more engaging programs thereby capturing the challenging (post) modern articulations between language, culture, and social narratives" (p. 133).…”

Mediating Students' Fixation With Grades in an Inquiry-Based Undergraduate Biology Course

“…If institutions and departments are committed to best practices and to student learning, faculty will need resources to implement IB curricula and constructivist teaching practices (Capps and Crawford 2013;Hofstein et al 2011;Hofstein and Lunetta 2004). This training and support will be especially critical for institutions that rely heavily on graduate assistants or adjuncts to deliver their introductory-level or lower-division content, as these instructors are themselves more likely to feel comfortable with the predictability and control of didactic instruction (Browne and Blackburn 1999;Compitello 2008). Institutions and promotion and tenure committees will also need to weigh and understand students' discomfort reaction to IB design and recognize that the most pedagogically sound practices, even when implemented well, may not translate to positive course evaluations (see also DeFeo et al 2017), at least in the short term.…”