In this course students will study the history and theory of historic preservation, specifically of cultural landscapes, and gain practical experience in site assessment and historical analysis using a local Middletown site. How do we determine historic significance? Who are the stewards of historic spaces? What are effective strategies for preservation planning and policymaking? How … Read more
Course Description: Students will have the opportunity to put social activism into practice through working on theater projects in community settings. One of the course’s projects will include teaching Shakespeare and other plays to incarcerated persons using methods described in Jean Trounstine’s Shakespeare Behind Bars. Students will also have the opportunity to create “invisible theater” … Read more
This course will give students the opportunity to study theater as a tool for community outreach and to apply that knowledge to practical work in community settings. No previous experience in theater is necessary. Students will be encouraged to use their own skills in music, art, and drama as they devise ways to use the … Read more
The Community Research Seminar, SOC 316, taught by Rob Rosenthal, was the first service learning course offered at Wesleyan. In the fall community groups and agencies submit proposals for projects they would like researched. A Wesleyan faculty panel reviews the proposals and selects four projects. Teams of four students carry out research projects during the … Read more
Our focus will be on understanding the role of social factors (such as income, work environment, social cohesion, food, and transportation systems) in determining the health risks of individuals; considering the efficacy, appropriateness, and ethical ramifications of various public health interventions; and learning about the historical antecedents of the contemporary community health center model of … Read more
The study of the psychology of reading encompasses many aspects of human cognition: from sensation and perception to comprehension and reasoning. This class will provide an overview of research in the psychology of reading. Topics such as word recognition, eye movements during reading, comprehension, learning to read, methods of teaching reading, the brain and reading, … Read more
Students will be introduced to the psychological study of children’s mathematical thinking and learning through a variety of theoretical and experimental readings from laboratory–and school-based studies. Students will also review selected sections of grade-school mathematics textbooks from commonly used curricula to identify connections between particular theoretical viewpoints and their curricular implementations. The course will be … Read more
This course is designed for Biology, Psychology, and Neuroscience and Behavior Majors and the first half is writing intensive. In the second half of the semester, students engage in projects that include a service learning module in which they teach middle or high school students. The teaching projects focus on one of the course modules … Read more
Light is the basis for many important processes on Earth, and this course is designed to introduce students to many of these fundamental processes. The first third of the course focuses on the nature of light and its interaction with matter. We then turn to the process of vision and how light is detected by … Read more
Through this service-learning course, students will continue their language training in American Sign Language (ASL) while focusing on research and applications primarily outside of the deaf community. Combining the works of Oliver Sacks (cognitive changes from sign language acquisition), Howard Gardner (multiple intelligence theory), and Marilyn Daniels (signing for hearing children’s literacy), students will participate … Read more
