This course addresses core competencies outlined in the Massachusetts Department of Education's English Language Learner certificate requirement. Readings in language acquisition theory, language learning and teaching, effective lesson design and assessment, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, and knowledge of intercultural learners are covered. Students will have experience developing and adapting lessons and curriculum to address the needs of students in their pre-practicum settings.

This course focuses on the broad fundamentals of western music and music theory, including music literacy (how to read western music notation). We will learn the theoretical concepts (pitch, rhythm, timbral nuances, texture, intervals, chords, harmony, etc.) and develop our sense of music cognition through ear training and solfege singing. This course will connect music to theory by teaching students how to compose music. Students will also attend concerts and write short reports. No prior music training or literacy is required.

The Aerial Imagery and Cinematography course proposal is a seven-week, one credit course designed to immerse students in drone avionics, aerial photography and videography, and photogrammetry and image processing. The course will encourage teamwork, curiosity, critical thinking, perseverance, and creativity and will best suit the motivated student who wants to learn practical techniques for acquiring and analyzing aerial data.

This class will help students become effective peer writing tutors. They will explore the theoretical and practical relationships among writing, learning and thinking by reading in the fields of composition studies, rhetoric, literacy studies, cognitive psychology and education.

This course focuses on the transition from high school to college-level learning by facilitating processes of exploration, awareness, empowerment, communication and community.These are strengthening qualities – necessary for academic success at Smith. The seminar offers opportunities to continue to develop these strengths. The work of cultivating these strengths within the seminar take place when given opportunities to explore and share thought processes, biases, and “real” and “false” beliefs, especially as they relate to ascribed social identities as well as chosen ones.

Advanced seminar on research design. Students refine their research methodologies and develop an academic and co-curricular plan with the goal of securing placement in a graduate program. Emphasis on the development of public speaking skills, peer-to-peer pedagogies across disciplines, peer mentoring. Limited to recipients of Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowships in their senior year. Normally, students enroll concurrently in a special studies course (minimum 4 credits) or departmental honors thesis on their research topic. Graded S/U only.

Seminar on research design and conduct. The development of research projects including question definition, choice of methodology, selection of sources and evidence evaluation. Participants present their research design and preliminary findings, study pedagogy and research methodologies across disciplines, develop professional skills to prepare for graduate study, and participate in weekly peer progress reports. Limited to recipients of Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowships in their junior year. Course cannot be repeated for credit. Graded S/U only.

This seminar examines women’s health and cultural issues within India, with a focus on Tibetan refugees, and then applies the knowledge experientially. During interterm, the students travel to India, visit NGOs involved with Indian women’s health, and deliver workshops on reproductive health topics to students living at the Central University of Tibetan Studies in Sarnath.The seminar is by permission of the instructor; attendance at a seminar info session is required to be eligible to apply. Enrollment limited to 5 students.

Student-faculty partnerships position students to engage with their faculty and staff partners in the “collaborative, reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute . . . to curricular or pedagogical conceptualization, decision making, implementation, investigation, or analysis” (Cook-Sather et al.). We explore theories of teaching and learning as well as theories and practices of pedagogical partnership, and, in both writing and conversation, we reflect on your experiences of engaging in student-faculty partnerships.

Utilizing a case-­study approach, students learn details about business and organization finance economics. Using the Business Model Canvas, students further explore the process of planning, testing and developing ideas, projects, businesses and organizations. Cases include those developed by teams in “Introduction to Innovation” as well as cases provided by the instructor. Enrollment in IDP 155 is encouraged but not required. Students are expected to work in teams to complete weekly assignments and a final presentation. This course meets for the second half of the semester. Graded S/U.