This series aims to highlight the best practices and research interests of teaching faculty in USC Dornsife. While in some cases the talks target areas specific to language instruction, in other instances, general topics such as the mental wellbeing of USC students, will be of interest to all professors. The spring 2019 semester series began with an overview of services offered by USC’s Office of Student Support and Advocacy. The remainder of the professional development talks present the results on an ongoing research project as well as several of the novel strategies employed by the teaching faculty of the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures, with each talk followed by a Q&A with those in attendance. When possible, links to the PowerPoint presentation, the recorded video, or both, are provided.
On How to Use and How Not to Use “Lo siento”
Marianna Chodorowska-Pilch, Associate Professor of Teaching at the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures, presented on the use of the Spanish expression lo siento on February 26, 2020. Click here to watch her presentation.
Dornsife Funding Opportunities
Professors Béatrice Mousli, French & Italian; Jessica Parr, Chemistry; Sarah Portnoy, Latin American & Iberian Cultures; Julie Van Dam, French & Italian; and Emily Zeamer, Anthropology, conducted a panel discussion on different funding opportunities at USC Dornsife on January 29, 2020. Click here to watch the presentation.
USC Student Support and Advocacy
Michele Morgan, LCSW, Director; Ashley Ramos, M.Ed., Advisor; Brianna Gomez, M.Ed., Advisor; and Rachel Goold, M.S, Advisor, give an overview of the services provided by USC Support & Advocacy. Click here to view the slide presentation in PDF format.
Qualtrics 101: Data Collection in the Second Language Classroom
Assistant Professor (Teaching) Carolina Castillo Larrea discusses her recent research project which uses Qualtrics to collect student data in the second-language classroom. Click here to view the video of the presentation and here to view the slide presentation in PDF format.
¡A jugar! Using Games and Competition in the Classroom
Assistant Professor (Teaching) Martín Ocón Gamarra from the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures explains how to incorporate online tools and applications to foster a fun and competitive atmosphere to enhance language instruction. Click here to view the slide presentation in PDF format and click here to view the video of the presentation.
Improving Text Type and Accuracy in Second- and Third-Semester Spanish
Associate Professor (Teaching) Liana Stepanyan and Senior Lecturer Mercedes Fages Agudo recommend strategies on how to improve students’ written textual complexity. Click here to view the slide presentation in PDF format and click here to view the video of the presentation.