Community Based Learning - LATN 102 - S22

Overiew

Our course will explore how engaging with Latin as a historical language can offer new perspectives on the ancient world, the way we view ourselves and our society, and the construction of structures of power over time. A central component of our mission is weekly engagement with the three local afterschool programs where you will teach Latin. This engagement will be run in conjunction with the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning. Between travel and teaching, you should anticipate spending roughly two hours per week working with the students, beginning in October (the scheduling will be done in conjunction with the CBL office).

In addition to the time you spend on site, we will have a weekly practicum section, run by TA (a former 101/102 student), in which you will have time to prepare and plan for your teaching as well as discuss and reflect on your CBL experience.

Practicum Expectations

Each weekly practicum will follow a set format. At the beginning of the class, students will break up into site groups. Each site group in the practicum will be responsible for creating one activity for the week to supplement the books that we are going to be using with the students. The activity should introduce students to the way that the Latin language works, exposing them to different points of grammar (e.g. inflection based on number or usage in the sentence) as well as a broad range of vocabulary (e.g. names of different animals, colors, and numbers). Consequently, as a part of creating the activity, you will supply the basic grammatical information (examples of changing verb number) and/or the vocabulary necessary to complete it. You will be allotted 30 minutes to complete the activity and the last 20 minutes of class will be dedicated to sharing your activity with your classmates and getting feedback from them on ways to make your assignment more engaging. At the end of the class, you will upload your activity to our shared Google Drive.

Alternative CBL

Alternative CBL students will have two main projects this semester. The first project is to craft a coherent, detailed proposal for the Marshall grant. Please revisit the Marshall decision letter from last semester, which provides specific guidance about how to improve the proposal. The due date for the application is Thursday, March 3. Everyone is responsible for the success of the application, but in an effort to distribute the efforts, we have broken down the process for you: the Monday at 4:45 group is responsible for drafting, distributing, and then analyzing a Google form that surveys all of the CBL students for information about the needs at City View, Worcester East, and Marie Anne. The Monday at 6 pm group will take the lead on the budget – identifying the most important needs, designing their distribution across sites, researching cost and where to buy it, and putting all of that information together in an easy-to-understand format. The Tuesday at 8 am group (the largest group) is responsible for the final write-up. The survey information needs to be gathered by Feb. 18; the budget information should be completed by Feb. 25, and then the final proposal must go to the CBL office by March 3. While one group is taking the lead on each stage, information must be shared among all alternative CBL students so that they can prepare in advance.

The second project will involve compiling a selection of activities developed by your classmates to supplement the provided Latin curriculum. The goal is to create an accompanying booklet that can be used next year in CBL as well. We will provide more details about this project after break.

Schedule

You will have signed up for one of the three following practicum sections when you signed up for the course:

  • Monday, 4:45-5:35 PM (Stein 301)
  • Monday, 6:00-6:50 PM (Stein 301)
  • Tuesday, 8:00-8:50 AM (Stein 301)

Week 1 (1/30; 1/31)

 

  • Session sign-ups

Week 2 (2/7; 2/8)

 

  • No practicum meetings
  • Meet and greet with WPS students at scheduled time
  • Discussion with Maia Lee Chin (2/8; 7:30 PM)

Week 3 (2/14; 2/15)

 

  • First full teaching week with WPS students

Week 4 (2/21; 2/22)

 

  • No practicum meetings
  • WPS closed for February break
  • TEP representative to visit practicum (time, date, and location TBD)