Undergraduate TLO Awards Round 5

Summer 2010  -  Summer 2011
 | Expand All
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Biernacki, Krzysztof UNF Opera Presents "Magic Flute" in Czech Republic

The proposed program will provide the students the students with transformational experience of staging and performing a complete opera production at the professional European opera theater with a professional orchestra in an authentic historical and musical setting.  The UNF Opera Ensemble has been invited to participate in the European Music Academy in Czech Republic for the summer 2010 program, which will include the complete performance of two opera productions including “Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart and “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini. To ensure successful performance and interpretation of the opera, the entire learning experience will continue through fall and spring semesters at UNF including additional rehearsals during summer A in 2010. The preparatory learning experience will consist of music rehearsals, language coaching and preliminary staging of the opera. Actual stay in Czech Republic will last approximately 20-26 days during which students will stage and workshop the production with a professional opera conductor and stage director, they will participate in voice master-classes, German diction coaching, and perform additional concert of opera arias and ensembles accompanied by a professional philharmonic orchestra. All performances will be accompanied by the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Categories:

Field Experience, International
Brock, Gordon UNF Wind Symphony Performance Tour: Carnegie Hall, Excellence in Education Concert Series

The UNF Wind Symphony (formerly known as Wind Ensemble) has again been selected to perform on the Distinguished Concerts International New York City, Excellence in EducationConcert Series. Concert venues include two possibilities, Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. In terms of preparation, we are in the process of selecting repertoire that might be suitable for such a venue. Our rehearsals are scheduled MW from 1:00-2:50 pm every semester. Generally, we would begin dedicating specific rehearsal time of the program repertoire for a performance in the spring of 2011, during the 2010 fall semester up until the actual performance date.

Categories:

Field Experience
Brown, Chris Engineering Field Camp: A Transformative Field Practicum Focused on Hands-on Learning and Sustainable Design

This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide 15 students enrolled in CGN 3930, Engineering Field Camp, opportunities to engage in direct field experience in the magnificent natural setting of the American Southwest during the Summer B 2010 session.  Engineering Field Camp is designed as an intensive, active-learning 40-hour field course where students, organized into 3-person teams, are immersed in an unfamiliar and sensitive natural environment where sustainable design practices are critical. Over a 3-week period students will participate in 7 field trips to an array of engineering projects focused upon sub-disciplines within civil engineering.  Project sites to be visited include Glen Canyon Dam and the Navajo Generating Station among others.  A sampling of planned exercises includes field mapping, geologic assessment, and stream flow measurement.  The course will also include a special service-learning trip to Walnut Canyon National Monument to assist with the archeological/environmental mapping of ancient Anasazi Indian ruins working along-side researchers from the Museum of Northern Arizona.  Lastly, students will visit three National Parks in the region, including Grand Canyon, in order to understand and reflect upon the unique environmental setting for the projects visited.

Categories:

Field Experience
Bruey, Alison Community Challenges in Latin America: Guatemala Past & Present

 This TLO is a six-week community-based learning experience: three weeks at UNF, and three weeks of in-country study and internship in
Antigua, Guatemala. In Guatemala, students will live in small groups with Guatemalan families, in family-run student housing that includes room and board. Students will take courses for UNF credit at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Meso América (CIRMA), a research institute and non-profit institution. Students will enroll in two 3-credit courses: “Guatemalan History and Culture: Communities in Peace and Conflict,” and “Social Movements and Community Action in Modern Latin America.” Both courses revolve around community-based internships. Students will be placed according to their interests, local need, and language ability (none is required) in local community organizations. There, they will work side by side with their Guatemalan contemporaries to address issues of importance to the local community, primarily in the areas of education, health, and poverty.

Categories:

International, Service Learning
David, Gigi, Hall, Katrina and Williams Lunetta ABC Literacy -- Arts, Books, Community: Enhancing the Home Learning Environment of Underserved Children to Promote Literacy and School Success

This six-week family arts-based literacy project will address that need and allow UNF education majors the opportunity to partner with families in authentic learning activities.  At the project’s onset, leaders will escort UNF students on a guided tour of the urban school neighborhood, followed by a discussion on assumptions and beliefs regarding poverty and diverse cultures. The discussion will be revisited at the end of the 6 weeks. UNF students will implement a series of six weekly family gatherings at Woodland Acres. The sessions will include three parts. Caregivers of underserved kindergarten students will share a meal with each other and UNF students to build social networks and develop community. After the meal, UNF students will work with caregivers on dialogic reading (a child-led style of reading aloud) accompanied by an arts-based literacy activity. Caregivers will receive a copy of the books shared, with question prompts and activities for working with their child at home. At the same time, children will gather in a separate room to share a meal with classmates and UNF students.  Following dinner, UNF students will read aloud to small groups of children using a dialogic reading style. Then, the children will rotate through arts-based literacy centers with activities that extend the picture book that was shared.  In the last segment of each session, caregivers and children will work together to create art. In week 6, caregivers, children, and UNF students will create collaborative artwork, to be displayed in an Art Exhibit at UNF. The Exhibit will serve as documentation of the learning process of caregivers, children, professors and UNF students.

Categories:

Field Experience, Service Learning
de Jong, Pieter and Haney, Mitchell In Search of Business Ethics: International Evidence

We propose a study abroad course to Germany that will focus on the international differences in business ethics via collaborative student research. The course will form international student groups with students from UNF and Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS), a peer institution from Germany, and instruct students in the business cultures and business ethics. Additionally, student will be instructed in data gathering techniques to examine the differences in business ethics. The course has the following components: Before the trip students will attend lectures on business ethics, general country customs and background information. During the development of research topics, students will communicate with their counterparts in Germany via email and Blackboard to form international research groups. Students will during this stage form interesting research questions and create survey instruments for data collection purposes. Students will then participate in field study and data collection for 10 days in March 2011. Students will meet business leaders and their counterparts to discuss their research in more detail. They will also visit the historical sites and experience many aspects of the local life. Upon their return from Germany, students will conduct data analysis, and give group project reports and final presentations. Students will present their findings during the class and report their outcomes with their international collaborators.

Categories:

International
El-Safty, Adel UNF Collaboration with Engineering Firms

This proposal is for a course addressing the restoration of structures and writing reports. This proposal introduces the restoration topic to UNF students where they will interact with local firms to learn the performed design, construction, field application and inspection. That helps familiarize the students with the real world application and processes employed by the local industry, identifying a technical problem, and offering a solution. In this project, collaboration with the industry will be conducted to investigate defected structures (including bridges and buildings). That comprehensive industrial exposure will augment the theory taught in courses and will deepen students’ understanding of the real world applications. The Co-PI, Marcia Ladendorff, will also improve students' communication skills (oral and written) through presentations and reports.

Categories:

Field Experience
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study Abroad

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required).  Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for.  If a scholarship recipient does not participate in the identified study abroad activity, he/she will be required to return the scholarship funds.  Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II.  A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or Chinese, on a funds-available basis. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Fullerton, Elizabeth EDC 4905: Inclusive Education Experience in Cuzco, Peru

This TLO proposal is for ten COEHS students to gain an international experience during their teacher preparation training. Students who desire an international experience will travel to Cuzco, Peru for twelve days to work in inclusive (teaching children with disabilities and those without together) classrooms. This experience is available to all qualified education majors at the primary, elementary, middle grades, secondary and special education levels. The students will spend five school days at Colegio Pukllasunchis. Pukllasunchis. Students will become acquainted with an inclusive educational setting available to students in the Andean region of Peru. The UNF students will have hands-on experience with an innovative curriculum. In addition, UNF students will spend time each day writing in reflective journals and sharing their reflections with fellow UNF students. The students will also spend two weekends on cultural experiences outside of the classroom. The first weekend will be spent exploring Cuzco, with a local guide, and visiting a newly uncovered Incan ruin, Ollantaytambo. The second and final weekend will be spent on an overnight excursion to Aquas Calientes and Machu Picchu--The Lost Citadel of the Incas.

Categories:

Field Experience, International
Gabbard, Chris Cultural Disability Studies: A TLO Course

This community-based TLO will combine study of the cultural portrayal of the disabled with 10 weeks of volunteer work (two hours per week) for a total of 20 hours at one of two sites: Hope Haven and the Mt. Herman Exceptional Student Center, both in Jacksonville. Each student will receive funding to cover expenses for travel and possibly for the cost of security checks. Mt. Herman is 12.5 miles from UNF; Hope Haven slightly less. Students will volunteer at times that accommodate both their own schedules and Mt. Herman’s / Hope Haven’s needs. The TLO will be conducted in conjunction with a literature course (either LIT 4931 or 4093) that will meet for a 75-minute session two days per week. This TLO is open to all undergraduate majors but especially those in Health, Education
(Spec. Ed), Political Science, Public Administration, English, History, and Philosophy

Categories:

Service Learning
Ibañez, Nuria Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria

This Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria in Santander offers students the opportunity to study language and culture at one of the 15 top universities in Spain as defined by the Spanish government.  UNF students will enroll in an intensive language course focusing on spoken and written Spanish.  The students benefit from a rigorous academic program while they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture, and to travel on their own.  The students receive over 60 hours of instruction from University of Cantabria teachers.  Dr. Ibanez will teach a six-week course focused on Spain, Cantabria and Santander in order to ensure a comprehensive cultural experience.  As part of the culture course, students will travel with me to Burgos and Valladolid in order to view firsthand examples of art and architecture studied in the course.

Categories:

International
Johnson, Chris Organic Gardening at the Clara White Mission for the Homeless

This multidisciplinary, community based TLO offers undergraduate students the opportunity to learn about the problem of poverty and homelessness through a partnership with the Clara White Mission for the Homeless (located in downtown Jacksonville). Students will design and implement an organic garden in connection with the Culinary training program offered by Clara White.  As a part of its efforts to assist the homeless population, Clara White’s Culinary training program helps participants prepare for a successful career in that industry.  This TLO will involve UNF students interacting with Clara White program participants as they implement a model organic garden and develop a detailed plan of how the Clara White Mission could implement organic gardening on a larger scale.

Categories:

Service Learning
Joyce, Christopher and Boling, Michelle Expanding the Vision of Athletic Training

Athletic training students will travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL to gain a new perspective on a unique career setting in athletic training. This opportunity will also challenge their knowledge of clinical evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and conditions suffered by physically active individuals. While at the Space Center, students will tour the health facilities and hear from athletic trainers and other health professionals working at the space center. For example, athletic trainers who work at the Kennedy Space Center provide a very unique perspective on duties as an athletic trainer. This opportunity will provide an invaluable experience to athletic training students to broaden their view of career settings for athletic trainers and also will challenge their knowledge on prevention, evaluation, and treatment of injuries related to physical activity. When on a space mission, astronauts are placed in an environment with little to no gravity (non-weight bearing), therefore, this places a challenge on athletic trainers to develop different methods for treating and rehabilitating injuries. Athletic training students at the University of North Florida apply their knowledge in a clinical setting every day, however this provides a very unique clinical setting in which they could gain a totally different perspective on treating and evaluating injuries.

Categories:

Field Experience
Ladendorff, Marcia The Ghana Project

The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 21-day trip to apply what they have learned. In 2011, we plan to refine our approach to the community-based transformative learning component by bringing all disciplines together on a single project.  Working with the Ho Municipal Civic Union in 2009, we were introduced to a small community that primarily houses people cured of leprosy who, as a result of the disease, have challenges deeply rooted in a cultural stigma attached to the disease that negatively impact their quality of life.  Members of the Ho Civic Union (CU) want to address these challenges.  Initial ideas are to correct infrastructure needs, collect, organize and update health records and create a public education campaign to combat the stigma attached to cured lepers, encouraging the larger community to support people disabled by leprosy.  This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience.

Categories:

International, Service Learning
Leone, Christopher and Hawkins, LouAnne Scientist or Practitioner: Discerning My Place in Psychology Through Engagement in My Community

The proposed TLO will give students the opportunity to participate in research while at the same time participating in a practicum as a trained peer counselor. The highlight of this TLO experience will be students’ engagement with clients as professionally trained peer counselors (under the direct supervision of agency staff) and their engagement with clients as trained researchers in psychology (under the direct supervision of faculty) in an agency serving the needs of women – the Women’s Help Center. Students will work collaboratively with agency officials and faculty mentors to develop shared academic and agency descriptions of problems to be addressed, solutions to be applied, and activities that constitute success. Students will at minimum be expected to be actively engaged in research and/or counseling 10 hours each week for which they are registered – half in counseling and half in research. Students will also be expected to participate in weekly group meetings. During group meetings, faculty mentors will facilitate discussions by students about the skills they have acquired, the insights they have gained about themselves, the perceptions they have developed about the field of psychology, and their perceptions about their roles as stewards of their community.

Categories:

Service Learning
Lupi, Marsha Creating Transformational Learning Opportunities: Student Teaching in Plymouth, England

The foundational principles for this project are based upon the reality that North Florida’s schools are becoming more diverse; our K-12 classrooms are increasingly populated with students from many different cultures. To be pedagogically effective, teachers must develop a greater understanding of culturally-based learning styles. A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in diverse elementary, special or secondary education classrooms. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. They will practice teach and receive feedback from both their UK teacher and the UNF faculty supervisor. Also, they will attend seminars with home and host faculty at the University College, Plymouth (UCP).  This experience also offers our students’ many scenic and historical opportunities including a trip into London.

Categories:

Field Experience, International
Michelman, Jeff Semester Study Abroad

This proposal is aimed at funding 25 semester study abroad students. Over the past 6 years 18 students on average have participated in Coggin Semester Study Abroad with an average of 27 per year for the past two years. All undergraduate students participating in study abroad will be given a scholarship on a first-come-first served basis. Because students must have a minimum GPA to sign up this is a reasonable hurdle for all students who wish to participate. Students must spend the semester abroad and take a minimum of 12 credit hours. Although Coggin has designed faculty lead and summer programs to offer students (those who largely have jobs and families) we believe that the most transformation experience a student can have is when they go away for an entire semester, take classes and live with foreign students. This experience of being independent, at one of our exchange partners, sometimes taking classes in a foreign language or taking language classes, allows students to experience a truly transformational opportunity.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Pyati, Radha St. Johns River TLO

Students will prepare for a spring immersion experience on the St. Johns River by working with faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the spring semester.  Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break, 2011.  The faculty mentor will be responsible for guiding the development of a project worthy of one academic credit (to be awarded at the conclusion of the spring 2011 term) and will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project.  A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc.  The students will be on a houseboat for 8 continuous days primarily in the middle portion of the St. Johns River.  They will visit state parks, springs, tributaries, and other points of natural significance and interact with authors, historians, scientists, engineers, artists, and musicians about the river and its people. An important feature of the student-designed projects is that they must be shared with the other students on the trip, a Project-Based Educational (PBE) approach.

Categories:

Field Experience
Radjenovic, Doreen State of the Science: Southern Nursing Research Society 2011 Annual Research Conference

A core competency for undergraduate nursing students is the critical appraisal of evidence in the form of original research reports, systematic research reviews, and data-based clinical practice guidelines. In February 2011, the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) will convene in Jacksonville, Florida; the first occurrence of this meeting in our city. A unique transformative learning opportunity is available for a substantive number of UNF nursing students with the potential to extend their learning about nursing science from the classroom to active participation in a regional discipline-specific research conference. The purpose of this TLO is to provide support for junior-level baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in the two-credit course NUR3167 Nursing Science II to attend the three-day SNRS 2011 Annual Conference and complete course-related learning activities. During the SNRS meeting, students will have the opportunity to view data-based podium and poster presentations by expert nurse researchers from across the southern region and demonstrate in written assignments their ability to critically appraise the sessions they attend.

Categories:

Field Experience
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF exchange program, a UNF-connected program, and/or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other programs may be supported, on a funds-available basis, if approved by the UNF International center and by UNF academic advisors for credit transfer. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (the majority will be semester in length based on 2009-2010 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity (10 awards); the latter for a semester or longer study activity (15 awards).

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Ross, Cliff Impacts of Environmental Stressors on Tropical Coral Reefs

This TLO describes a 2-credit, direct independent study course that will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands on experience working with coral reef biology and physiology. The basis for this research opportunity is to work with the understudied, yet extremely important, larval phase using the coral Porites astreoides as a model system. Based upon previous research by the principle investigator, it has been determined that P. astreoides releases its larvae on the new moon of every May. This narrow window (May 3, 2011 ±3 days) dictates the timely offering of this proposed TLO (Total: 2 week duration). Days 1-10 will be designated for the field component of this project (sample collection and experimental set up). Days 11-14 will be used for laboratory analysis of the specimens at UNF (laboratory of Cliff Ross). The field component of this research will take place at Mote Marine Tropical Laboratory (http://isurus.mote.org/Keys/), a fully equipped marine science facility dedicated to marine research, education and conservation. The facility is located within easy access to a variety of coral reef habitats. UNF students will be involved in all aspects of this project including adult coral collection, larvae maintenance, experimental setup, and data collection and analysis.

Categories:

Undergraduate Research
Schwam-Baird, Shira French Language Study Abroad Program in Strasbourg, France

The Strasbourg French language and culture study abroad program has been in existence for eleven years, and is a true immersion experience for the students.
The program consists of five weeks in France during which the UNF students have French classes 15 hours a week (total 60 contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. They live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom, and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days as they navigate the city independently on foot and on public transportation (and most travel outside the city is by train).

 

Dr. Schwam- Baird teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conducts their many excursions—short afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris (total about 80 contact hours including the excursions).

Categories:

International
Smith, Kelly Identification and Management of Coastal Resources

The Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) has an ongoing a monitoring effort for water quality and fish habitat use within the northern range of the preserve.  TLO students will participate in the monitoring, and conduct additional studies to enhance the current program.  The Jacksonville field office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) is sampling fish populations monthly using haul seines at the GTMNERR.  Students will use data from the dataloggers as background environmental information. Students will continue the FWRI sampling methods independently, and initiate intensive sampling efforts specifically examining day/night and tidal differences in fish composition. The TLO will be a semester-long course worth 3 credit hours that will involve a weekly meeting of 6 hours, divided between discussions in the environmental center at GTMNERR and field activities.  There will be two intensive sampling weekends set aside where students would be divided into teams to looks at 24 hour habitat use patterns.  Teams would take turns sampling every 6 hours at two locations above the dam and two locations below the dam, recording fish identifications and numbers as well as water quality parameters.  All information will be used to provide talking points for a public workshop led by the students bringing together various stakeholders of the GTMNERR.

Categories:

Undergraduate Research
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation.  Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from program-specific TLO funding.  Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are undertaking semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive.  This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for International Studies majors enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program during 2010-2011.  Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF’s International Center to qualify for funding.  Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Zeiser, Pamela UNF Model United Nations

TLO support is sought for the UNF Model UN team to attend one conference/competition during 2010-2011: New York, NY.  Model UN is an intercollegiate simulation of the UN, intended to educate students about the operations and goals of the UN. In conferences, students study different perspectives of international politics and worldwide problems such as ethnic conflict, hunger, disease, and climate change. Attendance at this Conference will also allow the UNF team to take an in-depth tour of the United Nations, meet with distinguished diplomats, meet with representatives of their assigned countries’ embassies and meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The University of North Florida Model United Nations team delegates will prepare for the conferences throughout the year.  Bi-weekly meetings will be held approximately one month before conferences, encompassing about two hours of discussion and preparation regarding committee procedures, communication enhancement, and critical thinking. Additional meetings will be held for researching the assigned country position and the topics provided.

Categories:

Field Experience
   
Directed Independent Study
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study Abroad

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required).  Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for.  If a scholarship recipient does not participate in the identified study abroad activity, he/she will be required to return the scholarship funds.  Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II.  A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or Chinese, on a funds-available basis. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award.

Michelman, Jeff Semester Study Abroad

This proposal is aimed at funding 25 semester study abroad students. Over the past 6 years 18 students on average have participated in Coggin Semester Study Abroad with an average of 27 per year for the past two years. All undergraduate students participating in study abroad will be given a scholarship on a first-come-first served basis. Because students must have a minimum GPA to sign up this is a reasonable hurdle for all students who wish to participate. Students must spend the semester abroad and take a minimum of 12 credit hours. Although Coggin has designed faculty lead and summer programs to offer students (those who largely have jobs and families) we believe that the most transformation experience a student can have is when they go away for an entire semester, take classes and live with foreign students. This experience of being independent, at one of our exchange partners, sometimes taking classes in a foreign language or taking language classes, allows students to experience a truly transformational opportunity.
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF exchange program, a UNF-connected program, and/or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other programs may be supported, on a funds-available basis, if approved by the UNF International center and by UNF academic advisors for credit transfer. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (the majority will be semester in length based on 2009-2010 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity (10 awards); the latter for a semester or longer study activity (15 awards).
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation.  Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from program-specific TLO funding.  Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are undertaking semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive.  This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for International Studies majors enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program during 2010-2011.  Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF’s International Center to qualify for funding.  Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.
Field Experience
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Biernacki, Krzysztof UNF Opera Presents "Magic Flute" in Czech Republic

The proposed program will provide the students the students with transformational experience of staging and performing a complete opera production at the professional European opera theater with a professional orchestra in an authentic historical and musical setting.  The UNF Opera Ensemble has been invited to participate in the European Music Academy in Czech Republic for the summer 2010 program, which will include the complete performance of two opera productions including “Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart and “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini. To ensure successful performance and interpretation of the opera, the entire learning experience will continue through fall and spring semesters at UNF including additional rehearsals during summer A in 2010. The preparatory learning experience will consist of music rehearsals, language coaching and preliminary staging of the opera. Actual stay in Czech Republic will last approximately 20-26 days during which students will stage and workshop the production with a professional opera conductor and stage director, they will participate in voice master-classes, German diction coaching, and perform additional concert of opera arias and ensembles accompanied by a professional philharmonic orchestra. All performances will be accompanied by the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
Brock, Gordon UNF Wind Symphony Performance Tour: Carnegie Hall, Excellence in Education Concert Series

The UNF Wind Symphony (formerly known as Wind Ensemble) has again been selected to perform on the Distinguished Concerts International New York City, Excellence in EducationConcert Series. Concert venues include two possibilities, Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. In terms of preparation, we are in the process of selecting repertoire that might be suitable for such a venue. Our rehearsals are scheduled MW from 1:00-2:50 pm every semester. Generally, we would begin dedicating specific rehearsal time of the program repertoire for a performance in the spring of 2011, during the 2010 fall semester up until the actual performance date.
Brown, Chris Engineering Field Camp: A Transformative Field Practicum Focused on Hands-on Learning and Sustainable Design

This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide 15 students enrolled in CGN 3930, Engineering Field Camp, opportunities to engage in direct field experience in the magnificent natural setting of the American Southwest during the Summer B 2010 session.  Engineering Field Camp is designed as an intensive, active-learning 40-hour field course where students, organized into 3-person teams, are immersed in an unfamiliar and sensitive natural environment where sustainable design practices are critical. Over a 3-week period students will participate in 7 field trips to an array of engineering projects focused upon sub-disciplines within civil engineering.  Project sites to be visited include Glen Canyon Dam and the Navajo Generating Station among others.  A sampling of planned exercises includes field mapping, geologic assessment, and stream flow measurement.  The course will also include a special service-learning trip to Walnut Canyon National Monument to assist with the archeological/environmental mapping of ancient Anasazi Indian ruins working along-side researchers from the Museum of Northern Arizona.  Lastly, students will visit three National Parks in the region, including Grand Canyon, in order to understand and reflect upon the unique environmental setting for the projects visited.
David, Gigi, Hall, Katrina and Williams Lunetta ABC Literacy -- Arts, Books, Community: Enhancing the Home Learning Environment of Underserved Children to Promote Literacy and School Success

This six-week family arts-based literacy project will address that need and allow UNF education majors the opportunity to partner with families in authentic learning activities.  At the project’s onset, leaders will escort UNF students on a guided tour of the urban school neighborhood, followed by a discussion on assumptions and beliefs regarding poverty and diverse cultures. The discussion will be revisited at the end of the 6 weeks. UNF students will implement a series of six weekly family gatherings at Woodland Acres. The sessions will include three parts. Caregivers of underserved kindergarten students will share a meal with each other and UNF students to build social networks and develop community. After the meal, UNF students will work with caregivers on dialogic reading (a child-led style of reading aloud) accompanied by an arts-based literacy activity. Caregivers will receive a copy of the books shared, with question prompts and activities for working with their child at home. At the same time, children will gather in a separate room to share a meal with classmates and UNF students.  Following dinner, UNF students will read aloud to small groups of children using a dialogic reading style. Then, the children will rotate through arts-based literacy centers with activities that extend the picture book that was shared.  In the last segment of each session, caregivers and children will work together to create art. In week 6, caregivers, children, and UNF students will create collaborative artwork, to be displayed in an Art Exhibit at UNF. The Exhibit will serve as documentation of the learning process of caregivers, children, professors and UNF students.
El-Safty, Adel UNF Collaboration with Engineering Firms

This proposal is for a course addressing the restoration of structures and writing reports. This proposal introduces the restoration topic to UNF students where they will interact with local firms to learn the performed design, construction, field application and inspection. That helps familiarize the students with the real world application and processes employed by the local industry, identifying a technical problem, and offering a solution. In this project, collaboration with the industry will be conducted to investigate defected structures (including bridges and buildings). That comprehensive industrial exposure will augment the theory taught in courses and will deepen students’ understanding of the real world applications. The Co-PI, Marcia Ladendorff, will also improve students' communication skills (oral and written) through presentations and reports.
Fullerton, Elizabeth EDC 4905: Inclusive Education Experience in Cuzco, Peru

This TLO proposal is for ten COEHS students to gain an international experience during their teacher preparation training. Students who desire an international experience will travel to Cuzco, Peru for twelve days to work in inclusive (teaching children with disabilities and those without together) classrooms. This experience is available to all qualified education majors at the primary, elementary, middle grades, secondary and special education levels. The students will spend five school days at Colegio Pukllasunchis. Pukllasunchis. Students will become acquainted with an inclusive educational setting available to students in the Andean region of Peru. The UNF students will have hands-on experience with an innovative curriculum. In addition, UNF students will spend time each day writing in reflective journals and sharing their reflections with fellow UNF students. The students will also spend two weekends on cultural experiences outside of the classroom. The first weekend will be spent exploring Cuzco, with a local guide, and visiting a newly uncovered Incan ruin, Ollantaytambo. The second and final weekend will be spent on an overnight excursion to Aquas Calientes and Machu Picchu--The Lost Citadel of the Incas.
Joyce, Christopher and Boling, Michelle Expanding the Vision of Athletic Training

Athletic training students will travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL to gain a new perspective on a unique career setting in athletic training. This opportunity will also challenge their knowledge of clinical evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and conditions suffered by physically active individuals. While at the Space Center, students will tour the health facilities and hear from athletic trainers and other health professionals working at the space center. For example, athletic trainers who work at the Kennedy Space Center provide a very unique perspective on duties as an athletic trainer. This opportunity will provide an invaluable experience to athletic training students to broaden their view of career settings for athletic trainers and also will challenge their knowledge on prevention, evaluation, and treatment of injuries related to physical activity. When on a space mission, astronauts are placed in an environment with little to no gravity (non-weight bearing), therefore, this places a challenge on athletic trainers to develop different methods for treating and rehabilitating injuries. Athletic training students at the University of North Florida apply their knowledge in a clinical setting every day, however this provides a very unique clinical setting in which they could gain a totally different perspective on treating and evaluating injuries.
Lupi, Marsha Creating Transformational Learning Opportunities: Student Teaching in Plymouth, England

The foundational principles for this project are based upon the reality that North Florida’s schools are becoming more diverse; our K-12 classrooms are increasingly populated with students from many different cultures. To be pedagogically effective, teachers must develop a greater understanding of culturally-based learning styles. A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in diverse elementary, special or secondary education classrooms. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. They will practice teach and receive feedback from both their UK teacher and the UNF faculty supervisor. Also, they will attend seminars with home and host faculty at the University College, Plymouth (UCP).  This experience also offers our students’ many scenic and historical opportunities including a trip into London.
Pyati, Radha St. Johns River TLO

Students will prepare for a spring immersion experience on the St. Johns River by working with faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the spring semester.  Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break, 2011.  The faculty mentor will be responsible for guiding the development of a project worthy of one academic credit (to be awarded at the conclusion of the spring 2011 term) and will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project.  A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc.  The students will be on a houseboat for 8 continuous days primarily in the middle portion of the St. Johns River.  They will visit state parks, springs, tributaries, and other points of natural significance and interact with authors, historians, scientists, engineers, artists, and musicians about the river and its people. An important feature of the student-designed projects is that they must be shared with the other students on the trip, a Project-Based Educational (PBE) approach.
Radjenovic, Doreen State of the Science: Southern Nursing Research Society 2011 Annual Research Conference

A core competency for undergraduate nursing students is the critical appraisal of evidence in the form of original research reports, systematic research reviews, and data-based clinical practice guidelines. In February 2011, the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) will convene in Jacksonville, Florida; the first occurrence of this meeting in our city. A unique transformative learning opportunity is available for a substantive number of UNF nursing students with the potential to extend their learning about nursing science from the classroom to active participation in a regional discipline-specific research conference. The purpose of this TLO is to provide support for junior-level baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in the two-credit course NUR3167 Nursing Science II to attend the three-day SNRS 2011 Annual Conference and complete course-related learning activities. During the SNRS meeting, students will have the opportunity to view data-based podium and poster presentations by expert nurse researchers from across the southern region and demonstrate in written assignments their ability to critically appraise the sessions they attend.
Zeiser, Pamela UNF Model United Nations

TLO support is sought for the UNF Model UN team to attend one conference/competition during 2010-2011: New York, NY.  Model UN is an intercollegiate simulation of the UN, intended to educate students about the operations and goals of the UN. In conferences, students study different perspectives of international politics and worldwide problems such as ethnic conflict, hunger, disease, and climate change. Attendance at this Conference will also allow the UNF team to take an in-depth tour of the United Nations, meet with distinguished diplomats, meet with representatives of their assigned countries’ embassies and meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The University of North Florida Model United Nations team delegates will prepare for the conferences throughout the year.  Bi-weekly meetings will be held approximately one month before conferences, encompassing about two hours of discussion and preparation regarding committee procedures, communication enhancement, and critical thinking. Additional meetings will be held for researching the assigned country position and the topics provided.
International
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Biernacki, Krzysztof UNF Opera Presents "Magic Flute" in Czech Republic

The proposed program will provide the students the students with transformational experience of staging and performing a complete opera production at the professional European opera theater with a professional orchestra in an authentic historical and musical setting.  The UNF Opera Ensemble has been invited to participate in the European Music Academy in Czech Republic for the summer 2010 program, which will include the complete performance of two opera productions including “Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart and “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini. To ensure successful performance and interpretation of the opera, the entire learning experience will continue through fall and spring semesters at UNF including additional rehearsals during summer A in 2010. The preparatory learning experience will consist of music rehearsals, language coaching and preliminary staging of the opera. Actual stay in Czech Republic will last approximately 20-26 days during which students will stage and workshop the production with a professional opera conductor and stage director, they will participate in voice master-classes, German diction coaching, and perform additional concert of opera arias and ensembles accompanied by a professional philharmonic orchestra. All performances will be accompanied by the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
Bruey, Alison Community Challenges in Latin America: Guatemala Past & Present

 This TLO is a six-week community-based learning experience: three weeks at UNF, and three weeks of in-country study and internship in
Antigua, Guatemala. In Guatemala, students will live in small groups with Guatemalan families, in family-run student housing that includes room and board. Students will take courses for UNF credit at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Meso América (CIRMA), a research institute and non-profit institution. Students will enroll in two 3-credit courses: “Guatemalan History and Culture: Communities in Peace and Conflict,” and “Social Movements and Community Action in Modern Latin America.” Both courses revolve around community-based internships. Students will be placed according to their interests, local need, and language ability (none is required) in local community organizations. There, they will work side by side with their Guatemalan contemporaries to address issues of importance to the local community, primarily in the areas of education, health, and poverty.
de Jong, Pieter and Haney, Mitchell In Search of Business Ethics: International Evidence

We propose a study abroad course to Germany that will focus on the international differences in business ethics via collaborative student research. The course will form international student groups with students from UNF and Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS), a peer institution from Germany, and instruct students in the business cultures and business ethics. Additionally, student will be instructed in data gathering techniques to examine the differences in business ethics. The course has the following components: Before the trip students will attend lectures on business ethics, general country customs and background information. During the development of research topics, students will communicate with their counterparts in Germany via email and Blackboard to form international research groups. Students will during this stage form interesting research questions and create survey instruments for data collection purposes. Students will then participate in field study and data collection for 10 days in March 2011. Students will meet business leaders and their counterparts to discuss their research in more detail. They will also visit the historical sites and experience many aspects of the local life. Upon their return from Germany, students will conduct data analysis, and give group project reports and final presentations. Students will present their findings during the class and report their outcomes with their international collaborators.
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study Abroad

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required).  Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for.  If a scholarship recipient does not participate in the identified study abroad activity, he/she will be required to return the scholarship funds.  Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II.  A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or Chinese, on a funds-available basis. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award.

Fullerton, Elizabeth EDC 4905: Inclusive Education Experience in Cuzco, Peru

This TLO proposal is for ten COEHS students to gain an international experience during their teacher preparation training. Students who desire an international experience will travel to Cuzco, Peru for twelve days to work in inclusive (teaching children with disabilities and those without together) classrooms. This experience is available to all qualified education majors at the primary, elementary, middle grades, secondary and special education levels. The students will spend five school days at Colegio Pukllasunchis. Pukllasunchis. Students will become acquainted with an inclusive educational setting available to students in the Andean region of Peru. The UNF students will have hands-on experience with an innovative curriculum. In addition, UNF students will spend time each day writing in reflective journals and sharing their reflections with fellow UNF students. The students will also spend two weekends on cultural experiences outside of the classroom. The first weekend will be spent exploring Cuzco, with a local guide, and visiting a newly uncovered Incan ruin, Ollantaytambo. The second and final weekend will be spent on an overnight excursion to Aquas Calientes and Machu Picchu--The Lost Citadel of the Incas.
Ibañez, Nuria Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria

This Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria in Santander offers students the opportunity to study language and culture at one of the 15 top universities in Spain as defined by the Spanish government.  UNF students will enroll in an intensive language course focusing on spoken and written Spanish.  The students benefit from a rigorous academic program while they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture, and to travel on their own.  The students receive over 60 hours of instruction from University of Cantabria teachers.  Dr. Ibanez will teach a six-week course focused on Spain, Cantabria and Santander in order to ensure a comprehensive cultural experience.  As part of the culture course, students will travel with me to Burgos and Valladolid in order to view firsthand examples of art and architecture studied in the course.
Ladendorff, Marcia The Ghana Project

The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 21-day trip to apply what they have learned. In 2011, we plan to refine our approach to the community-based transformative learning component by bringing all disciplines together on a single project.  Working with the Ho Municipal Civic Union in 2009, we were introduced to a small community that primarily houses people cured of leprosy who, as a result of the disease, have challenges deeply rooted in a cultural stigma attached to the disease that negatively impact their quality of life.  Members of the Ho Civic Union (CU) want to address these challenges.  Initial ideas are to correct infrastructure needs, collect, organize and update health records and create a public education campaign to combat the stigma attached to cured lepers, encouraging the larger community to support people disabled by leprosy.  This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience.
Lupi, Marsha Creating Transformational Learning Opportunities: Student Teaching in Plymouth, England

The foundational principles for this project are based upon the reality that North Florida’s schools are becoming more diverse; our K-12 classrooms are increasingly populated with students from many different cultures. To be pedagogically effective, teachers must develop a greater understanding of culturally-based learning styles. A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in diverse elementary, special or secondary education classrooms. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. They will practice teach and receive feedback from both their UK teacher and the UNF faculty supervisor. Also, they will attend seminars with home and host faculty at the University College, Plymouth (UCP).  This experience also offers our students’ many scenic and historical opportunities including a trip into London.
Michelman, Jeff Semester Study Abroad

This proposal is aimed at funding 25 semester study abroad students. Over the past 6 years 18 students on average have participated in Coggin Semester Study Abroad with an average of 27 per year for the past two years. All undergraduate students participating in study abroad will be given a scholarship on a first-come-first served basis. Because students must have a minimum GPA to sign up this is a reasonable hurdle for all students who wish to participate. Students must spend the semester abroad and take a minimum of 12 credit hours. Although Coggin has designed faculty lead and summer programs to offer students (those who largely have jobs and families) we believe that the most transformation experience a student can have is when they go away for an entire semester, take classes and live with foreign students. This experience of being independent, at one of our exchange partners, sometimes taking classes in a foreign language or taking language classes, allows students to experience a truly transformational opportunity.
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF exchange program, a UNF-connected program, and/or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other programs may be supported, on a funds-available basis, if approved by the UNF International center and by UNF academic advisors for credit transfer. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (the majority will be semester in length based on 2009-2010 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity (10 awards); the latter for a semester or longer study activity (15 awards).
Schwam-Baird, Shira French Language Study Abroad Program in Strasbourg, France

The Strasbourg French language and culture study abroad program has been in existence for eleven years, and is a true immersion experience for the students.
The program consists of five weeks in France during which the UNF students have French classes 15 hours a week (total 60 contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. They live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom, and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days as they navigate the city independently on foot and on public transportation (and most travel outside the city is by train).

 

Dr. Schwam- Baird teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conducts their many excursions—short afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris (total about 80 contact hours including the excursions).
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation.  Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from program-specific TLO funding.  Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are undertaking semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive.  This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for International Studies majors enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program during 2010-2011.  Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF’s International Center to qualify for funding.  Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.
Service Learning
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Bruey, Alison Community Challenges in Latin America: Guatemala Past & Present

 This TLO is a six-week community-based learning experience: three weeks at UNF, and three weeks of in-country study and internship in
Antigua, Guatemala. In Guatemala, students will live in small groups with Guatemalan families, in family-run student housing that includes room and board. Students will take courses for UNF credit at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Meso América (CIRMA), a research institute and non-profit institution. Students will enroll in two 3-credit courses: “Guatemalan History and Culture: Communities in Peace and Conflict,” and “Social Movements and Community Action in Modern Latin America.” Both courses revolve around community-based internships. Students will be placed according to their interests, local need, and language ability (none is required) in local community organizations. There, they will work side by side with their Guatemalan contemporaries to address issues of importance to the local community, primarily in the areas of education, health, and poverty.
David, Gigi, Hall, Katrina and Williams Lunetta ABC Literacy -- Arts, Books, Community: Enhancing the Home Learning Environment of Underserved Children to Promote Literacy and School Success

This six-week family arts-based literacy project will address that need and allow UNF education majors the opportunity to partner with families in authentic learning activities.  At the project’s onset, leaders will escort UNF students on a guided tour of the urban school neighborhood, followed by a discussion on assumptions and beliefs regarding poverty and diverse cultures. The discussion will be revisited at the end of the 6 weeks. UNF students will implement a series of six weekly family gatherings at Woodland Acres. The sessions will include three parts. Caregivers of underserved kindergarten students will share a meal with each other and UNF students to build social networks and develop community. After the meal, UNF students will work with caregivers on dialogic reading (a child-led style of reading aloud) accompanied by an arts-based literacy activity. Caregivers will receive a copy of the books shared, with question prompts and activities for working with their child at home. At the same time, children will gather in a separate room to share a meal with classmates and UNF students.  Following dinner, UNF students will read aloud to small groups of children using a dialogic reading style. Then, the children will rotate through arts-based literacy centers with activities that extend the picture book that was shared.  In the last segment of each session, caregivers and children will work together to create art. In week 6, caregivers, children, and UNF students will create collaborative artwork, to be displayed in an Art Exhibit at UNF. The Exhibit will serve as documentation of the learning process of caregivers, children, professors and UNF students.
Gabbard, Chris Cultural Disability Studies: A TLO Course

This community-based TLO will combine study of the cultural portrayal of the disabled with 10 weeks of volunteer work (two hours per week) for a total of 20 hours at one of two sites: Hope Haven and the Mt. Herman Exceptional Student Center, both in Jacksonville. Each student will receive funding to cover expenses for travel and possibly for the cost of security checks. Mt. Herman is 12.5 miles from UNF; Hope Haven slightly less. Students will volunteer at times that accommodate both their own schedules and Mt. Herman’s / Hope Haven’s needs. The TLO will be conducted in conjunction with a literature course (either LIT 4931 or 4093) that will meet for a 75-minute session two days per week. This TLO is open to all undergraduate majors but especially those in Health, Education
(Spec. Ed), Political Science, Public Administration, English, History, and Philosophy
Johnson, Chris Organic Gardening at the Clara White Mission for the Homeless

This multidisciplinary, community based TLO offers undergraduate students the opportunity to learn about the problem of poverty and homelessness through a partnership with the Clara White Mission for the Homeless (located in downtown Jacksonville). Students will design and implement an organic garden in connection with the Culinary training program offered by Clara White.  As a part of its efforts to assist the homeless population, Clara White’s Culinary training program helps participants prepare for a successful career in that industry.  This TLO will involve UNF students interacting with Clara White program participants as they implement a model organic garden and develop a detailed plan of how the Clara White Mission could implement organic gardening on a larger scale.

Ladendorff, Marcia The Ghana Project

The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 21-day trip to apply what they have learned. In 2011, we plan to refine our approach to the community-based transformative learning component by bringing all disciplines together on a single project.  Working with the Ho Municipal Civic Union in 2009, we were introduced to a small community that primarily houses people cured of leprosy who, as a result of the disease, have challenges deeply rooted in a cultural stigma attached to the disease that negatively impact their quality of life.  Members of the Ho Civic Union (CU) want to address these challenges.  Initial ideas are to correct infrastructure needs, collect, organize and update health records and create a public education campaign to combat the stigma attached to cured lepers, encouraging the larger community to support people disabled by leprosy.  This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience.
Leone, Christopher and Hawkins, LouAnne Scientist or Practitioner: Discerning My Place in Psychology Through Engagement in My Community

The proposed TLO will give students the opportunity to participate in research while at the same time participating in a practicum as a trained peer counselor. The highlight of this TLO experience will be students’ engagement with clients as professionally trained peer counselors (under the direct supervision of agency staff) and their engagement with clients as trained researchers in psychology (under the direct supervision of faculty) in an agency serving the needs of women – the Women’s Help Center. Students will work collaboratively with agency officials and faculty mentors to develop shared academic and agency descriptions of problems to be addressed, solutions to be applied, and activities that constitute success. Students will at minimum be expected to be actively engaged in research and/or counseling 10 hours each week for which they are registered – half in counseling and half in research. Students will also be expected to participate in weekly group meetings. During group meetings, faculty mentors will facilitate discussions by students about the skills they have acquired, the insights they have gained about themselves, the perceptions they have developed about the field of psychology, and their perceptions about their roles as stewards of their community.
Undergraduate Research
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Ross, Cliff Impacts of Environmental Stressors on Tropical Coral Reefs

This TLO describes a 2-credit, direct independent study course that will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands on experience working with coral reef biology and physiology. The basis for this research opportunity is to work with the understudied, yet extremely important, larval phase using the coral Porites astreoides as a model system. Based upon previous research by the principle investigator, it has been determined that P. astreoides releases its larvae on the new moon of every May. This narrow window (May 3, 2011 ±3 days) dictates the timely offering of this proposed TLO (Total: 2 week duration). Days 1-10 will be designated for the field component of this project (sample collection and experimental set up). Days 11-14 will be used for laboratory analysis of the specimens at UNF (laboratory of Cliff Ross). The field component of this research will take place at Mote Marine Tropical Laboratory (http://isurus.mote.org/Keys/), a fully equipped marine science facility dedicated to marine research, education and conservation. The facility is located within easy access to a variety of coral reef habitats. UNF students will be involved in all aspects of this project including adult coral collection, larvae maintenance, experimental setup, and data collection and analysis.
Smith, Kelly Identification and Management of Coastal Resources

The Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) has an ongoing a monitoring effort for water quality and fish habitat use within the northern range of the preserve.  TLO students will participate in the monitoring, and conduct additional studies to enhance the current program.  The Jacksonville field office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) is sampling fish populations monthly using haul seines at the GTMNERR.  Students will use data from the dataloggers as background environmental information. Students will continue the FWRI sampling methods independently, and initiate intensive sampling efforts specifically examining day/night and tidal differences in fish composition. The TLO will be a semester-long course worth 3 credit hours that will involve a weekly meeting of 6 hours, divided between discussions in the environmental center at GTMNERR and field activities.  There will be two intensive sampling weekends set aside where students would be divided into teams to looks at 24 hour habitat use patterns.  Teams would take turns sampling every 6 hours at two locations above the dam and two locations below the dam, recording fish identifications and numbers as well as water quality parameters.  All information will be used to provide talking points for a public workshop led by the students bringing together various stakeholders of the GTMNERR.