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Fourth-round ADT Teaching and Learning Development Grant Awards

July 1, 2007

Community Service Learning in Rural Costa Rica

Contact:

Connie Weil
Department of Geography
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
612-722-2047
weil@umn.edu

This pilot project is a comprehensive learning abroad experience in rural Costa Rica for University of Minnesota undergraduates in Spring 2008. All participating students will be required to provide community service. Students will visit approximately a dozen NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to learn about their work and to participate with local residents in seminars with municipal and national government officials to discuss the impact of international tourism and other challenges confronting rural communities. Students’ first-hand experiences and observations in Costa Rica will complement their traditional classroom learning and help clarify its relevance.

Inform students about career paths in Computer Science and build undergraduate communities

Contact:

Maria Gini
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
612-625-5582
gini@cs.umn.edu

The long term objective of this project is to improve the recruitment and retention of women in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). This project will use a two-pronged approach: (1) Development of videos and web-based materials to help dispel the myths about CSE jobs, and (2) Development of the foundations of a support group for undergraduate women in CSE. The project will accomplish these two goals by creating a group of undergraduates to design the contents of the videos and web material and use the same group to bootstrap the creation of a support group for women. Ultimately, this project will contribute to efforts to increase recruitment and retention of women and other underrepresented groups in Computer Science.