World Languages and Cultures
WLC at CAHSS Assessment Showcase 2016
The School of World Languages and Cultures (SWLC) houses majors in Japanese and Spanish. Both majors share the WLC300 and 400 seminar courses preparing students for the programs, as well as support students through completing the Capstone Project and Major ePortfolio.
SWLC implemented the Major ePortfolio in 2014 to pilot innovative ways of using technology to efficiently allow faculty to maintain high-quality student-faculty communication and keep track of major students’ growth and at the same time evaluate program effectiveness by asking students to reflect on and document their learning experiences with their work samples at the end of each semester until they complete their major program.
The ePortfolio is an efficient and effective way to implement a ‘cycle of self-directed learning’ based on How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Ambrose, et al. (2010), using technology for faculty and students to maintain high-quality contact when students, guided by prompts from class, reflect on and document their learning experience at the end of every semester. It allows for the collection of all the students’ learning evidence in one location in a way that can be easily accessed, understood and analyzed by both students and faculty. Establishing this infrastructure using technology in both programs ensures student success as well as encourages academic rigor.
Featured student work
Joshua James Baldwin ePortfolio
「子供を持つ事」について —アメリカ人・日本人大学生の意見比較— | American and Japanese University Students’ Views on Having Children | Advisors: Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott, Dr. Shigeko Sekine
Linda R. Flores ePortfolio
Las actitudes de los bilingües tempranos hacia el cambio de código en el condado de Monterey | Early Bilinguals’ Attitudes Towards Code-Switching in Monterey County | Advisor: Dr. Gabriela C. Zapata
Pedro Omar Guerrero ePortfolio
El uso de los verbos “ver” y “mirar” por los hablantes de herencia del condado de Monterey | The Use of the Verbs Ver and_Mirar_ by Heritage Speakers in Monterey County | Advisor: Dr. Gabriela C. Zapata
Michelle Lupisan ePortfolio
大学生の自尊心:日米比較研究 | Self-Esteem among University Students: A Comparative Study of Japan and America | Advisors: Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott, Dr. Chikaomi Takahashi
Javier Martínez-Cabrera
La figura del terrateniente en Pedro Páramo por Juan Rulfo | The Image of the Landholder in Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo | Advisors: Dr. Donaldo Urioste, Dr. Rafael Gómez
Steven Silbert ePortfolio
男の魅力：日本とアメリカにおける認識比較調査 | A Cross-Cultural Comparison: Perceptions of Male Attractiveness between the USA and Japan | Advisors: Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott, Dr. Chikaomi Takahashi