Fall 2017 ACE Courses

This course develops and stimulates research into the emotional/expressive properties of painting. By investigating thematic, compositional, and technical problems, students develop a personalized approach to ideas and content. Students learn the importance of process, flexibility, alternatives, and the recognition that a painting has a life of its own. Materials fee. Offered annually. Prerequisite: ART 102.

ACE Component: Creating paintings in response to community spaces that will be used in the May 2018 event, “The Northfield Experience,” produced and directed by internationally-renowned choreographer and director Stephan Koplowitz.

So you write cool applications and utilities and they they do cool things. Or you see a new use for a current application. Or you want to use or install the latest technology in an organization. How do you know the application will do what you think it will? And how do you know it will not do unfortunate things, like kill people, or accidentally start a nuclear war, or more prosaically, discriminate against some people because of its design? As a thoughtful designer of technology you will want to know how to answer these questions.This class will give you support and practice in thinking about how people will use the software you design. It is not about code or languages, but is instead about people and systems. Thus, you will learn some basics of human-computer interaction (or user experience design), some basic philosophical ideas, a fair amount about particular ethical issues in computing (privacy, safety, professionalism, property, etc.), and a great deal about the topics and socio-technical system associated with the system you will be helping to design.

How do humans learn language? How do they learn more than one language, as is the case for the vast majority of people living?  What enables or hinders language learning? Are bilinguals really smarter? These are just some of the fascinating questions addressed in this course which combines study of theory, fieldwork-based analysis of learner language, and pedagogical considerations, and includes a focus on both English and World Language learners. ACE course, 10-hour field experience. Required for ESL licensure and TEFL certificate, counts toward concentrations in Education, Linguistics. Prerequisite:  First Year Writing. Offered fall semester.

ACE Component: The course includes a 10-hour Field Experience (FE) component, where St. Olaf students will work directly with children and/or adults who are learning English or other languages and formally analyze learner language to better understand their SLA status and how to support their on-going language development.  Students will apply course readings and research strategies to capture and analyze developing learner language, connect their findings to pedagogical approaches that are helpful to the children and adults they are working with, and will reflect in writing on their experiences.

The course contains the following ACE elements: 2. Civic learning: Ability to apply academic knowledge and proficiencies (such as written and oral communication, teamwork, critical and creative thinking, information literacy, intercultural competency, quantitative skills, etc.) in service of a civic/community aim; 4. Civic reflection: Ability to describe and evaluate one’s civic/community aims and accomplishments; 5. Civic efficacy: Confidence in one’s ability to contribute effectively to civic and community endeavors; and 6. Civic action: Commitment to pursue civic, community and work roles that foster the common good.

Solving complex environmental problems and generating creative work requires the integration and application of multiple ways of knowing. Team projects connected to community needs bring the department’s three areas of emphasis into conversation within an experiential learning framework. The course attends to the nature of environmental inquiry and creativity, one’s own perspectives and values, and how to use one’s knowledge and skills to contribute in personal, civic and work related roles. Course satisfies the experiential component requirement of the environmental studies major and concentration. Prerequisites: EnvSt 137, at least 1 course in two of the three areas of emphasis, and a declared EnvSt major or concentrator.

A capstone seminar for seniors in the major and concentration, this course involves intensive study of special topics utilizing student research projects and presentations. An academic civic engagement project relies on the expertise gained from their environmental studies courses and work in other majors as applicable. Topics relate to a local or regional environmental issues, providing participants with opportunities to interact with government and regulatory agencies and community groups. Offered spring semester. Prerequisites: ENVST 137, senior status, or permission of the environmental studies chair and instructor.

Students study in-depth the physiology of exercise, covering cardiovascular and muscular adaptions to exercise and factors affecting performance, including body composition, environmental influences, training implications across gender and age, and the assessment of fitness. The course includes a laboratory component. Offered annually. Counts toward neuroscience concentration. Prerequisite: junior standing and BIO 143 and BIO 243 or permission of instructor.

ACE Component: Students will offer free baseline measurements to the great St. Olaf community (faculty, staff, and students). During the process, participants will receive not only the measurements, but information about the measurement testing and suggestions for how to improve their health based on their individual measurements.

This course provides an overview of the key issues that face arts administrators. Topics addressed include strategic planning, budgeting, fund raising, audience development, and human resource management as each relates to the unique setting of the arts. Case analysis and guest speakers provide opportunities to explore application of key concepts.

ACE Component: Teams of students will research and write grants for various local arts organizations and present their projects to the community partners at the end of the semester.

This course introduces the key elements of marketing principles. Topics include evaluating market opportunities; buyer behavior; market segmentation, targeting, and positioning; market strategy and planning; development of marketing mix; and marketing organization and control. Students are challenged to apply the principles learned in class to current and real world marketing issues. The course includes readings, case study analysis, in-class exercises and group projects.

ACE Component: Students work on generating marketing plans for a community partner.

This course introduces the philosophical and scientific foundations of professional nursing. Students examine historical foundations of the nursing profession and scientific processes and frameworks underlying nursing theory and practice. Exploration of concepts in the nursing discipline builds knowledge and understanding essential to the provision of holistic patient care across the lifespan. Emphasis is on development of professionalism, use of critical thinking, and evidence-based practice.

ACE Component: Students implement a one-time project/activity at the Northfield Head Start.

Students examine social, psychological and biological aspects of aging within the context of holistic nursing. Application of knowledge and skills using gerontological principles for prevalent health problems experienced by older adults is emphasized. The course incorporates instruction and feedback for developing oral communication through the practice of interpersonal communication skills. Clinical experiences focus on elder care in a variety of community settings.

ACE Component: Students practice therapeutic communications skills with clients at local long-term care facilitites, producing a final client for their residents (letter, journal entry, etc.) based on their dialogue.

Public health nursing is informed by community needs and environmental factors focusing on health promotion and disease prevention. Through project management, students address the health needs of groups and communities utilizing group communication processes, teamwork, and collaboration. Students focus on utilizing community resources, identifying risk factors, and evaluating the impact on population health as related to current epidemiological trends.

ACE Component: Students prepare presentations on puberty and adolescent concerns for 5th and 6th graders at Medford Public Schools. In addition, students help coordinate and facilitate county employee health fairs in Rice and Steele Counties.

All children, adults, and families experience stressful life events. This seminar examines how stressors shape behavioral and biological development. For the ACE project, students will work with community partners to reduce stress-related risks and foster healthy development in the Northfield community.

Social work majors study the methods and skills of social work practice, particularly intercultural communication. They describe strengths and problems of diverse individuals and families; frame goals and plans for change utilizing the planned change process and the systems perspective; and use ethical decision-making, informed by the scientific method, grounded in the liberal arts, and concerned with social justice. Students demonstrate learning in recorded role playing and have an academic civic engagement experience. Offered annually in the fall semester. Prerequisites: SWRK 221 and concurrent enrollment in SWRK 246.

This course immediately precedes SWRK 380. The course provides an overview of how structural oppression across cultural positions (e.g. race, sexuality, ability, class) may affect client systems. Students integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills for engaging in anti-oppressive, inclusive practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. This includes role plays assisting clients who are challenged by oppression as part of their presenting problems and brief immersions with diverse communities. Offered annually in September. Counts toward race and ethnic studies major and concentration.

In this course we will consider the ways in which historical events lead to a multi-layered process of identity construction for Latino/s in the United States. You will learn how processes of migration and displacement have shaped the work of Latino/a artists, intellectuals, activists, and community leaders. In doing so, we will examine how different Latino/a communities reconstruct their own identity in the United States, making sense of their histories of displacement, and creating a new space to call their own. Among the topics to be covered will be gender politics, music of the diaspora, civil right movements, racial identities, and education. We will examine the work of authors such as Gloria Anzaldúa’s This Bridge Called my Back, Sonia Sotomayor’s Mi beloved dream, Aurora Levins Morales’ Getting Home Alive, Tato Laviera’s “Puerto Rican Obituary,” Julia Álvarez’ How the García Girls Lost Their Accent ; films such as Frances Negrón Muntaner’s Brincando el Charco, PBS’s “Foreigners in their Own Land,” and the musical production of La Fania All Stars.