Spring 2018 ACE Courses

This sculpture course introduces students to metal forming, shaping, fastening and brazing, and welding, building upon concepts from the foundation course and presenting the next level of sculpture topics, issues and concerns. Both majors and non-majors discover an art and industrial process that has great artistic and practical application

ACE Component: Students will create a sculpture float for use in the May performance event, “The Northfield Experience,” a project being facilitated by guest artist Stephen Koplowitz.

This course focuses on the creative use of animation techniques. Students study the principles of animation and produce projects utilizing a variety of techniques including flipbooks, stop motion photography, animated GIFs, and 2D and 3D computer-generated animation software. Students regularly screen, analyze, and discuss contemporary and historic animations.

ACE Component: Students will create animated shorts for use in the May performance event, “The Northfield Experience,” a project being facilitated by guest artist Stephen Koplowitz.

In this intermediate photography course, students explore a variety of techniques and topics. Techniques include historic processes such as cyanotype and salted paper printing, digital photography, large-scale color printing, and traditional black and white photography. Students investigate experimental approaches and non-traditional forms for presentation, and they investigate photography from broad historical, aesthetic, and social perspectives. This course includes field trips, readings, discussion, and visual presentations.

ACE Component: Students will take photos of several locations that will be used in the May performance event, “The Northfield Experience,” a project being facilitated by guest artist Stephen Koplowitz. The students will tour the space and are expected to attend one or more rehearsals that will happen during February. The finished pieces may be selected for display at a gallery exhibition to be held at the Northfield Arts Guild simultaneously with The Northfield Experience performances.

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.

The course brings together students from across the environmental studies areas of emphasis to explore complex environmental problems connected to community needs. The course satisfies the experiential component requirement.

ACE Component: Students will work in small groups on a project or section of a larger project for a community partner. Past community partners have included the St. Olaf Green Bikes program and the Cannon River Watershed Partnership.

Students analyze mechanical principles in depth as they affect human motion. Topics include study of muscular and skeletal systems, skill analysis, and motion measurement techniques. The course includes a laboratory component.

ACE Component: Students will work in pairs to conduct a Gait Analysis (recording, analyzing, and recommendations) on members from the St. Olaf community.

This course presents the fundamental principles of exercise testing and prescription for both healthy and special needs individuals. Students explore techniques for assessing fitness and prescribing exercise using a variety of ergometers for improvement of health fitness parameters. Students also utilize case studies and laboratory experiences. Topics include health/medical histories, submaximal graded exercise testing, and assessment of strength, flexibility, pulmonary functions, and body composition.

ACE Component: Students will work 1-1 with two St. Olaf clients (faculty or staff) to assess several health factors (e.g., strength, endurance, flexibility, nutrition, blood pressure, body composition) and then prescribe exercise regimens and dietary advice over the course of 12-weeks. Clients are reassessed at the end of the 12-weeks.

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.

ACE Component: Students will work in small groups to develop marketing plans for clients.

Music

MUSPF 152, 252: Vocal Studio

Instructor: Dale Kruse

MUSPF 114, 214: Flute Studio

Instructor: Catherine Ramirez

ACE Component: Students will create concert for local retirement community.

Students synthesize knowledge and apply evidence-based practice in the care and management of clients experiencing a major psychiatric and/or mental health disorder. Emphasis will be placed on the role of the professional nurse in various treatment settings as well as current treatment modalities. The client population includes children, adolescents, and adults along the health-illness continuum.

ACE Component: Students conduct an educational presentation on a behavioral health topic to the nurses at their clinical site.

This course investigates entry control policy, integration and citizenship policy, and the political activities of migrants in the wealthy democracies. Alternative arguments emphasizing the role of economic interests, sovereignty, national identity, and gender are introduced. Opportunities for academic civic engagement projects are included in the course.

ACE Component: Students will assist with research and editing of content for the Rural Immigration Network.

Social work majors continue to study the methods and skills of generalist practice. They assess strengths and problems of diverse groups, organizations, and communities and use the systems perspective to help client systems frame goals and plans for social change. Students assess macrosystems and develop plans for implementing change that are reflective, scientific, just, and grounded in the liberal arts. This course includes an academic civic engagement community project.

ACE Component: Students will work with the League of Women Voters-of Northfield and Cannon Falls on creating and implementing an affordable housing survey.

This course provides a research opportunity for students with interests in end of life care and decision-making. We will examine the multidisciplinary literature, design a pilot project and collect data.

ACE Component: Students will work with the Northfield Advanced Care Planning Advisory Committee (NACPAC) to develop research questions, assessment tools, and collect data for measuring the community impact of the NACPAC’s work.

Students explore the processes involved in the acquisition of Spanish as a first and second language and the variation present in the language of both native and non-native speakers of Spanish from Spain, Latin America, and the U.S. Hispanic linguistics are studied with special attention paid to the socio-cultural as well as structural aspects. The course includes the study of at least one substantive literary work. Includes pronunciation lab.

ACE Component: Students will create clubs to facilitate at the Greenvale Park Community School.