The EDC is the perfect space for classes from many disciplines, from the humanities to the sciences. Here's how some faculty take advantage of the EDC's multimedia capabilities.
Macartan Humphreys
Assistant Professor, Political Science
African Civil Wars in Comparative Perspective: A Research Seminar
During the summer of 2003, Macartan Humphreys and Stanford University Professor Jeremy Weinstein implemented a unique survey in which they interviewed 1000 combatants about their war experiences in Sierra Leone. As they analyzed data for the book they are co-authoring, they decided to take their collaboration a step further by taking advantage of each university's multimedia teaching facilities to co-teach a graduate research seminar simultaneously at Columbia and Stanford during the Fall 2005 semester. Their goal was to engage students in the "rigorous, empirical analysis of multiple dimensions of contemporary civil conflict" across six topics: the causes of civil war, patterns of recruitment and participation, the organization of rebel groups, strategies used by warring factions, bargaining in the context of peace processes, and civil war termination and peace-building.
Every other week, students were assigned theoretical readings on a specific theme and together, they identified a pair of hypotheses that represented opposing points of view. Following a coin toss to determine which campus would argue in favor or against which hypothesis, the two teams began analyzing the Sierra Leone and related datasets to defend their positions. The following week, they participated in a live debate, using the video link and collaboration software to share their arguments and data analysis with both campuses. As a result, the friendly rivalry between the two campuses helped create a real camaraderie among class members at each location.
Professor Humphreys found that the format of the course encouraged students to actively engage with the material. "Most importantly, they learned to make the leap from theory to practical application very quickly, shaping their hypothesis into a real argument based on evidence that they would defend before an audience," he notes. Perhaps as a testament to the course's impact, a group of Columbia students were inspired to replicate Humphreys' and Weinstein's study in Burundi, and have been awarded a grant to begin collecting data in the summer of 2006.
Leila May-Landy
Lecturer, American Language Program
English for International and Public Affairs
Leila May-Landy teaches English for International and Public Affairs for international graduate students at SIPA. The course is designed to help develop professional communication skills by improving English language proficiency, with a special emphasis on oral presentations.
May-Landy uses her CourseWorks site to publish the course syllabus and to distribute files. She also uses the discussion board section to establish private workspaces for each student, where she uploads and critiques video and audio clips of their presentations. Students are also able to upload PowerPoint presentations and multimedia files to the CourseWorks site so they can use the EDC's network and multimedia capabilities to enhance their presentations. May-Landy takes advantage of the EDC's modular furniture to divide the room into sections, allowing students to work together in small groups. "The intimacy encourages students to participate," she notes. She can then reconfigure the furniture into a seminar format to allow everyone a clear view of the SMART Board, which many students incorporate into their presentations.
For May-Landy, using the CourseWorks site, the classroom, and class work for language education go hand-in-hand. Integrating the Web site and the multimedia space "is the only way you can have a lasting impact [on student learning], because people don't learn languages in a one-shot deal. Given the choice, I would always teach in the EDC."
