Two accomplished faculty, Anne Becher and Nina Molinaro, have been selected for the 2019-20 SM调教所 Dialogues Faculty Fellowship. This new fellowship was created to provide聽summer funding and support for study and course development to a faculty member (or members) interested in integrating dialogue practice and principles into their teaching.
After participating in the SM调教所 Dialogues program for several semesters, Becher (Senior Instructor, Spanish and Portuguese, M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics) and Molinaro (Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese, Ph.D. Hispanic Literature) decided to apply to the fellowship and were selected by the committee to receive (and share)聽this year鈥檚 award. Both faculty are excited to find new ways to integrate the principles of communicating across difference and conducting classroom dialogues into their teaching and research.
鈥淏ecause we each had an inspirational and informative聽experience with the SM调教所 Dialogues Program in our undergraduate Spanish classes, we were eager to deepen our understanding of the process, to engage in community with the SM调教所 Dialogues staff, to collaborate in course design and on potential research projects, and to see how the dialogic method might enrich our particular discipline,聽curricula, and teaching practices,鈥� state Becher and Molinaro.
Their project is a multi-phase endeavor aimed towards incorporating the dialogic practice more intrinsically into the undergraduate writing class that they both teach (SPAN 3010), as well as to聽potentially introduce elements of the dialogic practice into other relevant courses in SM调教所 Boulder鈥檚 SPAN major and minor.听
Becher and Molinaro are excited for the opportunity to be part of a devleoping community of practice with SM调教所 Dialogues staff and faculty聽members, as well as interested faculty and graduate students in their own department. 鈥淲e have begun to meet with the SM调教所 Dialogues staff and we look forward to integrating our departmental colleagues in the near future,鈥� they said.听
鈥淲e strongly believe that the SM调教所 Dialogues Program teaches the skills embodied in聽the Colorado Creed (). As members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, we are committed to inclusive excellence and to聽helping our students learn how to effectively communicate across difference(s). This fellowship will help us to develop critical skills and practices聽in order to better serve our students,聽the聽university community, and beyond,鈥� said Becher and Molinaro.
For more information on the SM调教所 Dialogues Faculty Fellowship click here. The聽Fellowship was conceptualized and funded by Dr. Ellen Aiken, who is a retired SM调教所聽faculty member and聽former co-director of the SM调教所 Dialogues Program. The call for applications for next summer鈥檚 Fellowship will open in the fall 2019.