James P. Lassoie, International Professor of Conservation in the Department of Natural Resources has been awarded the inaugural International Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (IP-CALS) grant for Innovative Teaching in International Agriculture and Rural Development. The $3000 award will facilitate logistical and curriculum development for Cornell students attending a three week service trip to Ecuador.
The service trip is part of two-course sequence, IARD/LATA 4011/6011: Experience Latin America – Ecuador Edition I/II (fall/spring; 3 credits each). As part of the Intag Project, which is a long-term, collaborative partnership between Cornell and five community-based NGOs located in north-central Ecuador, Cornell students are exposed to issues surrounding development in Ecuador through innovative classroom methods, and then participate in a three week service trip to Ecuador.
“This course sequence is a unique offering in service learning in that it is proactive, iterative, and predominately student organized and led,” said Lassoie. “And it allows students to participate in activities that meet self-identified community needs, which leads to greater sustainability of the work undertaken.”
The community hopes that the trees will capture water from the rolling clouds and bring water back to a stream that ran dry with loss of the forest.
The grant award will specifically fund aspects of the three week service trip, including pre-trip organization (transport, accommodations, liaison with practitioners, etc.), leadership and coordination during the field experience for 20 students, follow-up evaluations with participating practitioners, and periodic Skype interactions with student teams as they develop their final deliverables during spring semester.
In an effort to support the International Professors dedicated to teaching the next generation of IARD scholars and practitioners and to strengthen the student experience in IARD courses, the IP-CALS Innovative Teaching grant is awarded to International Professors who strive to innovate in the IARD classroom.
