Dr. Colette van Kerckvoorde, faculty in Language and Literature, was one of 20 scholarship recipients asked to share her expertise in a three-week workshop offered by the Herder Institute of the University of Leipzig in Germany. The workshop, focused on helping professors incorporate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) into German language courses, was funded by the European Recovery Program of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie.
Designed to familiarize German faculty with ways to make the language more relevant to students studying STEM, the workshop introduced and developed strategies to incorporate STEM materials into the classroom, particularly ones accessible to beginning and intermediate students of German. Attendees also went on field trips to get acquainted with STEM-related current trends in Germany (e.g. the state-of-the-art Porsche plant in Leipzig).
Traditionally, world language classes focus on the development of language skills in order to prepare students to tackle literary texts in target languages. Many STEM students recognize that another language is invaluable, but they are often intimidated by and poorly served in language classes because topics within their interest areas aren’t available. In recent years, teachers have addressed this concern by creating an environment that makes STEM students feel welcomed in language instruction. German-speaking countries, with their strong economy and highly developed industries, are attractive study-away and intern destinations for college-age STEM students.
During the workshop, Colette shared her expertise on environmental science and sustainability, concentrating on recent efforts by German-speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein) to provide brown bears and wolves in Alpine regions with an environment that encourages successful reintroduction into their natural habitat. Following more than a century of extinction, brown bears and wolves are repopulating the area, and Alp nations are educating the general public about their importance to the region's eco-system.
Colette’s research topic is an example of STEM students learning German with relevant subject matter while advancing cultural competence. She presented her research at the Northeast Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL) in New York City in February 2017.