Cross-Cultural Service Learning

March 1 - 11, 2012

Cross Cultural Service Learning in San Juan, Puerto Rico will be led by Dr. Tina Durand and Dr. Jane Yedlin. This seminar, now in its third year, is designed to provide students with an academic framework and theoretical basis for an educational study tour to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Course activities, readings, and discussions will deepen students' understanding of Puerto Rico and its varied history and culture, and of salient factors that shape the experiences of Puerto Rican children and families living both on the island and on the mainland.

A multi-level interactive Spanish language program, multilevel readings, and brief classroom role plays are used to begin or develop Spanish language skills in preparation for the trip. While in Puerto Rico during spring break, participants take part in a service learning component that involves work with children at local schools and visits to community-based organizations where many people speak both English and Spanish. In addition, participants interact in Spanish and English with students and faculty at local universities, where participants are housed on campus. The trip also includes visits to local historical and cultural sites such as the Old San Juan historic neighborhood, El Morro Fort, a coastal nature preserve, and El Yunque Rain Forest.

Faculty Leaders: Dr. Tina Durand (tdurand@wheelock.edu) and Dr. Jane Yedlin (jyedlin@wheelock.edu)

Here are some pictures from the 2011 trip: