I am delighted to be meeting with exchange program alumni from Moldova as a part of the Moldova Reconnect speaker series this weekend.
"Moldova
ReConnect is a new model of alumni participation and engagement to
cultivate a spirit of civic responsibility for the communities from
which alumni come."
While I was searching for something, I came across the European Observatory of Service Learning in Higher Education website - which featured an article that I co-authored with Larisa Patlis about our joint Study Abroad course:
Scourfield McLauchlan, Judithanne; Patlis, Larisa
REVISTA INTERNACIONAL DE EDUCACION PARA LA JUSTICIA SOCIAL
| Volume | Issue | Pages | DOI / ISBN / ISSN |
| 4 | 1 | 111-129 |
| Language | Country |
| English | Moldova |
Abstract:
The authors developed an alternative Spring Break Study Abroad course to bring University of South Florida (USF) students to Moldova to study with their counterparts at the Free International University of Moldova (ULIM). The course was a Political Science seminar about the history, government, and politics of Moldova. The authors shared a desire to cultivate “global citizens” and to provide opportunities for their students to work collaboratively. The course was distinctive in its level of integration of U.S. students with colleagues in Moldova. Students had the opportunity to meet with leaders of NGOs working to strengthen civil society in Moldova. In addition to their time spent in direct service, students learned from agency staff who answered questions about social issues, the formation of social policy, and social justice in Moldova. Students volunteered together at orphanages and at a domestic violence shelter. In addition to working with the students enrolled in the joint course, one service project was implemented with the Lion’s Club Chisinau with students from several other universities in Chisinau as well.
Keywords:
Study abroad; Global citizenship; Moldova; Civic engagement international; Service learning
What a pleasure to participate in the Library Conference at ULIM -- on the topic "Civic Engagement in the Online Classroom."
This morning I opened my emails to receive this certificate:
For more about my presentation at the Library Conference at ULIM, see
https://jainmoldova.blogspot.com/2020/10/ulim-conference-universitas-europea.html
For more about ULIM, see https://ulim.md/en/
What a pleasure to participate in ULIM's Opening Ceremony to express gratitude for a decade of scientific cooperation.
This morning, when I opened my email, I received this certificate:
I look forward to hanging in my office -- once I return to working out of my office at USF.
For more about the Opening Ceremony, and a video of the presentation, see
https://jainmoldova.blogspot.com/2020/10/ulim-28th-opening-ceremony-usfsp-ulim.html
For more about ULIM, see https://ulim.md/en/
This morning I had the pleasure of speaking at the conference organized by ULIM's Library: “UNIVERSITAS
EUROPEA: Towards a Knowledge-Based Society through Europeanisation and Globalization"
Previously on this blog I posted the Call for Proposals as well as the Conference Program:
https://jainmoldova.blogspot.com/2020/10/ulim-symposium-education-libraries-in.html
I presented on the topic "Civic Engagement in the Online Classroom"
Abstract
In this presentation I will discuss the development and implementation of a civics project in an online American Government course. The challenges and opportunities of managing civic engagement projects in an online format will be explored. I have taught American National Government online for thirteen semesters. During that time I administered anonymous pre-test and post-test surveys and collected Reflection Papers and Discussion Board Posts about each of the Civics Projects. In addition, the university administered anonymous end-of-course evaluations, and the Center for Civic Engagement administered anonymous student surveys of this Citizen Scholar course. I will analyze the results of the survey data along with content analysis of the student reflection papers and discussion board posts in order to determine the impact of the civics project on students' civic learning and political engagement in the online course delivery format. Lessons learned are applicable to courses in fields that seek to incorporate service learning, community-based research, or civic engagement in the online context.
For more about my research on this topic, see
“Civic Engagement in the Online Classroom: Increasing Youth Political Engagement in an Online American Government Course.” Vol. 8, No. 1 (April 2019) eJournal of Public Affairs, pp. 32-68.
and
“Promoting Civic Literacy and Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” with Elizabeth Bennion. PSNow, American Political Science Association, 23 March 2020
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| The brains behind the organization of this ULIM Library conference |
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| Wonderful to be collaborating again with Larisa Patlis |
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| It was like old times -- with 2 presentations "at" ULIM in the last 4 days. |
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| from my living room in Florida I joined colleagues in Chisinau (and from around Europe -- there were also participants from Romania, Norway, and beyond)-- you can see our banana trees in the background |
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Thanks again Larisa Patlis for the invitation!
I was delighted to be invited to participate in ULIM's 28th Opening
Ceremony -- taking place virtually this year. My presentation
celebrated "USFSP - ULIM: A Decade of Scientific Cooperation"
Here is a link to the video we recorded, with Romanian subtitles:
And here are some pictures of the event. As it turned out, I WAS online between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM when the event was live, so I participated remotely via zoom. There were also speakers/participants at ULIM, physically distanced.
La Multi Ani, ULIM!
For more about ULIM, see https://ulim.md/en/
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| virtually together with dear colleague Larisa PATLIS |
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| what a wonderful Opening Ceremony; many thanks Valentina CIUMACENCO |
Opening Ceremony PROGRAM:
Conferința științifică cu participare internațională cu ocazia a 28 de ani de la fondarea ULIM.
Special THANKS to our wonderful crew in our Distance Learning Studio at USF St. Petersburg -- David Brodosi and Deanna Salt -- who helped record a professional video for this important event.
