Going Global with COIL: Spanish 332, Spanish in Community Health Setting
Professor Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco, Department of Classics & Modern Languages
Students enrolled in Spanish 332, Spanish in Community Health Settings, are leveraging a powerful learning practice that pairs students with peers internationally for dialogue around salient, course-related issues. In light of the global challenges of this pandemic, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) allows immersive learning experiences to continue, and in some cases, be enhanced.
As part of the course’s engagement, students in Professor Ceo-DiFrancesco are collaborating with a local organization, Healthy Moms & Babes, whose mission is to increase infant survival as well as foster the health of women, children and families in Hamilton County. According to the organization’s Hispanic Community Coordinator, Rylee Stephenson, they have noted a need for more educational resources in Spanish for their Latina clients. The organization routinely takes their mobile health care unit to various neighborhoods to offer women and their babies’ health care they need. While mothers wait for the nurse, they can watch short videos highlighting tips for staying healthy during and following pregnancy.
As part of their preparation for the project, Professor Ceo-DiFrancesco’ s students connected through Zoom with their partner to better understand the community challenges, available resources, and background for their community engagement project. Next, the Xavier students formed teams with students majoring in nutrition at the Jesuit University Iberoamericana in Torreón, Mexico, to help plan and create the video content. After studying dietary recommendations and visiting local mercados in Norwood and Silverton, Professor Ceo-DiFrancesco’ s students will provide context and background, while the Ibero students will share their developing expertise as future nutritionists. This COIL module combines high impact community engagement with the opportunity to build intercultural competencies of teamwork across borders. Once completed, videos will be shared on the non-profit’s website.