Innovation
Social Justice Documentary Project
The Breaking Resistance Social Justice Documentary (BRSJD) Project is a Consortium for Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) partnership and a digital learning project sponsored by Shepherd’s Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice and Women and Gender Studies Board, and the Africana Studies Program and College of Education at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. On October 9, 2019, both colleges will view Katie Couric’s award-winning film, Gender Revolution, which will include facilitated group discussions and a survey for academic research. Students enrolled in three courses/fields of study (Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, Teacher Education) will engage nearly 200 participants in a very important conversation about gender discrimination, diversity, and inclusion. BRSJD will be the first multi-campus digital dialogue and multi-classroom lesson on gender identities to be held/recorded simultaneously on the campuses of Shepherd University and Georgia College. The Zoom platform will add the necessary digital component to engage populations across states. The project will be very meaningful as it will be available on Shepherd’s YouTube channel. Electronic resources will be distributed during the kickoff event for student and community groups to duplicate the event, and faculty will present the findings at a professional conference.
International: COIL Fellows Program
In Fall of 2016, Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic was invited to participate in the "2nd Annual Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Fellows Program" sponsored by WVHEPC. COIL is an emerging field of collaborative online international learning and a teaching and learning methodology that fosters exchange between faculty and students with peers abroad through Internet-based communication tools. It includes a model for developing a co-taught multi-cultural online learning environment that emphasizes experiential collaborative learning between students in two or more countries. COIL courses are taught in blended formats with face-to-face sessions at both schools, while collaborative student work takes place online. Howard-Bostic was trained to implement online courses with an international partner during a six-week online COIL course.
Statewide: Mellon Foundation COPLAC Digital Grant
In Fall of 2016, Dr. Howard-Bostic was nominated to develop and co-teach a COPLAC Digital Mellon Foundation course. In the Fall of 2018, Howard-Bostic will co-teach the course with Tina Holmes-Davis, Assistant Professor of Music Education at Georgia College. The synchronous online course will be offered in multiple states to student pairs who are enrolled at COPLAC institutions.
"The richest people in the world look for and build networks.
Everyone else looks for work." — Robert Kiyosaki