UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
Students are able to work as a community and give back to CSUDH by participating in Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). In “Brown and Black Educational Experiences” course by Dr. Benavides Lopez, she asked all of her students to participate by creating alters to honor African-American youth killed by police brutality.
The students won a class prize for an alter contest at Dia del los Muertos. This unique and fun learning opportuning brought the students together as a community which facilitated discussing important issues related to the event. Here’s the video of
Dr. Benavides Lopez describing the project and an interesting learning outcome.
Taking a Different Approach to Teaching for Student Success
Dr. Martinez was asked, “What did you learn from the students to better your teaching methods?” He shares his insights stating, “I am benefiting greatly from teaching this course because it has forced me to question my entire approach to teaching. For example, I had to consider that most of my students have not taken Microeconomics or Macroeconomics, so I cannot assume anything about their background. Consequently, I have to think hard about how to make our class interesting, appealing, and relevant to their academic success here at CSUDH. I have also questioned the appropriateness of the textbooks we use in economics. I have also benefited from teaching the course by allowing me to redesign a course from scratch with the clear conviction that the only thing that matters is student success. Finally, I also learned that students are genuinely interested in learning about Economics and that, with the appropriate motivation, they can become highly engaged in their academic lives here at CSUDH.”
Faculty are evaluating their teaching methodology, thinking out of the box, and sharing their own experiences to engage students and form connections that will benefit students beyond the classroom.
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