Service-Learning in Spanish K-12: A Residential Institute for Teachers

In June 2001, and again in June 2002, fifteen Ohio teachers took up residence on the Columbus campus for a week of linguistic and cultural immersion as they learned more about Ohio's second language and the world of those who speak it. Grants from the Ohio Humanities Council funded the housing, food, and excursions for the participants in both institutes, as well as honoraria for guest speakers form Ohio's Latino communities and for master teachers who assisted the participants in preparing their final projects. The OSU Center for Latin American Studies provided administrative assistance and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese covered the salaries of the two faculty directors. Tuition costs were assumed by the participants themselves. The following report will focus on the 2002 institute, a more finely-tuned version based on the 2001 pilot program. [authors]