Research Clusters
2024-2025 World Language Clusters:
AR/VR in the Higher Ed Classroom: This cluster explores current uses and potential applications and implications of AR/VR as a learning, teaching, and collaborative tool. In its inaugural year, the cluster will host two Lunch and Learns focusing on current literature, best practices, and examples of the implementation of AR/VR in higher education, and across disciplines on the SMU campus in particular. It will also run a pilot study evaluating the use of 3 language-learning AR/VR applications among a sample of 50 undergraduate World Languages students to evaluate the impact of integrating AR/VR in higher ed classrooms on motivation, vocabulary retention, and second language acquisition. Conveners: Aria Cabot, acabot@smu.edu; Talia Weltman-Cisneros, tweltmancisneros@smu.edu.
Beyond Content: Fostering Creativity and Socio Emotional Learning in College Classrooms: This interdisciplinary research cluster investigates how creativity and social-emotional learning (SEL) can be applied in higher education to foster more inclusive, engaging, and emotionally responsive classrooms. Using frameworks such as Learning by Design and multiliteracies pedagogy, the cluster will explore digital tools like WeVideo to support student voice, emotional expression, and reflective learning. Participants will collaboratively design teaching materials, explore SEL and creativity across disciplines, and engage in peer feedback. The cluster aims to address the current gap in SEL-informed pedagogy at the university level through innovation, collaboration, and future classroom implementation. Conveners: Monica Fernandez Martins, mfernandezdossantosm@smu.edu; Yuriko Ikeda, yikeda@smu.edu; Pilar Melgarejo, mmelgarejoac@smu.edu.
Christianity and Scholarship: We seek to create an internal conversation among faculty about how the Christian faith informs and interacts with their scholarship and research. We seek to bring external scholars on this intersection to campus as well to stir further interest and study. Convener: Denise Dupont, ddupont@smu.edu (with professors Benjamin Voth and Matthew Wilson).
Global Literacy and Languages for Specific Purposes: This research cluster unites faculty from a range of academic and professional disciplines to discuss and define a set of shared goals and best practices to provide students with real-world, global perspectives and transferable skills aligned with skills employers seek in the contemporary workplace. Topics of discussion include curricular innovation, academic and corporate partnerships for internships and field work abroad and at home, and the assessment of and integration with SMU’s Common Curriculum requirements with a focus on the integration of world languages and cultures for professional purposes across the curriculum. Conveners: Paola Buckley (French) pbuckley@mail.smu.edu, Aria Cabot (Teaching & Technology Center) acabot@mail.smu.edu
Teresa de Avila Reading Group: Building on our previous reading of Dante's Divine Comedy, this cluster will now turn to the Spanish writer Teresa de Avila (1515-1582). Specifically, we will explore the relationship she establishes between writing and the spiritual journey in her two most well-known works: The Way of Perfection (Camino de Perfeccion, 1566) and The Interior Castle (Las Moradas, 1577). We believe that reading Teresa de Avila will allow us to continue examining a theme we encountered in our study of Dante- namely, the trope of the spiritual journey as a transformative process for the individual, and an experience in which writing plays a fundamental role. Conveners: Denise Dupont, ddupont@smu.edu; Ruben Sanchez-Godoy, rgodoy@smu.edu; Alicia Zuese, zuese@smu.edu (with Professors Marie Schrampfer and Silvester Tan).