CURI Academic Year Student Researcher 25 - Vendetti bei St. Olaf College

Job Title: CURI Academic Year Student Researcher

Classification: Student Employee (non-exempt)

Name and Address of Employer: St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057

If the position requires the student to work off campus, provide the name and address here:

Department Name: CURI

Unit Number (5 digits): 16118

Length of Position: See Employment Authorization  

Contact Person/Supervisor: Faculty advisor

Pay Rate (Check One)  Standard Hourly Rate  x  Supervisory/Special Skills Hourly Rate

Description of the Position: (Purpose of the Position): Students work together with a faculty member on scholarly or artistic projects. 

Project Title: Authenticity and Action 101: Innovation in Beginner French Language Pedagogy

Faculty Mentor: Maria Vendetti

Project Description: In recent language pedagogy research the learner is viewed as a "social agent," actively involved in using language to accomplish real-world tasks and participate in social interactions. This idea is already built into the first-year French language curriculum at St Olaf, but more research and development is needed to match theory to practice in up-to-date terms. This project develops an action-oriented approach (AOA) for first-semester students, emphasizing language production and immediate engagement with authentic, relevant French materials.

The project will combine pedagogical research, existing materials, and authentic texts to create a curriculum that is effective for beginner students in an immersive classroom. We will work with intermediate and advanced French students to examine recent research on the action-oriented approach, outcomes in French language teaching for adult learners, and the role of technology like AI in the language classroom.

Student researchers will compile and analyze this scholarship, then use their findings to collaboratively design a first-semester curriculum based on themes and learning objectives they define. They will also have the chance to test these new materials in first-year classes.

Student researchers will need a level of French proficiency equivalent to the completion of FREN231 (Intermediate I). If you have completed FREN231 at St Olaf, or placed into a higher level class, then you are eligible. If you have not taken a St Olaf class or placement test but have intermediate-level French proficiency or higher, you are very welcome to apply.

By the end of the semester, students will have outlined a new curriculum and written a proposal for a presentation at a national conference, such as the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention. They will also present their work at a departmental event in the spring. If their conference proposal is accepted, the work will be written up as a paper for a professional journal.

Transferable Skills: Research and presentations.

Duties and Responsibilities: Each project has its own timing (number of hours per week and number of weeks), as determined by the individual faculty mentor. See the CURI Digital Olaf database for individual project descriptions and details.

Qualifications: (Education/Experience/Skills) A student interested in applying for the CURI academic year program must be enrolled as an on-campus St. Olaf student. There is no GPA requirement that must be met in order to apply for the program, but a student’s academic record will be considered during the selection process. Skills are dependent on individual projects.

If you don’t have a work award and select, No, to the application questions your application will be automatically rejected by the system. If you apply and are rejected please contact Erin Eltonga to resolve this for you.

This job description is for general information purposes.  It is not intended to list all duties and responsibilities of the position.  This job description is subject to change at any time by St. Olaf College, with or without prior notice.