Technology-Enhanced Project-Based Learning: A Platform for Graduate Student Research and Outreach on Campus and in the Community

Abstract

Linguists are well positioned to carry out community engagement work, not only as individual scholars but also through our teaching, in ways that can be particularly appealing to and beneficial for underrepresented students. I describe my work in the interdisciplinary PhD program in Language, Literacy & Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where the graduate population consists of substantial numbers of underrepresented and nontraditional graduate students. Many of our students work in the K-12 arena, on local college and community college campuses, in government organizations, and in nonprofits; as a result, they are often eager to engage in academic work that promotes social justice and seeks to address the social inequalities they confront in their personal and professional lives. To that end, I discuss how my doctoral sociolinguistics seminar, “Language in Diverse Schools and Communities” (LiDSC), is designed as a launch pad for graduate students to carry out projects that raise awareness of linguistic issues among the broader public, in general and in higher education, that also engage students in direct academic research. Students in LiDSC, structured to follow the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL), are guided to engage in active, inquiry-based learning that often results in tangible, applied products. In two iterations of the course, my students and I produced four podcasts based on original research about language variation and a short film that highlighted linguistic diversity on campus. Through these projects, students learned firsthand the processes of sociolinguistic data collection, from research design and ethical considerations to selecting appropriate methods and communicating findings to broader audiences. In addition, by integrating the use of technology into the PBL experience, students produced shareable products that appeal to the public and thereby serve as an effective means for raising awareness of language variation, both inside and outside of academia.