An Interdisciplinary

Student-Centered Learning Project

Enza Antenos and Teresa Fiore (Italian Program, Department of Spanish and Italian)

Fall semester 2014 project: Published article on university main webpage (February 2015)

Why study Italian? Why in NY/NJ?

Italy: G8 country and economic

leader

New York: most Italian city

outside of Italy

New Jersey: very Italian state

1. Teaching towards professional application of BA: Classroom

experience + professional world via the Made in Italy

(third most known brand worldwide, after Coca-Cola and Visa)

“For me Made in Italy stands for quality, creativity, artisanship,

style and innovation” (student Pederiali)

1. Promotion of the study of Italian language and culture at MSU

via project spearheaded/supported by Inserra Chair in Italian

and Italian Studies, created in 2010 to broaden the vision and

scope of the Italian Program. Go

als

Ge

ne

sis

Initial idea: Asking professionals about

role of Italian language and culture in their

work

Maurita Cardone, deputy editor of La Voce

di New York (online newspaper for Italian

and Italian-American news and culture),

acted as liaison with Made in Italy in NY-

NJ.

Concrete idea: Preparing, conducting,

producing and editing interviews with

prominent Italian entrepreneurs and

creators in the design, fashion, art and

food worlds.

Hands-on learning?!

Implementation of idea: Containers

1. Business Italian class (Antenos) : 18 students (FA14) in contact with La Voce via Cardone.

2. Coop Ed (Fiore): Student majoring in TV production and minoring in Italian supervised by

Giuseppe Malpasso, a filmmaker from Art Motion Picture (NJ) for the shooting + recent graduate

from the School of Communication and Media.

This course is designed to develop students' communicative skills and prepare them to work in the Italian

business world. It will also introduce them to numerous Italian entities and Italian-American companies in the tri-

state area.

Cecilia Alemani,

Director High Line Art

Perceptions of Skills

Working alone, many students remain in the dark. Learning Communities are high impact activities

Meth

odolo

gy Eighteen students, both Italian majors or minors, at

various points (and proficiency levels) of their

academic career

Students were divided into groups according to,

interest (surveyed in advance), proficiency level

(distributed to balance skills of members) and

gender. Each student selected a role in their group,

with distinct responsibilities.

Materials developed to meet goals of 5Cs:

Communication, Cultures, Comparisons,

Connections, and Communities

The three phases learning process was applied:

pre-interview prep; while interviewing negotiation of

meaning; post-interview interpretation and

production. The culmination was the writing of article

and creation of video.Tiziano Zorzan, Fashion Designer

Learning

Community

Learning community: two professors and journalist (different work pace and

dynamics, similar objectives, shared interests).

“Working on

shared projects

can enrich

students’

experiences and

open them to

more critical

ways of thinking

and more

creative forms of

problem-

solving”

(Blessinger)

“Learning to work as part of a team was as important to the students, as having the opportunity to interact with

professionals” (Fiore/Antenos)

Sa

mp

le A

ctivitie

sMarket Research in the sector

Italy’s role

Italy’s presence in the U.S.

Job opportunities

Preparation of Infographic

Research on Specific Companies

Italian History

International Presence

American Presence

Social Media Presence

Corporate headquarters (for planning a

business trip)

Eight business people and creators active in various Italocentric sectors in NY-

NJ:

Design

Gaetano Pesce (Designer and Architect)

Federico Materazzi (Executive VP, Americas Poltrona Frau Group)

Art

Cecilia Alemani (Director, High Line Art)

Laura Mattioli, (Founder, CIMA, Center for Italian Modern Art)

Fashion

Alberto Milani (CEO, Buccellati Americas)

Tiziano Zorzan (Fashion designer)

Food

Melissa M. Daka (Chef and Owner of the Sicilian restaurant Eolo)

Sabbia Auriti (COO, The N Beverage Group and Gruppo Fooding)

Se

cto

rs &

Pers

on

alit

ies

Interview questions, storyboards, and article drafts were shared on a private Wordpress

blog. Community extended beyond immediate group.

Peer feedback to interview questions; professional comments for article and video

Melissa Daka,

Eolo restaurant,

NYC

Ou

tco

me

sFour subtitled video interviews

and related articles in Italian and

English published in the daily La

Voce di New York: over 40,000

views.

Pedagogical importance of final

projects with a real impact

1. Students connect university

and real world

2. Immediacy of delivery mode

and wide online dissemination

Visibility to Italian businesses now

aware of university activities

Alberto Milani (CEO, Buccellati Jewelry,

Madison Ave.)

“I entered this project with only the knowledge of the Italian language. I didn’t know anything about Italian or

American business, interviewing, film editing or journalism. I feel like this project and class has allowed me to get

my foot in the door,” says Agresta. “I don’t know where it will lead me in the future, but I feel that it’s definitely a

start of something big.”

Students at CIMA, Center for Italian Modern Art, NYC

Re

lev

an

ce

on

ca

mp

us 1. Strategic goals at MSU

A. An innovative real-world learning experience through co-curricular

activities

B. Dynamic approach to learning a language in the region via off campus

partnerships and new modes of instruction

2. Promotion in and outside the program (strong magnet for students

from different disciplines).

Federico Materazzi

Poltrona Frau, Soho

Fu

ture

ste

ps

New Coop Eds

(internships): Food

distributor in NJ and

restaurant

Presentations

Italian Trade

Commission (Italian

Consulate branch)

June 2: Italian

Republic Day

St. Peter’s Prep

School, Jersey City

Bring your

comments,

ideas,

feedback to

the table!