For many students, spending a semester abroad is one of the most rewarding experiences they’ve had. Of course the travel and the sightseeing opportunities are enlightening, but it is often their classes and professors that make the trip extraordinary.
This semester, Marist’s own communications professor, Dr. Daniel Cochece Davis is participating in a faculty exchange program at Lorenzo de’ Medici (LdM) in Florence, Italy. While a professor from LdM teaches here at Marist, Davis is teaching two courses in Italy.
Dr. Daniel Cochece Davis is teaching communications classes in Florence as part of a faculty exchange program. Photo credit: www. marist.edu
Davis, who is currently teaching classes in Intercultural Communication as well as Persuasion, has been taking full advantage of Florence to assist the teaching and learning process.
“The city has offered a wonderful laboratory for the students to observe, analyze, and apply what they’ve been learning in class,” Davis said.
For his Persuasion class, Davis has students observe the culture of Florence and the people living there.
“The city is filled with examples of people using various persuasive techniques,” said Davis. “Gypsies, vendors, gelato shops, etc.”
He is also using the students’ own experiences to help teach his Intercultural Communication course. Since the students are all seeing and using Intercultural Communication on a daily basis in the foreign country, they are able to understand the topics on a more personal level.
“Teaching the Intercultural Communication course at LdM has really been helpful to understanding some of the nuances of sojourning students’ experiences going through ‘culture shock,’” said Davis.
He said he likes to incorporate students’ own stories into the class curriculum because “it helps bring the course concepts to life.”
Marist students study abroad in Florence at Lorenzo de' Medici. Photo credit: www.lorenzodemedici.org
The students seem to be benefiting from Davis’s hands-on teaching style. Junior Jamie Spinelli is currently taking and enjoying both of Davis’s classes at LdM.
“I have to say that I have learned the most in those two classes this semester,” Spinelli said. “Our class discussions were always applicable to real life and I think that’s what made it the most rewarding for me.”
Sophomore Vanessa Rannazzisi says that she has loved having Davis as a professor during her semester abroad.
“He really makes you think,” said Rannazzisi. “He allows for you to really open your eyes and expand your mind for what you’re learning.”
In addition to teaching the two courses at the LdM campus, Davis is also teaching an experimental course in Advanced Communication & Culture, developed in collaboration with Marist students who have previously studied abroad. During this semester, students enrolled in the course have been taking it online, discussing the cultures of Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa. On May 30, fourteen of those students will travel abroad to those countries they studied during the regular semester.
Davis hopes to offer the same course next year, focusing instead on cultures within the United Kingdom. Eventually, it may not just be current Marist students that get to enjoy this multi-dimensional experience.
“Long-term,” said Davis,”I would love to see more Marist alumni involved in these programs.”
It seems as though Davis has been bitten by the travel bug and the students are reaping the educational rewards.
“He’s an overall quirky but fabulously intelligent man that expects your best,” said Spinelli.
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