Many blog readers know a little bit about the how and why of this course, but we wanted to bring all our followers up to speed — especially our new ones!

The original course (BIO70) didn’t include any field experience.  Professor Zegans taught the upper level course to mostly seniors, where it consisted of lectures, team literature presentations, and the creation of an NIH-style grant proposal.  In 2015, the team at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning began offering pilot funding for undergraduate courses that expanded the teaching to include a clearly defined experiential learning aspect.  Professor Zegans and Dawn Carey moved forward with their Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) course funding application to cover the costs of travel to southern India during winterim.

The on-campus component of the fall course follows much of the same format and content as the original.  One small change was winnowing the large number of qualified applicants down to the course cap of ten.  With the limitations of travel funding and time, this process allowed the faculty to select students with an appropriately high academic and research background. During the ten-week, on-campus, component, students were introduced to the science side of eye health on a cellular level, along with gaining an understanding of the environmental and behavioral aspects of disease.  In addition, the students attended a required Cultural Navigation class, where they explored some of possible opportunities and challenges found in traveling to a new locale.

The ELI funding also made it possible to host a visiting research scholar from our partner institution, Aravind Eye Care, as another component for feedback and content for the classroom.  This researcher spearheads our scientific conference activities here in Madurai.

Many thanks to DCAL and the ELI for making all this possible!