{"80771":{"#nid":"80771","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Brings Innovation and Love of Teaching to the Classroom","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Bettina Cothran sees learning a foreign language as more than just memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. She views studying a language as an exciting way to expose students to other cultures and the truly global nature of today\u0027s world.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Having the language exposure makes students more attuned to differences in different cultures,\u0022 says Cothran. \u0022You need to see the others in order to appreciate them as well as your own culture.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECothran, an associate professor of German in the Georgia Tech School of Modern Languages, brings her enthusiasm and genuine caring for the well being of her students to the classroom, and her students respond to it.  She has won several teaching awards including the 2004 E. Roe Stamps Award for excellence in teaching, Georgia Tech\u0027s Outstanding Teacher of the Year award (1993), and the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Georgia Professor of the Year Award twice (1991 and 2002).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I always enjoy how Dr. Cothran keeps the class lively and keeps all students involved-asking questions, mini-projects with presentations to the class, etc. Also, she ties in what we are discussing with current events, bringing the information to life,\u0022 says Keri Foster, a senior in Global Economics and Modern Languages (GEML).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022She takes the time out of her day to help you through whatever class related problems,\u0022 says Charlie Ruhs, senior in Computer Engineering. \u0022In my European Union class, I met with her every Tuesday to go over the material so that I could stay up with the class.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition Cothran is highly innovative and has been a pioneer in developing new ways to teach German, which other language departments across the country have adopted.  She developed the first curriculum for the highly successful applied-learning language program called Languages for Business and Technology (LBAT) for which the School of Modern Languages has a national reputation.  LBAT is an intensive program that prepares students to be able to negotiate in the business world in their foreign language and includes topics such as appropriate behavior such as eye contact and body language. Each summer she leads a group of students in an LBAT study abroad program in Germany.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The practical application of a language is so important, in addition to the literature and philosophy of that country,\u0022 says Cothran. \u0022I think it is important to prepare students with the necessary tools to make this nation successful in a global marketplace.  After World War II, the American economy as the single largest economy constituted the largest percentage of the world market, but that is no longer so.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, about 700 German-based firms have operations in the southeast United States.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother novel, collaborative teaching approach developed by Cothran is the highly successful Languages Across the Curriculum courses, where courses are co-taught in the foreign language by faculty from Modern Languages and the discipline, such as International Affairs. This format provides students with two perspectives.  Cothran began this program with German courses and subjects, and after receiving a grant from the Department of Education, the School expanded the program to courses in French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The co-taught course about The European Union (EU) was probably the most fantastic teaching\/learning experience that I have ever had,\u0022 says Ashley Wood, senior in International Affairs and Modern Languages (Spanish\/German).  \u0022One teacher focused mainly on our German skills, while the other on our writing and debate skills as well as the content of the course.  I felt like I got double out of that class.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor her co-taught course about the EU, Cothran reaches an even wider audience with an online, interactive teaching unit based on the course, which has been published by the Goethe Institute and is available worldwide on their website. http:\/\/www.goethe.de\/uk\/chi\/wirtscha\/eu\/deindex.htm\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I think a good teacher has to awaken curiosity and wonder.  The joy in that to me is the core of what my profession is all about. Not to just teach an agenda but to open their minds,\u0022 says Cothran.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EModern Languages\u0027 growth supports one of the goals of Tech\u0027s Strategic Plan of offering a student-focused education by increasing the number of students who work or study abroad. Reflecting its overall teaching excellence, the School of Modern Languages in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts received in May the 2004 Regents\u0027 Awards for Excellence in Teaching in a Department from the University System of Georgia. The award recognized Modern Languages\u0027 impressive growth over the last five years of launching two new joint degrees, creating 61 new courses, building a strong advising program for its undergraduates, developing new team-taught courses and an International Internship Program.  \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Developer of New Approaches to Teaching Languages"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Dr. Bettina Cothran sees learning a foreign language as more than just memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. She views studying a language as an exciting way to expose students to other cultures and the truly global nature of today\u0027s world.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-08-09 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:58","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-08-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-08-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"80781":{"id":"80781","type":"image","title":"Dr. Bettina Cothran","body":null,"created":"1449178079","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:59","changed":"1475894696","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:56"}},"media_ids":["80781"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/","title":"Ivan Allen College"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.modlangs.gatech.edu\/index.html","title":"School of Modern Languages"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Grovenstein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lgrovenste3\u0022\u003EContact Lisa Grovenstein\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-8835\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}