From the Professor's Desk: Keepin' it Classy in Firenze

Buongiorno, tutti!

Yesterday you had the opportunity to read an excellent research update written by rising sophomore, Anyia Clayton. Our research progress has remained steady, with nearly 25 interviews completed and several surveys submitted. We are well on our way to meeting our data collection goals! The students have been working hard with study recruitment, and their excitement and interest is on clear display during our data discussion class periods. They have exponentially grown in their research skills, interpretations, and writing—and we are only in week four of our program! I am continually impressed by their passions and insights, and am looking forward to their final research papers and presentations (scheduled for August 1). Engaging in research and co-authoring a manuscript as an undergraduate student at Purdue University (’06) absolutely kickstarted my research interests, and I am hoping our experience here in Florence is doing the same for some of these young women. This was one of the many reasons I wanted to create a blended research and study abroad opportunity—both tend to be high priorities, and impressive resume-builders, for our students!

For those of you craving a little more information on our research project….we have been exploring women’s reproductive and sexual health issues among women aged 18 – 45 years living in and around Florence. Our data collection strategies have included one-hour, in-depth interviews (often conducted in small cafes, private offices, or other comfortable locations) and a web-based survey. Both the interviews and the survey contain questions related to health in Italy (in general), contraception decision-making, pregnancy culture, genital hair removal and hygiene practices, and menstruation, among other similar topics. This is an exploratory study intended to capture an array of women’s health information, as little is published in English on Italian women’s health behaviors and outcomes. Italian women are intriguing for this fact, and Italy in general has a lower unintended pregnancy rate than the US—a topic we are exploring in-depth. I hope this gives you a taste of our work….you will have to wait until we present or publish the data to know more of the juicy details, and how the outcomes will help us understand women in Italy, and all around the world.

Our class periods have been quite engaging and pleasurable. The 2.5 hour time period seems to fly by, and before I know it, the students dart out to get to their next class—Cultural Introduction to Italy. Our daily class schedule has been arranged similar to this: 1) “Family bonding,” which is where we engage in personal development so we can continue to function well and grow as a team; 2) Recapping the prior day’s lesson/touching base on any happenings; 3) Participating in writing workshops to build skills in scientific manuscript development; 4) A discussion on the day’s assigned reading; and 5) Group time for students to make progress on their assigned manuscript topics. My teaching philosophy is largely focused on experiential learning, so I have tried to cultivate an environment full of discussion, peer and mentor education, reflective thought, and team-based exercises. See picture to the right of our student teams working together on their assigned tasks!

Today’s class period focused on how to compose the Methods section of a mixed research methods manuscript. This portion, for me, tends to be the easiest paper portion to compose, and I think the students are sharing this same sense. Most of their time was spent split into paper teams to compose paragraphs detailing all the intricacies of our process, one they know so well since they have been living and breathing the project since landing in Florence. Even prior to our Italy travels, each of them had an opportunity to review and provide feedback on both our interview guide and web-based survey tool, which I feel made them further understand the project’s goals and intentions. I went from #PassionateProfessor to #BestProfessorEver when I ended class early for a field trip to my favorite organic gelato spot, Edoardo, to celebrate Chandler’s belated (July 8) and Audrey’s early (July 12) birthdays. Below is a picture of us with our tasty gelato, which aligns nicely with an emerging theme of our adventures—food, but more specifically, gelato!

I would like to give a special shout out to my two graduate assistants on the program, Audrey Rehberg and Sydney Rivera. They have both been instrumental to the program’s success, through working closely with the undergraduate students inside and outside of the classroom. Our research is thriving under their project management, and I could not be more impressed by their professionalism.

Our upcoming blog posts will focus on health topics in Florence and throughout Italy, so all of our followers are in for a real treat. Keep following along to learn about various health policies, structures, experiences, and more. Ciao for now!

This post was composed by Dr. Andrea DeMaria, Assistant Professor at Purdue University and Program Director for this study abroad experience. She can be reached at ademaria@purdue.edu.