Research Guides: Researching Waltham: Resources for Research, Teaching, and Learning: Student and Faculty Projects

Past and Present Projects about Waltham

Across campus, faculty, staff and students have collaborated in an effort to integrate the City of Waltham and the greater Boston area into their coursework here at Brandeis. Below you will find some examples of those projects.

Sciences

Biodiversity at Brandeis
Evan Dankowicz '19 has used iNaturalist data compiled from BIOL 17B coursework to create field guides about the ecology of Waltham. He has also created individual guides within iNaturalist that are linked below.

List of iNaturalist Guides:
- Flowering Plants: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/4796
- Lichen, Fungi, and Non-Flowering Plants: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/4795
- Non-Arthropod Animals: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/4792
- Non-Holometabolous Arthropods: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/4794
- Holometabolous Insects: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/4793

BIOL 17B: Conservation Biology
Students in Professor Colleen Hitchcock's course use iNaturalist, an app that allows you to take pictures in nature and then identify plants and animals around you, to observe biodiversity around the Brandeis campus and into Waltham. The class has been working with iNaturalist as an open data set to record observations in the Waltham area alongside community partners such as the Waltham Community Farm, Waltham High School, Cedar Hill Girl Scout Camp, and Meadowmaking for Biodiversity.
BIOL 39B: Biology of Global Climate Change
Originally a part of the BIOL 23A: Ecology course, Professor Colleen Hitchcock and students have created a website based on phenology data collected by the Biology and Environmental Studies departments at Brandeis. Waltham provides the perfect context for observing phenology, the study of seasonal events, which occur frequently in the temperate northeast.

ENVS 2A: Fundamentals of Environmental Challenges
In Professor Dan Perlman's environmental studies class, students conduct a semester-long project called "A Place in the Woods". Students designate an outdoor area in nature that they visit weekly, drawing sketches of plants, trees, and leaves, as well as making detailed observations about the weather and surrounding environment. These field notes serve to document Waltham's changing scenery throughout the course of the year.

Social Sciences

ANTH 60A: Archaeological Methods
As a practicum, ANTH 60A involves readings and lectures, but the core of the class is experiential, hands-on learning. Students practice archaeological methods in Waltham, including working with excavation sites at the historic Samuel Harrington House, which is now home to Brandeis' Rabb School of Continuing Studies.
ANTH 60B: Archaeological Analysis
This course serves as an introduction to archaeological laboratory methods and analyses, looking at mediums from human behavior to material remains. Just as with ANTH 60A, students have the opportunity to work with artifacts found at the Harrington House, as well as conduct independent research in surrounding communities in locations such as the Boston area's graveyards.
ED 175A: The Teaching of English Language Learners PreK-12
In this education course, students have the opportunity to learn from Waltham community and Public School partners about being an English learner in this environment. The class brings in guest speakers that share their stories regarding the immigrant experience and challenges with language learning in Waltham. Students then reflect on these stories by creating their own blogs that focus on cultural competency, amongst other intuitive assignments.

Professor Rachel Kramer Theodorou and the Waltham Family School
As part of her community and faculty service work, Professor Kramer Theodorou works with the Waltham Family School, a school that provides educational opportunities to families who want to learn English. She is developing an adult education course about being a parent in the Waltham Public Schools and also helps adults navigate their children's school while simultaneously they learn to speak English.

SOC 1A: Order and Change in Society
Through one of the projects in this introductory Sociology course, students compare and contrast various policies in Waltham and the neighboring town of Newton, examining demographic data and public figures of each respective area.

International Business School

BUS 297C: Leadership Internships in Social Impact Organizations
This experiential learning graduate-level class provides an opportunity for students to individually assume strategic, tactical, and/or leadership assignments in social impact organizations in Waltham. As part of their work, students will be exposed to organizational and business leadership from the community.
DEIS Hacks
‘Deis Hacks is a two-week online hackathon, jointly created and sponsored by the MakerLab and the International Business School. It integrates diverse graduate and undergraduate minds to solve challenges related to local Waltham non-profits.

Something to Add?

If you know of a project that belongs in this guide, please contact either Professor Sara Shostak (sshostak@brandeis.edu) or Professor Wendy Cadge (wcadge@brandeis.edu).