Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim, Associate Professor
616-526-8868
pdpruim@calvin.edu
Office: Hiemenga Hall 425
Office hours by appointment (a cup of tea is usually included)
Educational background
- Professor Dykstra-Pruim's Curriculum Vitae
- B.A. Calvin College 1988 (German)
- M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1989 (German Literature)
- Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1995 (German-English Applied Linguistics)
Experience
- Associate professor, Calvin College (2010–present)
- Assistant professor, Calvin College (2005–2010)
- Researcher and developer, Evia Learning (1998–2007)
- Lecturer and TA director, Brown University (1995–1998)
- Teaching assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989–1994)
Academic interests
- Culture and intercultural learning
- Building cultural intelligence (CQ)
- Second language acquisition (SLA) and materials development
- Community building and learning environments.
Recent activities
- Developing the new German curriculum at Calvin College
- Leading and coordinating German chapels
- Organizing and baking Apfelstrudel for Department Kaffeestunden
- Chair, American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Culture Task Force
- National Exam Testing Chair for the Michigan Chapter of AATG
- Co-author of two nationally distributed German curricula "Auf geht's!" and "Weiter geht's!" used at over 50 institutions
- Co-author of "Schreiben Lernen: A Writing Guide for Learners of German" with Yale University Press
- Leader in Building Your Cultural Intelligence workshop
Hobbies
- Spending time with her family
- Cooking
- Knitting
- Musizieren (yes, that's making music) with her daughter, husband and friends
Additional information
- Her husband, Randall J. Pruim, is a professor of mathematics at Calvin College, and she has three children.
"My three children are all the proof I need that gene mixing is unpredictable, and that outliers are part of statistical averages. My husband may not affirm the mathematical validity of that last statement."
