Developing a Premier Service-Learning Course Faculty Workshop Jeffrey Howard Director of Faculty Development, Steans Center Helen Damon-Moore Associate Director, Steans Center Michele Morano Associate Professor, English

Welcome Introductions a.Name, Department b. Why you’re here

Workshop Goals & Plan 1.Build capacity to design and teach a quality service-learning course a. foundational information b. you/we working on a couple of your learning objectives and begin working on your learning strategies to leverage the students’ community experiences 2. Identify resources for further learning 3. Identify potential next steps

Service-Learning A pedagogical model that intentionally integrates community service, academic learning, and civic learning. Civic learning distinguishes service-learning from internships, field studies, practica, etc. Aiming for a win-win: the community benefits from student involvement and the student benefits from the community involvement (mutual benefit)

Conceptualizing Service-Learning (p. 12) Service-learning is not synonymous with community service.

Models of Service-Learning Direct service Project-based Community-based research

Principles of Good Service-Learning Pedagogical Practice (pp ) 1.Academic credit is for learning, not for service 2.Do not compromise academic rigor 3.Establish academic and civic learning objectives 4.Establish criteria for selecting service placements 5.Provide educationally-sound learning strategies to harvest community learning and realize course learning objectives 6.Prepare students for learning from the community 7.Minimize the distinction between the student’s community learning role and classroom learning role 8.Rethink the faculty instructional role 9.Be prepared for variation in, and some loss of control with, student learning outcomes 10.Maximize the community responsibility orientation of the course

Alignment Academic and Civic Learning Objectives Learning Strategies (Reflection) Learning Assessment

Alignment Academic and Civic Learning Objectives Learning Strategies (Reflection) Learning Assessment

Categories of Academic Learning Objectives (pp ) Five Categories of Academic Learning that the Addition of Student Community Involvement Can Enhance: 1.Course-specific academic learning goals (application of theory, deepen understanding, reinforcement of theory) 2.Generic academic learning goals (critical thinking, problem- solving, writing, ethical matters,multicultural competence, communication) 3.Learning how to learn goals (active learning, extracting meaning from experience, integrating theory and practice) 4.Community learning (learning about a particular population or social issue) 5.Inter- and intra-personal learning (teamwork, values, social identities, knowledge of self)

Examples of Academic Learning Objectives that Leverage Students’ Community Experiences Must satisfy two criteria: 1.Enriches the students’ academic learning; and 2.Takes advantage of the students’ involvement in the community. Examples: a. Students will learn to apply course theory in the real world b. Students will develop their problem-solving skills in real world contexts c. Students will compare and contrast textbook theory with real world experiences d. Students will learn first-hand about what it means to be homeless

Practice Using the Alignment Chart handout, write a new or amend an existing academic learning objective for your course that takes advantage of the students’ community experiences. We will review a couple for the purpose of group learning.

About Purposeful Civic Learning (pp ) 1.Civic learning is a huge universe – it includes all knowledge, skills, and values that contribute to preparing students for active community involvement. 2.Civic learning doesn’t automatically happen by virtue of serving in the community. Be purposeful/intentional about setting and working to achieve civic learning objectives. 3.Strict Interpretation of Civic Learning - knowledge, skills, and values that make an explicitly direct and purposeful contribution to the preparation of students for active civic participation in a diverse democratic society. 4.Robust interpretation of Community Involvement – beyond voting, paying taxes, and obeying laws, to active contribution to one’s community, nation, and/or world

Examples of Purposeful Civic Learning Objectives (p. 42)

Citizenship Typology Westheimer and Kahne Personally Responsible Citizen “Acts responsibly in her/his community by, for example, picking up litter, giving blood, recycling, volunteering, and staying out of debt… works and pays taxes, obeys laws, and helps those in need during crises such as snowstorms or floods.” Participatory Citizen “Actively participates in the civic affairs and social life of the community at local, state, and national levels. While the personally responsible citizen might contribute cans of food for the homeless, the participatory citizen might organize the food drive.” Justice-Oriented Citizen “…calls explicit attention to matters of injustice and to the importance of pursuing social justice goals….critically assesses social, political, and economic structures and considers collective strategies for change that challenge injustice, and when possible, address root causes of problems. What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy Joel Westheimer & Joseph Kahne American Educational Research Journal, Vol 41, No. 2, Summer 2004.

Practice Three ways to determine a civic learning objective: 1. Review your choice on the“What Kind of College Graduate” handout and then work backwards. 2. Use the examples on p. 42 of the workbook to stimulate your own thinking. 3. The Kahne/Westheimer typology. Using the Alignment Chart handout, write a civic learning objective for your course.

Alignment Academic and Civic Learning Objectives Learning Strategies (Reflection) Learning Assessment

Course Learning Strategies = Reflection What course learning strategies, usually referred to as reflection in the service-learning literature, will you use in your service-learning course to enable students to satisfy the course academic and civic learning objectives? In general, learning strategies include readings, class discussions, papers, journals, classroom simulations, etc.

Developing an Academic Learning Reflection Assignment: An Example A community psychology class has the following academic learning objectives: 1. To understand and think critically about the major tenets of community psychology. 2. To understand the role of the environment in human behavior and the advantages of viewing behavior as a function of person-environment interactions. 3. To understand various approaches to and levels of community interventions. 4. To apply the core principles of community psychology to a range of social issues. As a reflection assignment, students might be asked to write a brief reflection paper on the topic, “Drawing on your community service experience in this course, identify and discuss three core community psychology principles operationalized at the community organization hosting you and two that aren’t but should be and why.” Write another reflection assignment question.

Practice Using the Alignment Chart handout, write a reflection strategy (for our purposes, a reflection journal question) for your academic learning objective in the prior column that satisfies two criteria: (a) it aligns with a learning objective and (b) it leverages the students’ community experiences. Then do the same for your civic learning objective.

Components of Reflection 1.Stimulus (e.g., journal question, photograph, quote, case study) 2.Vehicle (journal, interview, paper, classroom discussion, student presentations) 3.Feedback (faculty, peer, etc.)

Principles of Good Reflection* 1. Continuous before, during, and after the community experience 2. Connected links service to the intellectual, academic, and civic learning goals 3. Challenging encourages critical thinking and analysis that produces new understanding, raises new questions, and moves toward new frameworks for problem solving; goes beyond mere description 4. Contextualized considers the course level, the students’ capacity, etc. 5. Coaching provides ongoing feedback * Eyler, J., Giles, D., & Schmiede, A. (1996). A Practitioner’s Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning: Student Voices and Reflections. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Evaluating a Reflection Assignment and Evaluating a Student’s Response Journal excerpt from a student working at a home for victims of domestic violence as part of an introductory community psychology course Assignment: How are the clients treated at your organization and what are your thoughts about that treatment relative to what we have been reading about? It would be very hard for me as an adult to be restricted like that. The women are put on restriction for not smoking far enough away from the building, for having things other than water to drink in their rooms, talking to the opposite sex other than the pastors that come to (name of organization), and not keeping up with their chore list. I know they have these rules for a certain reason. I am not certain how it fits into the entire transformation process for each woman. How are these women going to learn to make decisions on their own when they are watched very closely and everyday is mapped out for them? Right now I am having a hard time seeing how this is helpful to their growth. When you tell a child not to do something, it is a green light for them to explore the possibilities. This is kind of what I see here. They are given a good home and people around them who care, but a list of rules a mile long. Some days I can see why they test the waters and push the limits. Evaluate the reflection journal assignment. Evaluate the student’s work: What about it answers the assignment and what about it doesn’t? What feedback would you give to this student for this paragraph?

Alignment Examples (pp. 32 and 49) Reflection Goal Categories Specific Learning Objective Classroom Strategy Student Assignment Method for Assessing Learning Academic: Course-Specific Academic Learning (1 of 5 academic learning categories) Students will deepen their understanding and application of course theory Class discussion time devoted to applying theory to community service and vice versa Final paper focused on making connections between course theories and community service experience Student’s demonstration of deep understanding and application of course theory to community service (Rubric) Civic: Diversity Learning (1 of 7 civic learning categories) Students will understand the concept of “privilege” “Privilege Walk” activity, followed by class discussion Journal assignment describing relevance of privilege walk discussion to experience in the community Quality of connections made by student in journal entry (Rubric)

Steans Center Services for Faculty Identify appropriate community organizations to host your students (we have partnerships with hundreds of Chicagoland nonprofits) Faculty workshops related to the service-learning pedagogy, community-based research methods, and getting such work published Trained peer facilitators to do reflections for your students Orientations for students to service-learning and respectful community entry and exit Trained service-learning coordinators serve as liaisons between the students and the community organization

Case Study A professor gives her students a long list of organizations with which she has interacted in the past, telling the students that a course requirement is for each student to select an organization to contact, and to develop a project to deliver at the end of the semester. The projects should draw on the knowledge gained in the class and be useful to the community organizations. The professor describes some possible projects that a student – or pairs of students – could develop. At the end of the semester, the students are expected to lead discussions about their work. How is this quality service-learning and how is it weak service- learning?

Service-Learning Course Syllabus Checklist Have you described service-learning and how it differs from community service/volunteerism? Have you explained why you are using service-learning in this particular course? Have you identified community placements appropriate for achieving course academic and civic learning objectives (names, contact information)? Are the academic and civic learning objectives identified? Is the community service proportionately represented on the syllabus relative to its role in the class? Are you appropriately leveraging the community service experience in class discussions and/or student assignments? Is there alignment amongst (1) learning objectives, (2) classroom activities and homework assignments (i.e., learning methods), and (3) your student learning assessment strategies?

Possible Next Steps Read and do the worksheets in the “Service-Learning Course Design Workbook” Meet or talk by phone with Jeff or Helen to build upon the conversation begun today Forward your draft syllabus for Jeff’s feedback Enlist the support of the Steans Center (Rubén Alvarez Silva; or Helen Damon-Moore; ) to identify potential community partners Review materials and resources at the faculty resources section of the Steans Center Webpage (steans.depaul.edu/faculty) Attend other Steans Center service-learning workshops, e.g., getting community-engaged scholarship published

Service-Learning Resources Faculty Section of the Steans Center’s Webpage Steans.depaul.edu Service-Learning Course Design Workbook National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Published and unpublished material related to service-learning Campus Compact Many syllabi by discipline, conference announcements, lost of publications friendly to service-learning Imagining America Concerned with community engagement in the humanities, arts, and design fields Community-Campus Partnerships for Health comprehensive resources targeted for but not limited to health professions Service-Learning in the Disciplines 24 discipline-specific monographs International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement – annual conference (September 2012 in Baltimore) Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning ginsberg.umich.edu/mjcsl/

Organization of the Workbook Section 1: Introduction Section 2: Foundational Information Section 3: Amplification on “Relevant and Meaningful Service with the Community” Section 4: Amplification on “Enhanced Academic Learning” Section 5: Amplification on “Purposeful Civic Learning”