Engage with Mason Transformational Learning through Community Engagement

Agenda  Introductions  Overview of Principles and Options  Small group discussion  BREAK  Panel: Perspectives on EL Partnerships  Wrap-up Engage with Mason

Engage with Mason Students Engage with Mason

Engage with Mason Students  Volunteerism  Community Work-Study  Internships  Field Studies and Community Based Research  Community Based Learning and Service Learning Engage with Mason

Volunteerism Non-credit bearing projects with groups of students (e.g. student organizations, residence hall floors) ProCon Voluntarily engaged students = energy Freedom from constraints of the academic calendar Less expertise and typically no faculty to provide training/information. Volunteer commitment is sometimes uncertain Engage with Mason

Community Work-Study Students earn pay through their work with you, with approximately 2/3 of the funds coming from the Federal Financial Aid program. ProCon Freedom from constraints of the academic calendar Students earning funding are typically much more committed Federal funding = some paperwork hassles You need 1/3 of the funds Your hiring choices are “limited” to students who qualify for financial aid. Engage with Mason

Credit-Bearing “EL” at Mason  Internships. Individual student experiences, but with a faculty advisor  45 hours in the field = 1 academic credit  Must have a learning agreement/syllabus with a faculty member in advance  Can be initiated by community partner or student  Course add-on. Students opt to add 1 credit to an existing course through relevant experience  45 hours in the field = 1 academic credit  Must have a learning agreement/syllabus with a faculty member in advance  Typically initiated by student, occasionally suggested by faculty  Integrated in a course.  45 hours in the field NOT required  Several design models will be discussed here  Often initiated by faculty, but ideally co-constructed with community partner Engage with Mason

Credit-Bearing “EL” at Mason Schedule  Fall and Spring are 15 week semesters  January term is  Summer terms are  Session A: Late May through June (5 weeks)  Session B: June through mid-July (7 weeks)  Session C: July through early August (5 weeks) Current academic schedule: registrar.gmu.edu/calendars/ Engage with Mason

Internships Credit-bearing professional development experiences  45 hours in the field = 1 academic credit  Must have a learning agreement with a faculty member  You can help the student by being ready to articulate what the student will do and learn.  The student will need to articulate how learning will be demonstrated (make this project work for you when you can)  Learning agreement must be signed by community partner, faculty and student prior to the course registration period  Promote and “hire” interns the semester prior to when credit will be earned.  Whether paid or unpaid, internship “employers” are required to follow Department of Labor laws/regulations. Contacts:  To post internship positions: Career Services,  To arrange for academic credit: in most departments the student needs to arrange with an internship coordinator or other faculty member. Engage with Mason

EL Integrated Courses  Service-Learning/Community-Based Learning  Field Studies courses  Research courses A Few Typical Models:  Individual placements  Either students find their own placement or faculty provide pre-approved options  Group projects  Can sometimes involve little time in the field, instead students provide a product (e.g. a data-base design, marketing plan)  Full class projects  The entire class engages as a group  Not necessarily scheduled together: stay open-minded Engage with Mason

EL Integrated Courses Primary Goals of Paperwork:  Clarity of the scope and nature of the project is shared by faculty, student and community partner. (Learning agreement form)  Data is gathered to assess and respond for continual improvement. (End of semester evaluation form: submit online) New: Long-term Partnership Agreements  The rest of our process is evolving right now – please stand by as PROGRESS is being made! Engage with Mason

Experiential Learning (Kolb) Act Reflect Conceptualize/Theory Build Apply Engage with Mason

Principles of Good Practice  Studies have shown that for transformational learning to occur:  Students must engage in meaningful work  Students must think critically about what they have learned about community, the course topics, and themselves  The experience should be integrated into the coursework (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Mitchell, 2008) Engage with Mason

Our Values  Co-creation of projects with community partners  Mutually beneficial projects with meaningful student work  Sustained campus/community partnerships  Building student capacity to engage in community work Engage with Mason

Our Values  Intentional student learning goals  Integration of experiences with other course elements (assignments, class discussion, etc.)  Student reflection and critical thinking on experience  Attention to civic learning Engage with Mason

Staying Connected  Sharing Resources via Wiki  Sharing Reflections via Blog  Information Form for follow-up Engage with Mason

Group Discussion  How do you/could you benefit from a campus/community partnership?  What are the keys to a successful partnership from your perspective? What are the challenges?  Do you have any processes or practices in place that help improve the quality of these partnerships?  Are there any questions or issues you would like the panel to discuss? Engage with Mason