Post on 07-Aug-2015
By Dr. Mitzi E. Lewis for the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges 2015 Annual MeeAng
Civic engagement & student learning: Forging local community partnerships with realisAc expectaAons
Available online
PresentaAon: hJp://bit.ly/coplac15 OR à
Contact info: Email: mitzi.lewis@mwsu.edu TwiJer: @mitzilewis
Today’s presentaAon: Public Places, Digital Spaces
• Begin with context/research • Follow with examples of “student civic engagement…in and about local community, and how this work can be integrated into the curriculum” (COPLAC, 2015)
Source: Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. (2015). “Public Places, Digital Spaces: Place-‐Based and Technology-‐Enhanced Learning at Public Liberal Arts Colleges Call for Proposals.” hJps://docs.google.com/document/d/1IguQxLBuceagbWZreCp7D3Re9DTXD_AquWVgR2AQOV4/
What does civic learning and engagement include?
• curricular components • service learning • community partnerships • internships • community-‐based undergraduate research
Source: Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. (2015). “COPLAC Civic Learning and Engagement Project.” hJp://www.coplac.org/publicaAons/arAcles/?arAcle=2027
Why civic engagement?
“A socially cohesive and economically vibrant US democracy and a viable, just global community require informed, engaged, open-‐minded, and socially responsible people commiJed to the common good and pracAced in “doing” democracy.” (pp. 13-‐14)
Source: NaAonal Task Force on Civic Learning and DemocraAc Engagement. (2012). “A crucible moment: College learning and democracy’s future.” hJps://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/crucible/Crucible_508F.pdf
a national call to action
A CRUCIBLE MOMENT W College Learning ! Democracy’s Future F f The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement
Why civic engagement?
To “empower students as informed and engaged ciAzens of the new century.”
a national call to action
A CRUCIBLE MOMENT W College Learning ! Democracy’s Future F f The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement
Source: Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. (2015). “COPLAC civic learning and engagement project.” hJp://www.coplac.org/publicaAons/arAcles/?arAcle=2027
Source: Associates, Hart Research. (2013). It Takes More Than a Major Employer PrioriAes for College Learning and Student Success. Liberal Educa-on, 99(2), 22-‐29.. via Malachowski, M. “ConnecAng undergraduate research to other high impact pracAces.” PresentaAon for Midwestern State University, April 29, 2015.
Civic engagement can help students gain skills employers want
Employers say the most emphasis should be placed on: ² criAcal thinking and analyAcal reasoning ² complex problem solving and analysis ² wriJen and oral communicaAon ² the applicaAon of knowledge and skills in real-‐world senngs ² the locaAon, organizaAon, and evaluaAon of informaAon
from mulAple sources ² innovaAon and creaAvity
Why civic engagement?
• Good for students • Good for the community
Civic engagement is good for students
“Engaged forms of learning yield more educaAonal effecAveness (transformaAonal experiences)
² NaAonal Survey of Student Engagement ² Student Success in College: Crea-ng Condi-ons that Ma:er
(2005, Jossey-‐Bass & AAHE) ² Greater Expecta-ons: A New Vision for Learning as a Na-on
goes to College (2002, AAC&U) ² College Learning for the New Global Century (2007, AAC&U) ² Others (e.g., NSF, NRC, PKAL, HHMI, Carnegie, Kuh et al., Barr
& Tagg, Guskin, AsAn, Pascarella, etc.)”
Source: Malachowski, M. “ConnecAng Undergraduate Research to other high impact pracAces.” PresentaAon for Midwestern State University, April 29, 2015.
Civic engagement is good for students
“Frequent results of the effecAve interplay of service and learning are that parAcipants:
² Develop a habit of criAcal reflecAon on their experiences, enabling them to learn more throughout life,
² Are more curious and moAvated to learn,… ² Strengthen their ethic of social and civic response,… ² Understand problems in a more complex way and can
imagine alternaAve soluAons,… ² Learn how to work more collaboraAvely with other people
on real problems, ² Realize that their lives make a difference.” (pp. 2-‐3)
Source: HonneJ, E. P., & Poulsen, S. J. (1989). “Principals of good pracAce for combining service and learning.” Guides. Paper 27. hJp://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slceguides/27
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Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-‐impact educa-onal prac-ces: What they are, who has access to them, and why they ma:er. AssociaAon of American Colleges and UniversiAes.
Source: Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-‐impact educa-onal prac-ces: What they are, who has access to them, and why they ma:er. AssociaAon of American Colleges and UniversiAes.
Service learning
Source: Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-‐impact educa-onal prac-ces: What they are, who has access to them, and why they ma:er. AssociaAon of American Colleges and UniversiAes.
Service learning
Source: Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-‐impact educa-onal prac-ces: What they are, who has access to them, and why they ma:er. AssociaAon of American Colleges and UniversiAes.
Service learning is good for the community
“Reconnect[s] universiAes with communiAes” “Has a posiAve impact on students’ intenAons to parAcipate in community service”
Source: McCarthy, A. M., & Tucker, M. L. (2002). Encouraging community service through service learning. Journal of Management Educa-on, 26(6), 629-‐647.
Service learning is good for the community
“Bring[s] fresh, outsider perspecAves and new ideas to the organizaAon.” “Fill[s] volunteer slots needed to keep programs running” “Increase[s] the number of people organizaAons can serve and enhance the quality of services” “Free[s] up organizaAonal resources to be used in any number of producAve ways.” “ParAcularly important for small non-‐profit organizaAons with small budgets or unsteady funding streams” (p. 125 & 126)
Source: Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-‐based organizaAons' perspecAves on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120-‐135.
Service learning is good for the community
“Some students conAnue their service to the organizaAon beyond the course requirements as regular volunteers, interns or staff.” “In some cases, students assist in recruitment by encouraging other students to volunteer.” “Service learners may also become organizaAonal advocates who educate others about the mission of the organizaAon, enhance public awareness about related social issues and generally increase publicity about the organizaAon.” (p. 126)
Source: Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-‐based organizaAons' perspecAves on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120-‐135.
Service learning is good for the community
“[Can help] bridge the ‘town-‐gown divide.” “Can provide organizaAons access to university resources (e.g., technical experAse, connecAons to faculty with shared research/occupaAonal interests) and open the door to other types of beneficial collaboraAons.” (p. 126)
Source: Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-‐based organizaAons' perspecAves on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120-‐135.
Community reported obstacles to successful service learning
Source: Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-‐based organizaAons' perspecAves on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120-‐135.
• Student conduct and commitment • Course—community organizaAon fit • CommunicaAon
Strongest faculty-‐reported deterrents from using service learning
Source: Abes, E., Jackson, G., & Jones, S. (2002). Factors that moAvate and deter faculty use of service-‐learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(1), 5-‐17.
• “anAcipate having logisAcal problems coordinaAng the community service aspect of the course”
• “do not know how to use service-‐learning effecAvely” • “is not relevant to the courses I teach” • “have not been given or do not anAcipate being
given release Ame to develop a service-‐learning course” (p. 12)
• Planning • ImplementaAon • Final reflecAon and celebraAon
ConsideraAons for successful service learning
• Start early
Planning
“Weeks of programming can save you hours of planning.”
—Anonymous
Planning
“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”
—Unknown
Planning
• Start early • Start slow/small • See if your university offers release Ame, funding support, or
other logisAcal support • Find other faculty (in your field and in other fields) who have
used service learning and ask them what worked well and what they would do differently; if you have a hard Ame finding them, check out the COPLAC service learning webpage: hJp://www.coplac.org/resources/service-‐learning.php
• IdenAfy appropriate course (where learning outcomes could be supported)
• Choose an organizaAon/project that aligns with/supports your learning outcomes; office(s) on campus that work with the community may be able to help with this
Planning
• Involve community organizaAon/partner in planning • Together, idenAfy needs, realisAc goals, benefits for campus/students and for community organizaAon
• Underpromise and overdeliver with community partners; discuss with them up front that there will be learning opportuniAes
• Expect mistakes learning opportuniAes; use them as teachable moments
• Follow-‐up in-‐person discussions with wriJen communicaAon to reinforce shared understanding and correct any misunderstandings
Planning
• Explain to students why service/community-‐based learning is useful to them (why it is a valuable instrucAonal tool)
• Communicate goals and expectaAons clearly to students up front and reinforce throughout the semester
• Encourage ownership by involving students in senng these to the extent possible
• Connect students with organizaAon and its people
ImplementaAon
• ConAnue to follow-‐up in-‐person discussions with wriJen communicaAon to reinforce shared understanding and correct any misunderstandings
• Incorporate project submission in parts as the semester progresses (instead of one big submission at the end)
• Provide both students and the community organizaAon structured opportuniAes for criAcal reflecAon/feedback (during and a|er)
ImplementaAon
• Solicit final feedback from students and community organizaAon
• Use what you learn to inform future work • Celebrate with students and community organizaAon!
• Document success and share with stakeholders: current students, potenAal future students, community organizaAons, administraAon
Final reflecAon and celebraAon
• CommunicaAon channels/processes – within the class – between the class and the community organizaAon
• PresentaAon formats • File formats appropriate for intended use • Website pla~orms/content management systems • Management of technology a|er class/project is over
• One size does not fit all
Technology-‐specific consideraAons
Two general types of service learning
Source: Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-‐based organizaAons' perspecAves on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120-‐135.
• Program oriented • Project oriented
Brochure Redesign
No original :-‐(
Interfaith Ministries, Inc. was established
in January, 1982, to assist families and individuals
whose lives have been adversely affected by a
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Interfaith Ministries is part of the
community outreach of over 70 congregations in
the Wichita Falls area.
The Prescription Project provides long-
term assistance with monthly prescription bills to
chronically ill individuals.
Interfaith Ministries is a member of the
Wichita Falls Area Disaster Recovery Committee,
which provides a coordinated local response
to major natural or man-made disasters. The
Committee’s purpose is to assist individuals
unable to recover through their own resources.
Wicked Weather Weekend is a bi-annual
community event that focuses on preparation for
and recovery after severe weather in Texoma. This
fundraiser is family oriented and free to the public.
About Interfaith
Ministries
What we do
Rent and rent depositsUtility bills and deposits
Interfaith Ministries, Inc. helps residents of Wichita
County and Holliday, Texas with emergency needs
including:
Food, cleaning supplies, and toiletries
Short-term and long-term prescription assistanceEyeglassesMedical referrals
Gasoline for scheduled job interviews or medical appointmentsBus tickets Drivers’ licenses, birth DFSUJmDBUFT �*%�DBSET
Referrals to other helping agencies are given to assist clients in meeting their needs
Eligibility: You must be a Wichita County or
Holliday resident.
Paperwork: Bring your social security card,
a valid Texas ID (TX DPS issued) and any bills,
prescriptions or other paperwork relating to your
need to: 1101 11th St. (corner of 11th and Austin).
No appointment needed: You will be seen
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Hours of operation:
When You Need
Help
What to expect: A volunteer will talk with you
about your immediate need, taking a look at your
situation to decide how Interfaith can best help.
While Interfaith may not be able to help you with
everything needed, we will work with you to
decide which needs are most important and try to
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Interfaith’s goal is to provide information and
encouragement to help you take steps toward
meeting your own needs. We care about you and
want to help with the crisis you are facing.
Monday 9 a.m.–2:45 p.m.
Tuesday 9 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
1 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
Thursday 9 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
1 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
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Outside of new brochure
Inside of new brochure
AddiAonal informaAon
• Campus Compact: “a naAonal coaliAon of nearly 1,100 colleges and universiAes commiJed to…deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility.” hJp://compact.org/
• Faculty Toolkit for Service Learning in Higher EducaAon: hJp://www.eas~ieldcollege.edu/Assets/ServiceLearning/faculty-‐toolkit-‐for-‐service-‐learning.pdf
• List of service-‐learning and public scholarship journals: hJps://www.binghamton.edu/cce/faculty/sl-‐publicaAons.html
QuesAons? SuggesAons?
PresentaAon: hJp://bit.ly/coplac15 OR à
Contact info: Email: mitzi.lewis@mwsu.edu TwiJer: @mitzilewis