Creating authentic experiences in the service-learning composition classroom - PowerPoint Presentation

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Creating authentic experiences in the service-learning composition classroom

Adam WebbSlide2

Why service-learning(in composition)?Bruce Herzberg (1994, 2000), Gere & Sinor (1997), Adler-Kassner, Crooks, & Watters (1997), Thomas Tai-Seale (1997)Thomas Deans (2000), Ball & Goodburn (2000), James. M. Dubinsky (2001), Danika Brown (2001), Ellen Cushman (2002)Paula Mathieu (2005), Dan Butin (2005), Maria Mikolchak (2006), Posey & Quinn (2009), Baca & Muro (2009)Slide3

What is service-learning? Service-learning is a method that connects teaching and learninggoals with community service, usually in the form of volunteering. Service-learning helps students participate within local communities—promoting civic engagement and responsibility—thus building important connections and a greater understanding of those communities’ diverse needs. The educational component of service-learning comes in the form of having students reflect on their experiences. Service-learning’s connection to freshmen composition is relatively recent, starting in the mid-nineteen-eighties. Slide4

One service-learning modelImage retrieved from: http://www.servicelearningcourse.org/image/pyramid.gif, 2009 Slide5

Dale’s Cone of ExperienceSlide6

Another service-learning modelImage retrieved from:http://www.berea.edu/celts/servicelearning/images/servicelearningdiagram.jpg, 2009 Slide7

Assumptions Assumption 1: Freshmen will benefit from engaging in service-learning projects in the composition classroom during the course of a semester because it will expose them to a form of civic engagement through actual participation by volunteering at a local non-profit organization. Slide8

Assumptions continued…Assumption 2:The composition classroom is an appropriate place to incorporate service-learning projects because it allows students to view research and writing as being something more than just writing an essay. Writing is a social act. Slide9

Assumptions continued…Assumption 3: By incorporating service-learning projects into the composition classroom, students will learn how to effectively plan, schedule, set goals (strategies) when it comes to participating and researching about a local community (i.e. local non-profit organization).Slide10

Research questionsHow will students attitudes toward research and writing in a service-learning composition classroom change during the course of semester? What kinds of writing should students do in a service-learning composition classroom? What types of evaluation or grading rubrics should be used to evaluate or grade students’ writing in the service-learning composition classroom? What type of writing assignment sequence would be effective for incorporating service-learning projects in the composition classroom? Slide11

GoalsLearn how to work together as a collaborative teamLearn how to research and write together as a collaborative teamRead and understand various aspects of service-learning and its purposesVolunteer at a local non-profit organization Engage in primary and secondary researchLocate and explore perplexing and complex questions and issues within a local communityWrite and communicate and in various formats and conventionsLearn how to evaluate self and peer performance within a collaborative team Learn how to evaluate writingSlide12

ObjectivesWrite three reading responses to service-learning articlesConduct interviews with individuals connected to a local non-profit organizationMake specific observations of the kinds of questions and issues that individuals deal with in a local non-profit organizationGather primary and secondary research into a document displaying this knowledge and informationVolunteer at a local-nonprofit organizationCollaborate with peers in a formal debate based on the research (primary and secondary) of the readings, discussion, and the experiences of volunteering (what does it take to be a volunteer)Slide13

Classroom structureStudents work in groups of 2-3Collaborative writing teamsWriting team contracts Center for Civic Engagement (service-learning programs)Alternative writing assignmentSlide14

Writing assignmentsWritten responses to the four articles (a short summary and some in-depth reflection on the three readings, offering honest and constructive criticism on them) Background and history of the local non-profit organization (i.e. from the non-profit organization’s website or from the literature they have produced)1-2 semi-formal interviews with individuals associated with the local non-profit organizationReflection on the interviewees’ responses as well as on your volunteer experiences Slide15

Writing assignments continued…Formal debates over service-learning/community service/volunteeringFinal reflection over the course Slide16

Four articlesAdler-Kassner, L. (2000). Service-Learning at a Glance. COLLEGE CYBERBRIEF (newsletter). Reprinted with permission of the National Council of Teachers of English. Retrieved online as a PDF file on 10 October 2009. http://reflections.syr.edu/featured/KassnerLinda.pdf>. Butin, D. W. (2005). Service-learning is dangerous. National Teaching & Learning Forum 14(4), <http://www.ntlf.com/>, pp. 1-5.Herzberg, B. (1994). Community service and critical thinking. College Composition and Communication, 45(3), 307-19.Sigmon, R. (1979). Service-Learning: Three Principles. Synergist (9)1, 9-11.Slide17

InstrumentsGrading rubrics for writing assignments -One for the reading responses, background/history, and interviews/reflections -One for the formal debate -One for the final reflection over the courseSurvey (8 questions, mixed method)Observations in the students’ writing Slide18

Service-learning videoService-learning in the intermediate composition classroomSlide19

Questions?