Service Learning Course
OBJECTIVES | COURSE ACTIVITIES
| EVALUATION
CRITERIA | LC4 HOME
PAGE
Faculty Team: Charla Bauer and Susan Fernandez
The goal of the service learning course is to link writing instruction and public action, to experience democracy as the art of public discourse. The National Service Learning Cooperative has conducted research on the impacts and effects of service learning to find that students benefit academically, personally, and socially from learning experiences in the community.
Socially responsive knowledge imparts a sense of community and a sense of responsibility to others; it helps develop the aspiration to resolve, rather than ignore or leave to others, the problems of society. When combined with "professional" and "foundational" knowledge--the traditional types of knowledge provided in universities--socially responsive knowledge can help us learn to become truly engaged citizens of the community in which we live, as well as of the world around us.
Online Information and Links about Service Learning
National Service Learning Clearinghouse
GSCC Service Learning Home Page
Course Objectives
The method of instruction for this course is called problem-based instruction, meaning that you must begin by recognizing a problem/issue (knowledge/comprehension skills), apply your knowledge to develop a response to the problem/issue (application/analysis skills), and, through your experience, understand new and personal ways of understanding the problem/issue (analysis/synthesis). With these cognitive and social goals to guide you, the following are the objectives of this course:
- to apply concepts learned through study of Biology, Human Geography, Historical Perspectives, and English Composition,
- to gain personal access to crucial issues,
- to develop a civic awareness,
- to demonstrate civic literacy,
- to make your learning relevant,
- to improve your academic performance by applying the course content outside of the classroom context,
- to build confidence,
- to practice the arts of public discourse in the experience of democracy.
COURSE ACTIVITIES AND TIME LINE
Fall Semester
Students will participate in group field trips during the Fall semester. All field trips will begin and end at the University and will include at least 3 sites and a meal. Bring about $10 to cover the meal.
- Each group will be given a camera to record images from the trip.
- Each student should bring a personal notebook in which to record impressions and observations during the day.
In addition to the small group field trips, we are trying to make arrangements for a journey (overnight) during the semester.
Images and Journals from the Riverwood Camping Trip
Exotics in the Wilderness:rhetoric on the river
LC4 on the Kissimee River:a scientist's observations
Late Fall Semester
Following the trip, each group will present information to the class, describing, summarizing, and analyzing their observations.
Students will work in groups to identify social conditions/issues observed during their field trips, asking such questions as How to the topics we're studying affect the social conditions we are identifying? and What assumptions/values underlie these conditions?
Link to Web Presentations on Tampa Images
Late Fall/Early Spring
Students or groups of students will identify points of intervention in a social issue.
The student or group will research information on the social issue and the agencies or organizations who act on the social issue. The student or group will prepare a bibliography on the topic to publish on the Web.
The student or group will outline a plan of action to engage the social issue, a statement of purpose which will be published on the Web.
Spring
The student or group will act on the plan of action. Students may volunteer in one of the agencies or organizations acting locally.
- Keep a journal record of your observations and experiences.
- Maintain a record of the various writing activities involved.
Late Spring
The student or group will prepare a reflective paper on the experience to be published on the Web.
Evaluation Criteria
The service learning course will satisfy elective credits and will improve your opportunities to succeed in the all the other courses.
You will receive a service learning grade based upon the number of entries and the quality of insight in your journal, your class presentation, your final reflective paper, and an on-sight evaluation from a supervisor (if applicable). The reflective paper will naturally involve a self-evaluation of your own participation, as well. Throughout the Spring semester, the group will have in-class sessions discussing the progress of your endeavors.