FIRST YEAR SEMINAR 2004-2005
INT 115:
IDENTITY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLORATION
Community-Based Learning at
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
by Students
1. What is “CBL” (Community-Based Learning)?
Community -based learning combines community service with academic instruction. Students (a) provide service (as defined by the community) and (b) reflect on the service activity as a means of gaining a better understanding of course content. It is a teaching and learning method that allows students to test theories with real life experiences. CBL is not just another class assignment. In this course you will be required to build relationships and work cooperatively with members of pre-selected community organizations which have agreed to collaborate with First Year (INT 115) Seminars and to act as your community hosts this semester.
2. How many hours do
I have to serve?
You have to complete a minimum of 20 hours of service by the end of the semester. You should schedule 6 to 8 hours per month over the course of the semester. Your professor will be checking in with the host organization staff to follow your progress.
3. How will I be
graded for the CBL?
You are not graded for performing community service but instead will be assessed on your ability to reflect on and critically analyze your service experience as well as apply your service experience to the course content and vice versa. This will include relating the course lectures and materials to your real-life experiences at your service site. Your professor will assess this element of the course on the basis of a portfolio consisting of the following components:
1. Forms, which your professor will distribute, including the pre-service and post-service survey;
2. A guided reflection that you will write in class;
3. Your journal observation entries on the your first six hours of service;
4. A poster presentation or other written or oral assignment specific to your section;
5. Your journal observation entries on your remaining hours of service;
6. A final reflective paper in which you integrate the service you performed with the seminar objectives; and,
7. Any brochures, literature, photographs, sketches, interview notes, poems, websites, etc., you include as related to your service.
Your grade on the portfolio will constitute 25% of your overall course grade.
4. What skills do I
need to do CBL?
The main skills you need are the real life skills you may already possess, such as sensitivity, good communication, self-presentation, and time management. For example, you might be supervised by and work with people who are different from you in various ways. You should always treat them with respect. The philosophy of CBL claims that members of these communities have know-how and expertise that both you and your professors respect and can learn from. In college, if you don’t show up to class or meet your academic obligations, you only let yourself down. But in CBL, if you don’t uphold your obligations to your host community organization, there are other serious consequences: you may disrupt its work or even create more work for the organization. If you know in advance that you will be missing your service hours (because of an emergency or scheduling conflict), you should contact your site supervisor as soon as possible to reschedule your hours. If you miss your hours unexpectedly, it is up to YOU (not your host organization) to reschedule your service hours as soon as possible.
5. Whom should I
contact if I have a problem at my service site?
You should contact your site supervisor, your professor, and Dean Michie.
6. If I can’t serve
at the pre-selected site, can I serve at another community organization?
Yes, but you must discuss this as soon as possible with your professor.
7. What are the
benefits of CBL as experiential learning?
CBL as one form of experiential learning differs from much of traditional education in suggesting that information can be better learned if it is applied to real world situations. In other words, CBL offers you a chance to learn more by doing good. Research indicates that the use of this type of learning and teaching pedagogy has a positive effect on your personal development; personal identity, spiritual growth, and moral development, and it gives you a sense of personal efficacy. It increases your interpersonal skills and your ability to work with others. This type of teaching and learning enhances leadership and communication skills. It also reduces stereotypes and facilitates cultural and racial understanding as well as having a positive effect on your sense of social responsibility and your citizenship skills. In an increasingly competitive job market, developing real world experience and skills will make you more marketable. Interestingly, service-learning improves students’ satisfaction with the college experience and increases the probability that you will graduate.
General Expectations of Community Based Learning
Partnerships
Community-based learning works best when each party undertakes a responsibility for the partnership. Students, community partners, and faculty all play a role in making community based learning work.
Student
responsibilities:
·
Arrange hours with community sites within the
first week of class.
·
Arrive promptly, and do what you have agreed to
do at the community site.
·
Show respect for those at the site and conduct
yourself in a professional manner.
·
Speak with your professor if you are
uncomfortable or dissatisfied.
·
Reflect on your experiences at the service site.
Think about how your experience relates to the course.
·
Maintain the confidentiality of the people
served.
Community Partner
Responsibilities:
·
Provide the student with information about the
goals and mission of the site.
·
Provide work that is important for the
organization and significant to the student.
·
Provide necessary training to and supervision of
the student.
·
Ensure a safe work environment.
Faculty Responsibilities:
· Describe the community-based learning component of the course and its relation to the course objectives as part of the introduction to the course.
· Provide information to assist students in finding suitable community partners.
· Facilitate students’ reflection through class discussions and/or course assignments relating on site experiences to course content.
· Assess the student’s portfolio.
Specific Guidelines for Community-Based Learning Students
Please bear in mind that as a Trinity student participating in community-based learning, you are Trinity’s ambassador to the community. We ask that you hold yourself to high standards of ethical conduct. In particular, you should abide by the following guidelines:
1. Be proactive.
Your site supervisors should assist you in situations of uncertainty or discomfort, but you are responsible for bringing any issues of concern to their attention. This is your learning experience; be helpful, but also be clear about what you need. Report any dangerous or threatening actions to the site supervisor and to your First Year Seminar faculty.
2. Be punctual and responsible.
Your community partner relies on you and other volunteers. Keep your commitments. If you are running late, call the site. If you can not attend at the scheduled time; you should reschedule.
3. Respect the confidentiality of client information.
Information about clients should be kept strictly confidential. Even when sharing stories informally, withhold identifying information.
4. Be appropriate.
Your language, dress, and conduct should be professional and appropriate. Your demeanor should be courteous and respectful.
5. Be flexible.
Work may not be consistent in terms of intensity or type of activity. Design your experience so that it will be rewarding for you, but also be flexible in your efforts to be helpful to your community partner.
On the other hand:
· Never report to your site under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
· Never stay in a situation you feel is unsafe.
· Never give or lend money or personal belongings to a client.
· Never give a client your address or telephone number.
· Never make promises or commitments to a client.
· Never give a client or agency representative a ride in your personal vehicle.
· Never accept a ride in the personal vehicle of a client or agency representative.
· Never tolerate a verbal exchange of a sexual nature or any suggestive behavior. (Leave!)
· Travel in small groups or with another student.
· Avoid going to unfamiliar neighborhoods after dark.
· Carry a bit of cash, a twenty and a few ones for instance; do not carry credit cards.
· Do not wear flashy clothing or jewelry.
· Try not to carry a purse.
· Wear comfortable shoes.
· Carry your cell phone.
· Let a friend know where you are going and when you will be back.
· If you see a confrontation, seek help.
· If you drive, do not leave articles visible in your car.
· If you take the bus or metro, have the exact fare ready and know the route in advance.
· If you feel threatened, do not be afraid to scream; yelling “fire” often generates help.
· Get to know your supervisor and staff members at your site. Ask them questions about safety in the area and ask them what you should do if you find yourself in trouble.
· When working at a site, familiarize yourself with people, places, and things that can be of assistance in times of emergency (e.g., location of phones, fire stations, 24-hour stores, etc.)
If an incident occurs that in any way makes you feel unsafe,
Observation
and Note Taking Guidelines
1.
There are four categories for observation and note taking. You should observe the following in
particular: a) service site characteristics; b) individual characteristics of
the people at the site; c) social and personal interactions; and d) introspection.
Examples of these are provided below.
2.
Use your imagination to find as much information as possible about your
service-learning site and people. For example, make sure to read the site’s
literature and brochures and surf its website. Interviews are good ways to
collect in-depth information but can be time consuming. A short questionnaire
allows you to collect information from a larger number of people in a shorter
amount of time. If you are interested in developing interview questions or a
questionnaire, consult your professor.
3.
Do not take notes while you are working. Rather find a place (a café, the METRO,
your bus, or your car) immediately afterwards and write down all you can
remember. Your final reflective paper will be based on your field notes so the
more details you have, the richer the information you will have available to
aid your reflection. See below for academic journaling guidelines.
4.
You should avoid making judgments during your written evaluation of your
service experience. Your observation should be descriptive rather than
evaluative and judgmental. Write down how things happened and what people said
and did so later on you can reflect on the deeper meaning of this information,
how it affected you, and what you learned from it. For example, it is better to
write down “She called him stupid” than to write “She was rude to him.” “He
asked ten questions” is better than “He asked too many questions.”
5. Take
a notebook with you to your service site. Relax and enjoy!
Examples
of the Four Categories for Observation and Note Taking
A.
Site Characteristics
1. Note
the socioeconomic character of the neighborhood.
2.
What are the physical conditions of the building and its facilities?
3.
Note the placement of the literature and the posters and other wall hangings at
your service site. What does the
literature communicate about the organization?
B. Individual Characteristics
1.
Note the race, gender, socioeconomic status, and any other relevant
characteristics of the clients. What
assumptions do you find yourself making about the clients, volunteers, or organization’s
employees?
2.
How are they dressed?
3.
Can you tell anything about their education or religion?
4.
What will you ask them or talk with them about?
C. Interactions
1.
How do the employees and volunteers interact with the clients?
2.
How do the clients interact with the employees and volunteers?
3.
How do the employees and the volunteers interact with each other?
4.
What might the differences among these interactions mean?
D.
Introspection
1.
Finally, don’t forget to write down your responses to what is going on, what
you do, how you feel, and how people respond to you.
2. What had you expected to
find at the site?
3. In what ways have your
expectations been met or challenged?
4. How has the experience
altered you? What effect has it
had? What have you contributed to the
experience?
Reflection
Guidelines
Throughout
the semester you will have multiple opportunities to reflect on what you are
doing at your service site and how it is relevant to what you are learning in
this course. After you have started your
service, at the end of each class you should ask yourself, “How do the concepts, ideas,
and information discussed in the class today relate to my service experience?” Take a few minutes to write
your reflections down. You may find that about once a month your group will be
asked to give a brief update or progress report. Your professor will provide you with
questions and concepts that will connect your course content to the
community-based learning. Generally, the
student responses should be in the short-essay format.
I. Introduction [1-2 paragraphs]
A.
What exactly will you be writing about?
B.
Why is this interesting or important?
C.
On what point or insight do you want the essay
to focus?
II.
Body [2-3 paragraphs]
A.
What do you understand the question to be? Say
this in your own words.
B.
What have you found out as you have thought
about the question and your service experience?
C.
How does your insight connect to the course
content?
III.
Summary/Conclusion [1-2 paragraphs]
A.
Does the connection between your service
experience and the course content make sense to you?
B.
Do you have questions now that you did not have
before? What are they?
C.
Do you have any last thoughts?
Reflective writing (or academic journal
writing) is sometimes confused with personal or diary writing, but these two
forms differ in some fundamental ways.
To avoid any waste of time or energy on your part, it seems useful to
draw attention to these differences.
In the first place, reflective writing is not
private. Your professor will read your
essay (or journal) regularly. She will
comment on what she reads. Her comments will help direct you to further thought
and writing and will thus contribute to the ongoing process of writing,
rewriting, critiquing what you yourself have written, revising, rethinking, and
writing more. This is the process by
which professional writers produce most of their work, and it is the process by
which you will produce the longer, more analytic or research-driven writings you
will author for this course. You will
use this same process to write most of your own work in college.
Reflective writing is meant to be
revised. Diary or personal writing,
because it provides a personal and informal record of your feelings or
experiences, is often valued for its spontaneity; carelessness and even idiosyncratic
or poor style may be valued because of the immediacy of the events
described. Reflective writing, in
contrast, is a kind of preliminary formal writing. This writing consists of observations and
reflections, thoughts and suggestions, questions and answers, all of which may
develop later into longer papers and essays.
Therefore, you should frequently reread your reflective essays (or
journal entries), and when you do, you should critique some and elaborate
others. In other words, you should regularly
revise your reflections even when your professor has not read them yet.
Finally, you may incorporate in your
reflection entries that are non-verbal, such as sketches, photos, musical
compositions, etc. But all such entries
must be accompanied by your comments, which should in turn draw on what you
have discussed and learned during your service experience, class meetings, and
your own reading.
As practice and preparation for the questions
and prompts that your professors will offer and assign, you should write
reflective pieces on every reading assignment.
When you read further on a particular topic or section of the course,
you should be making connections between your present reading and the previous
readings that have been discussed. Your
informal reflections can form the notes you bring to class in preparation for
the discussions on each assignment, and the in-class discussion can begin the
process of revision as you take notes.
Here are some additional suggestions about how
to develop the appropriate habits of reflective writing:
Always bring your writing to class
meetings. Read your entries or essays
just prior to the beginning of class.
Leave ample margins so that you can add and
revise during class discussions.
Feel free to include passages and other
“found” materials quoted from other writers or from television, radio, and
other media along with your own thoughtful comments on them.
Although these suggested habits may seem
time-consuming, they facilitate the written assignments for any course you may
be taking, especially this one, and will ultimately enhance your learning of
the coursework and likely have a positive impact on your final grade.
Community Based Learning
INT 115: The First Year Seminar
Placement Form
Instructor’s name:________________________________
Section title & number:____________________________
I, ____________________, understand that to enrich my education and experience in the first year seminar course, I will make excursions into the DC community to complete service learning. I will be asked to use public transportation (subway or bus), or arrange my own personal transportation to go to community based organizations. My instructor has explained to me the risks involved and measures I should take to ensure personal safety.
Student Signature_______________________________
Date__________________________________________
INT 115: First Year Seminar
Student
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Site
_____________________________________
Please list the dates and times you worked at your
community-based learning site each week below.
At the end of each month, your
on-site supervisor should sign off. Turn
in sheets as completed to your
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On-site
supervisor’s signature: ________________________________
Between Student & Community Agency
*Return completed form to your instructor*
Student name: _________________________ Tel._______________________________
Course: INT 115 - - First year seminar Instructor: __________________________
Name of Organization: _____________________________________________________
On-site supervisor: _______________________ Tel._________________________
Part I: I, _______________________________, agree to do the following at my community based learning site:
* Perform my assigned duties to the best of my abilities
* Follow the organization’s rules and procedures
* Maintain confidentiality of client information as directed by my on site supervisor
* Accept supervision and feedback from my on site supervisor and my instructor
* Complete 20 hours of service this semester
* Provide 24-hour notice to the community site if I am unable to attend
Part II: The community-based organization’s supervisor agrees to:
* Provide adequate information and training for the student
* Provide information about the organization’s mission, clientele, and operational
procedures
* Make clear to the student expectations about confidentiality of client information and
other sensitive data
* Provide adequate supervision to the student and give feedback on her performance
* Provide meaningful tasks related to student’s skills, interests, and available time
* Provide reasonable and customary safety precautions for the student
Student Signature
______________________________________ Date ____________
Community Partner Signature: ___________________________ Date: ___________
Service-Learning and Research Program
Melynda Majors
Service-Learning Coordinator
487 Main Hall
(202) 884-9646
(202) 531-1969 cellular