Silent Partners: Developing a Critical Understanding of Community Partners in Technical Communication Service-Learning Pedagogies

Although many technical communication teachers and programs integrate some form of service-learning pedagogy, there is a dearth of technical communication research on the silent partners of these projects: the community partners. Drawing upon research data from 14 former community partners of professional writing service-learning courses, the authors suggest that understanding community partners’ own self-defined stakes in service-learning projects can challenge hyperpragmatist representations of community partners and aid us in the continued creation, management, and critical evaluation of service-learning pedagogies and curricula.     

‘He's gone and wrote over it’: the use of wikis for collaborative report writing in a primary school classroom

Wikis (websites that can be edited quickly by multiple authors) were used with upper-primary school children to write group reports on a science topic. Two teachers observed the children working, and their observations were used alongside the texts from the wikis and group interviews with children to explore the question of whether using wikis would lead to a change in writing practices and attitudes. This study found that although children often felt proprietorial about their texts, there was some evidence of negotiation and of joint content building. There was also evidence of peer-supported learning of information and communications technology (ICT) skills. Furthermore, the quality and quantity of writing were greater when using wikis than in conventional writing contexts, and the groups which engaged in more discussion produced more text.     

A Case for Metic Intelligence in Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Metis is an underexplored rhetorical counterpart to phronesis that can be described as a flexible, innovative intelligence used in unexpected or unprecedented situations. This article explores metis in relation to techne, praxis, and phronesis, arguing that our programs should strive to cultivate students' metic intelligence through client projects and service-learning experiences. Adapting Agile project management strategies used in software development may offer one means of scaffolding this learning.     

Service-Learning for Remedial Reading and Writing Students

In 2008, Queensborough Community College incorporated service learning into 15 remedial reading and writing courses. To determine its impact, statistical analyses were performed, and they demonstrated significantly (a) higher GPAs, (b) improved rates of retention, and (c) the completion of more college credits among service learning participants. In addition, an ANOVA revealed insights into the individual service-learning projects. It was determined that the most effective programs (a) directly connected the service-learning activity to the course curriculum, (b) provided multiple experiences performing tasks, and (c) placed students in community-based organizations appropriate for their level of literacy.     

Peer-feedback and revision process in a wiki mediated collaborative writing

This study investigated the use of a wiki for collaborative writing among primary levels five (P5) and six (P6) students (n = 119) in a Chinese primary school in Hong Kong where English is taught as a second language (L2). Three classes of students and their English subject teachers participated in a three-month English language writing programme using a wiki. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed from activities recorded in the wiki system, including posted edits and comments, students’ group writings and student and teacher interviews. The wiki page history revealed information on the types of revisions that occurred, showing that different types of feedback elicited actual revisions, which may have resulted in better group writing. Findings from the study may shed light on how wikis can help provide support for students’ collaborative writing process with wikis, and how peer-feedback can influence this process.     

Using wikis to promote quality learning in teacher training

This paper discusses writing as a social practice and speculates on how wikis might be used to promote higher quality academic writing and support collaborative learning. This study of undergraduate teacher trainees’ online learning activities focuses on how shared spaces – wikis – might be used to communicate ideas and generate course‐specific content. The study also explored how students, through such activities, were able to improve their academic writing skills and engage more critically in learning. Data captured from student discussion boards and a post‐module email questionnaire (n = 35) were used to map student perceptions of the usefulness of wikis in support of their academic studies. The data indicate that most students raised their skill level in writing directly to the publicly viewable wiki space, in sharp contrast to the more informal content they posted on the discussion boards. The scope of collaborative writing was limited due to students’ reluctance to edit each others’ work, but students appreciated the shared environment as a means of discussing their work and the content of the course. Students reported that their academic writing skills had improved through their formal participation in the wiki.     

Preparing BSW Students for Service-Learning: Enhancing Epistemological Reflection

This article includes a review of the literature on personal epistemology and the reflective judgment model and applies these theoretical concepts to undergraduate students who engage in service-learning projects. The application will provide instructors with greater understanding of students’ abilities and limitations in their service-learning experiences. Included are traditional, modern, and expressive teaching activities that were designed, with literature support, to enhance students’ epistemological reflection and aid them in preparing for and completing service-learning projects.     

Service-learning in early childhood teacher education: Using service to put meaning back into learning

Service-learning is defined as a teaching/learning method that connects meaningful community service with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility. In this study, conducted at an American University, we describe a cascading model of integrating early childhood teacher education and service-learning for preservice teachers who then implemented the combined model in their field classrooms with young children. Examples of the projects from the two cohorts of 25 and 26 undergraduate students are provided. We demonstrate that service-learning projects provide an instructional avenue for preservice students to teach in an integrated and/or experiential manner in their field classrooms and discuss why service-learning is an appropriate and meaningful strategy to use with preservice teachers and children.     

The use of wikis in a science inquiry-based project in a primary school

This study explored the use of wikis in a science inquiry-based project conducted with Primary 6 students (aged 11–12). It used an online wiki-based platform called PBworks and addressed the following research questions: (1) What are students’ attitudes toward learning with wikis? (2) What are students’ interactions in online group collaboration with wikis? (3) What have students learned with wikis in a science inquiry-based project in a primary school context? Analyses of the quantitative and qualitative data showed that with respect to the first research question, the students held positive attitudes toward the platform at the end of the study. With respect to the second research question, the students actively engaged in various forms of learning-related interactions using the platform that extended to more meaningful offline interactions. With respect to the third research question, the students developed Internet search skills, collaborative problem solving competencies, and critical inquiry abilities. It is concluded that a well-planned wiki-based learning experience, framed within an inquiry project-based approach facilitated by students’ online collaborative knowledge construction, is conducive to the learning and teaching of science inquiry-based projects in primary school.     

A neglected dimension in service-learning pedagogy: developing projects from the perspective of rural community stakeholders

This article argues that a commonly neglected dimension in service-learning pedagogy is the consideration of community perspectives in developing these service- learning projects. Areas considered in this study were: (1) Community members’ needs and problems, (2) Community members’ perceived roles and participation, and (3) Community members’ suggested activities and projects. This article focused on the community members of Jaime Hilario Integrated School (JHIS), a Lasallian co-educational primary school located in Sitio Look, Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. Interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) were the qualitative research methods used to identify possible service-learning projects that can be implemented by various educational institutions. Five implications were drawn from the gathered data. The first implication is that it is important for educational institutions to ensure that service-learning projects meet the needs of the community. Secondly, various sectors in the community have unique needs to be addressed. Thirdly, aside from the common economic, education, and social services problems, rural poor communities also need trainings on values formation and personal development. Besides the above, it is necessary that community members be involved in the initial planning and development of service-learning projects and not merely participate during the actual implementation. And lastly, given the poor understanding of community members on their roles and participation, clear explanation of the goals of service-learning projects is perceived as a way of strengthening the relationship between service-providers and recipients.     

Service-Learning Projects in an Undergraduate Gerontology Course: A Six-Stage Model and Application

Service-learning opportunities are prominent on many college campuses. The process of designing and implementing service-learning experiences, especially for students of gerontology, however, has rarely been addressed. The current article briefly reviews the background and utility of service-learning in gerontology courses, describes our service-learning project, outlines a general six-stage model for developing service-learning projects in gerontology courses, and describes our process of integrating the service-learning project into an introductory gerontology course. Finally, we demonstrate that in conjunction with the promotion of evaluative practices, service-learning in the gerontology classroom presents a promising practice for creating healthier communities.     

Reframing Service-Learning as Learning and Participation With Urban Youth

This article describes a critical service-learning project that resulted from an educational partnership among a national teachers' union, a local teachers' union, and a major research university. The partnership—funded by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve program—focused on professional development opportunities for K–12 educators across subject areas throughout an urban school district. Teachers enrolled in a university-level graduate course where they learned about critical service-learning, engaged in community-based activities, developed partnerships with local organizations, and facilitated critical service-learning projects in local schools and communities. Here, we highlight one of the many projects that emerged from this partnership as we attempt to connect theory with practice by reframing service-learning as learning and participation. We ask: How can a reframing of service-learning as learning and participation impact how we understand the educative and social engagements of four urban youth?     

Asian Pacific Americans and Critical Race Theory: An Examination of School Racial Climate

We attempt to answer where the social justice is in service-learning by probing what it is, how it looks in the process of being institutionalized at a Jesuit university, and why it is important. We develop themes about institutionalizing service-learning from a social justice perspective. Our themes were developed through an analysis of service-learning research focused on institutionalization and social justice, and a case study of a Jesuit university attempting to institutionalize it, including five faculty action research service-learning projects. From these themes, we share lessons that we learned from this experience.     

ORGANIZING,MANAGING, AND EVALUATING SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECTS

As educators work to develop methods to capture the attention of greater numbers of students, they are finding merit in some of the tried-and-true methods of the past. Service-learning is one of those methods with a sound reputation that is now enjoying a comeback. Previously known as experiential learning, service-learning expands on the best aspects of volunteerism and classical internships. Service-learning projects are beneficial for students, faculty members, site providers, and clients. Regardless of whether projects are loosely constructed with little oversight or highly prescribed and closely monitored, a systematic approach to organization, management, and evaluation is important. This article offers an adaptable framework for educators who wish to incorporate new or improve existing service-learning experiences within their gerontology programs.     

SERVICE-LEARNING AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS

This paper discusses the implementation of an intergenerational service-learning (IS-L) project by Western Michigan University's Gerontology Program. Two classes of students, one graduate and one undergraduate, taking introductory gerontology courses were brought together to complete IS-L projects of their own designs. Students were placed in teams. Key project components included: negotiation with community partners to construct a viable one-semester project, collaboration on a team, and analysis of the team development process. A Critical Incident Questionnaire was used to collect data on student perceptions of project and class progress. While challenging, most students found the intergenerational service-learning projects and team format valuable and rewarding.     

Educating for the “Real World”: The Hidden Curriculum of Community Service-Learning

This study draws on interviews with community supervisors partnered with high school students and presents their perspectives on service-learning and youth. The results show that there was a hidden curriculum being played out at community sites that was in part facilitated by community agency supervisors who actively engaged in mediating, mentoring, and structuring the service-learning experiences of students. Agency supervisors' decisions about the curricular experiences of students had a significant impact on the social justice aims and intentions of the projects designed by the teachers. Consequently, it is crucial for schools and teachers to take into consideration the community supervisors' perspectives and interpretations of social justice and invite them into a collaborative partnership throughout the process of structuring service-learning experiences.     

Engaging Criminal Justice Students through Service Learning

The increasing popularity of service learning has led to the implementation of the pedagogy across educational levels and disciplines. Evidence of its utilization in criminal justice education spans two decades, most of which include case studies of service-learning courses or projects. These examples of service-learning implementation seem to serve as a best practices guide for other faculty and researchers interested in adopting the pedagogy. By examining responses to offender populations and policy areas by students (n = 37) involved in a service-learning course, the current research adds to this “best practices” approach and is intended to instigate further examination of the benefits of service learning for criminal justice students and the discipline.     

Queer (v.) Pedagogy

A great deal of research on multiculturalism looks at different approaches to multicultural education and visions of multicultural teaching and learning. Though some research theorizes about how preservice teachers might learn about race or gender, there is very little work that helps teacher educators understand what learning about diversity more broadly, might look like. This study uses the conceptual framework developed by Paine to raise questions about and illuminate differences in the learning outcomes of preservice teachers who participated in two similar yet notably different service-learning experiences. Through examinations of writing tasks we find that teacher learning did indeed depend on the opportunities to learn provided by service-learning placements. Service-learning experiences that facilitated non-traditional power dynamics, engaged out-of-school contexts, and connected to teaching pedagogy were associated with more complex understandings of diversity. We suggest that attention to the relationships between service experiences and learning will help us better manage service learning limitations, better understand the impact of service-learning, and better understand the opportunities to learn inherent in such activities.