March 2012 Articles

This week will be the first installment of a new feature here at Service Learning Librarian, videos of interest.  Today, I'd like to share two videos.  First, is the video snapshot of how I spent my alternative spring break with a Wright State class: http://youtu.be/_lqSuRkl6ZM Second, this video about service-learning composition courses…

As you may know, I have been an embedded librarian for a course this quarter:  Social and environmental sustainability in Appalachia.  We leave tomorrow morning for our service trip to Athens County in southeast Ohio. So what have I been doing with this class all quarter?  I met with each student to help them find sources for their research papers (during weeks 3-5 of the quarter).  I also had the rare opportunity to see the students' final papers, and examine their bibliographies!  Their sources were (mostly) beautiful!  The citations, on the hand...…

We made it!  Our students learned some crucial information literacy skills, helped solve a community problem (illiteracy) and turned in a pretty solid research portfolio to Project READ.  Yesterday, we met one final time this quarter to reflect as a group, along with Becky Garvin, Director of Project READ and Cathy Sayer, Director of Service-Learning at Wright State University.  In preparation for this reflection, the students write responses to 4 or 5 reflection prompts.  Then we discuss as a group what they have learned about information literacy, about…

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity this week to travel with the Social and Environmental Sustainability in Appalachia (UH 202-203) course to southeastern Ohio (Athens County).  We are learning a ton and making lots of new friends as we complete social and environmental projects in the community. We are staying at Good Works' Hannah House for the week.  Good Works is a faith-based organization that believes that relational contexts encourage transformations for those living in poverty or extreme poverty.  They provide opportunities and a support system for those who…

It's hard to believe it's our last night in Hannah House, our home for the week.  I'm pretty sure that I can speak for everyone that we learned a TON this week - about social, environmental and economic sustainability and ourselves. I can't think of a better community partner for a service-learning experience than Good Works.  The principles by which they operate align perfectly with service-learning.  They believe in relationships being the most important part of service.  Just as ideal service-learning experiences focus on working WITH the community in a mutually…

Earlier this week, I attended a book discussion about Dan Butin's book "Service-Learning in theory and practice:  The future of community engagement in higher education." One of the main arguments Butin makes is that service-learning should have a discipline-based home in the academy.  He compares it to how feminism, which began as a social movement, became women's studies within the academy. Of course, this leads to hundreds of questions.  What would this look like?  Would the focus be on citizenship in our democracy? or community studies?…

We're down to four students.  Three of our students dropped the course.  My co-teacher and I are disappointed by that, but we also have no control over that.  The good thing is that now all four students are one team, working towards making the best research portfolio they can create for Project READ.  Do they complain? Sure.  Do they ask, "How many sources do we need to include?"  Yep, you betcha!  In a perfect world, they would keep researching to include as many great sources as they can for Project READ...but in reality, they want to know the…

Last week, I attended my first National First Year Experience Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  I came home with tons of ideas and little time to implement them, of course.  What I enjoyed most about the conference was hearing the perspectives of academic advisors, student affairs experts, First Year Experience staff, faculty and administrators.  We librarians were represented fairly well, too.  All of us came together with common goals:  student success and meaningful student learning. Service-learning and information literacy were both well-represented at…