Dr. Andrew Furco
Those of you familiar with the service-learning literature have likely seen the name Dr.
SL Models
Service-learning represented at LOEX
Last week, hundreds of instruction librarians gathered in Columbus, Ohio for the biggest LOEX conference ever. I was thrilled that the planning committee included a presentation about service-learning in the program. Chris Sweet, Information Literacy Librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University, presented a case study of a course with which he was involved at his institution. He was embedded in an environmental studies senior seminar that employed service-learning pedagogy. The students in the course iden
Alternative spring break, part IV, OR the "ethic of inefficiency"
The ethic of inefficiency is a phrase that we discussed on our spring break trip quite a bit. It's hard to define in concrete terms.
Alternative spring break
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.
Embeddedness in a service-learning course, part II
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.
Final Update, Week 10: InfoLit course (EDT 110)
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 themselves and about their communit
Service-learning as academic discipline?
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?
Updates, Weeks 6 & 7: InfoLit Course (EDT 110)
The quarter is drawing to a close so quickly, and we still have a lot of work left to do for Project READ.
LOEX Quarterly article - hot off the presses
The new issue of LOEX Quarterly is out, and my article is finally published! Thank you, Brad Seitz, Managing Editor, for your patience and guidance while I was working on this article. Part II will be published in the next issue. Barry, M. (2011). Librarians as Partners in Service-Learning Courses (Part I). LOEX Quarterly: 38(1), Article 5. Check it out if your library belongs to LOEX! According to the LOEX Quarterly site: "Only the most recent four electronic issues (i.e., the most recent year) are password-protected.
Update, Week 2: UH 202-203 service-learning course
UH 202-203, Environmental and Social Sustainability in Appalachia, students will come to the library for a research workshop next week. This week, I created a libguide to point them to some resources that can help them think of topics (in addition to class material and the novel they are reading, Strange as this Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake). I showed them the libguide at the beginning of class yesterday and told them the more they think about their topics before they come, the more time they will save during the workshop.