Posted on March 3, 2013 by Maureen Barry
My copy of Harry C. Boyte's "The Citizen Solution: How you can make a difference" just arrived. I requested it because Boyte is coming to my campus in April, and I plan to go hear him speak. I'm only on page 15, but I've already found a passage that resonates very deeply for me.
Posted on March 3, 2013 by Maureen Barry
Purdue University has recently published a free online Service Learning Reflection Journal. This could be a very useful tool, particularly for those new to service-learning. It offers some reflection prompts and exercises to assign for students. Reflection is an integral piece of the service-learning experience, as it often ties the service to the learning for students. The journal is available for download here. Sass, M. (2013) Service Learning Reflection Journal.
Posted on March 3, 2013 by Maureen Barry
Every once in awhile, I'll check around to see if there are any new examples of libraries or librarians partnering with service-learning projects in higher education. What I've noticed is that quite a few libraries provide a service-learning libguide (research guide, for you non-librarians...and even that may not make sense!). This seems to be the most popular example of library support for service-learning. In most cases, these are guides to support faculty for finding articles, books, etc.
Posted on March 3, 2013 by Maureen Barry
Of course I knew that I wasn't the first librarian to travel with a class, but I'm still excited when I find a new article that describes another librarian's adventures as they travel with students. Today, I discovered this article by John Eric Juricek: Embedded in Shanghai: A librarian accompanies students to China. And I thought going to Appalachian Ohio was "extreme."
Posted on February 2, 2013 by Maureen Barry
Academic librarians: If you're going to the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) conference in April, I hope you'll consider attending the panel presentation: "From research to action: pairing information literacy and service-learning." I will be co-presenting with my friend and co-instructor, Dr. Sarah Twill, a Wright State Social Work professor, my friend and fellow service-learning enthusiast, Jennifer Nutefall, University Librarian at Santa Clara University, and Dr. Maggie Stevens, Executive Director of Indiana Campus Compact.
Posted on January 1, 2013 by Maureen Barry
The bad news is that I had to cancel this semester's service-learning information literacy course due to low enrollment. I attribute it to a couple different factors: miscommunication with the registrar (our course wasn't titled or labeled properly as service-learning) and a very awkward time in our transition to semesters at my institution during which some students are "caught in the middle." I hope for better enrollment next spring when I teach the course again.
Posted on January 1, 2013 by Maureen Barry
Fifth Street Brewpub from Reinvention on Vimeo. This video, produced by some very talented Daytonians, explains my absence from blogging better than I can in writing. Please watch it and learn about an innovative neighborhood project with which I am involved.
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Maureen Barry
I recently attended a workshop about how we can deepen students' reflections, which was led by one of Wright State's experienced service-learning instructors, Karen Hayes. I came away with a new reflection question to include in my arsenal. In fact, I love this question so much that it may never be removed from my arsenal. The question was posed by my colleague, Stephanie Dickey, in our small group discussion during the workshop. She suggested that we should challenge students to think about their role in relation to the problem or issue addressed by any service-learning course. She pr
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Maureen Barry
I've been struggling with this blog lately. I'm burned out. But Writing Boot Camp is saving the day today in a couple different ways! First, I'm actually writing a post for the first time in quite some time, and although it isn't my best effort and it isn't on the topic of service-learning, I'm getting words on the page, so to speak. And second, it's providing me with a topic about which to write. This is a timely topic, writing boot camp is, because I'm sitting in it as a I type these words. Writing boot camp is co-sponsored by the Writing Across the Curriculum program and the Cente
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Maureen Barry
A shout out to fellow blogger, Jessica Olin, today. I wrote a post for her blog, Letters to a Young Librarian, and it's live today! Check it out, along with the rest of her blog! http://letterstoayounglibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/10/finding-your-voice-by-maureen-barry.html