What
are some examples of community-based learning currently taking place at King’s
College?
The
following descriptions give examples of how community-based learning has been
implemented in courses taught by King’s College faculty members:
Environmental
Studies
—for environmental studies majors. Focused
on a small (unreportable) oil spill near a power plant.
A piece of equipment on the roof of one of their buildings was blowing a
fine spray of oil onto the roof. When
it rained, the oil was flushed from the roof into the drainage system, and into
a rock-lined culvert where the soil was contaminated.
We recommended that they use one of a number of commercial microbe
consortia developed for these purposes. However,
given the number of products available, we also recommended that they allow us
to do some laboratory testing to see which of the products would work best.
They gave us a grant of $1500 towards our experimentation.
Therefore, two faculty members (one with gas chromatograph and microbial
expertise and one with stats expertise) and the ENST 370 class and instructor
have begun to put together an experiment to test a number of these products.
The instructor collected documents from local social
service agencies for students to translate into Spanish. Local
Spanish-speaking residents then benefited from using the translations.
The class also had to choose an agency and participate in service with
that agency. First, it gave students real world experience and provided
the instructor with realistic documents on a variety of topics. Second, the
students got a real feel for cultural differences and the interplay between
language and culture.
Business Writing—both
English and Business majors
Students worked in groups to assist local not-for-profit organizations to
address an issue, such as finding new office space. The course required the
students to meet with the organization staff and prepare relevant documents to
address the issue, such as memos, letters, proposals, etc.
Effective Writing—largely First Year students.
Students were asked to interview senior citizens and
write a profile about them. The
students had the chance to walk into someone’s life (literally walking in to a
Senior Center, in many cases) so that they can write the kind of profiles asked
of them. In return, they wrote an oral history that, in theory, benefits
the subject.
Foundations of Education—First Year and Sophomore Education majors.
Each student prepared a lesson plan and then conducted a circle time with 4 & 5 year olds in a Head Start school on a Friday afternoon. Students could opt for the service-learning assignment, or another that did not involve service in the deductive component of the course. The students then made presentations to the class, describing and critiquing their own experiences.
Political Behavior—treats issues of political socialization.
Each student tutored one fifth-grade student in an at-risk school (generally Spanish-speaking, low levels of income and parental education) for at least 2 hours per week for the entire semester, in reading. College students brought in age-appropriate materials on political life, government, etc. and served as mentors for the children.
Economics of Women, Poverty, & the Environment—Econ and Enviro Studies majors
Students were divided into three groups that
serviced local organizations. Some
assisted a group home for mentally ill women with grant writing material. Others
worked in an after school program for at-risk children. The third worked with a
local environmental group to conduct a needs inventory and to provide an Earth
Day program for pre-schoolers.
Science Methods—for pre-service Education majors.
Pre-service student teachers worked with school children in two Saturday morning hands-on science workshops, demonstrating basic scientific principles.
Environmental Studies -- The training of college students to disseminate river/ watershed information to area schools. This experience will not only inform those who receive the information, but will also serve as a learning opportunity for the presenters as they prepare and deliver the material. Also, it provides a venue for PPL to fulfill its corporate environmental goals in the areas of innovation, stewardship, resource commitment, and communication.
College students will be provided with the necessary training and equipment to prepare and deliver presentations to area schools. Each college student will be assigned the task to prepare a presentation on a topic related to the river/ watershed or an associated resource.