Service Learnig

EDU 210 Service Learning Project

1.      Introduction: tell us your location and what you will be doing during your 10-15 hours of service.  What are you most excited about?  What do you think you may see or experience that will fit in with the learning objectives for this class?  Be specific-

2.      Describe your first volunteer experience.  What is the classroom/environment like?  Do you see anything on the walls that would promote cultural values?  What are the students like?  Describe the make-up of the class/group – are there any students of color, language learners, students with special needs, etc.?  You may interview the teacher to get more information about the diversity of the class.

3.      This question relates to Chapter 1 of the text.  What is the school culture like?  Culture, as defined in your text, includes socially transmitted ways of thinking, believing, feeling, and acting within a group.  Does the school’s culture value all students equally?  If you were a student of a different race or class, would you feel comfortable and included?  Why or why not?  What is the ‘hidden culture’, or ‘hidden curriculum’ of this school – can you tell?  Ask a student if they are comfortable in this school/classroom.  Do they feel included and valued?

4.      This question relates to Chapter 1 of the text.  What kind of curriculum does that school/teacher use?  You may need to ask them, or ask to see a lesson plan.  Does the curriculum only promote the dominant culture, or is it culturally sensitive (e.g. – look at a textbook, do you see different races represented?  During in-class discussions are different perspectives considered?).  What does the teacher do to integrate different cultures into the curriculum? Do they supplement the curriculum (e.g. find other sources of information or reading material) or do they feel that the curriculum is sufficient as-is?).

5.      This question relates to Chapters 1 & 10 of the text.  On the playground, or during class, do you notice students of different cultures interacting (see the assimilation portion of your text in Chapter 1) or do they generally form groups based on a cultural trait (race or language – see cultural pluralism in Chapter 1).  Amongst peers, do you notice any prejudice or discrimination?  If so, is anything done to help these students form heterogeneous groups, either in class or outside of class? 

6.      This question relates to Chapters 1 & 2 of the text.  One way to help promote cultural awareness and academic achievement is through parent involvement and/or community involvement.  What does your school/organization do to help parents become more involved in the classroom and school wide?  Parent nights, teacher conferences, PTA, site council?  You may need to do some research or ask your cooperating teacher about this.  Are these attempts successful?

7.      This question relates to Chapter 4 of the text.  Observe girls and boys, and how they interact with one another and the teacher in the classroom.  Stereotypically speaking, does it seem that boys get bored more easily and need more physical space to move around?  Do girls seem to work more cooperatively with one another?  Are they more passive?  Do boys and girls play together on the playground, or do they usually stay separate?  Do you think this dynamic changes at different age levels?  Does the teacher call on boys and girls equally, and with equally challenging questions?  Are boys and girls treated any differently than one another?

8.      This question relates to Chapters 5 & 6 of the text.  Are there any students with exceptionalities in the classroom?  Are there any language learners?  Describe the student(s).  What kinds of things are done to help ensure that each student is getting the help he/she needs?  Does the school practice full inclusion for special needs students?  Does the school use an Individual Language Learner Plan (ILLP) for language learners?  What does the school have for gifted students?  You may need to ask your mentor some of these questions or check on the schools website for a list of services.

9.      This question relates to Chapters 1 & 10.  After all of your observations, do you feel that the school culture (including the ‘hidden curriculum’, school climate, and official academic curriculum – textbooks, etc.) promotes cultural awareness?  Why or why not?  If you were a teacher at this school, what kinds of things would you do to help promote cultural awareness? 

10.  To wrap it all up, what have you learned from your service learning experience?  List the learning outcomes (see the syllabus) this experience (including answering the above journal questions) has helped you achieve.  Do you feel like this experience was worthwhile?  Why or why not?  What about it did you enjoy or find challenging?