As expected, the teaching practicum course was full of learning opportunities and prepared me for the future teaching jobs. The course gave me a closer look at various aspects course development and implementation. I was thoroughly involved in developing course objectives, syllabus, learning activities, assignments, and quizzes. I also graded assignments and maintained ongoing communication with students. Therefore, the course was able to provide me hands-on experience on all aspects of teaching graduate students. In addition, the course also provided me opportunities to resolve scheduling, assignment, and grading conflicts with students. The gradual release of responsibility during this course helped me to develop confidence in my teaching abilities as well in interactions with students.
The course readings were essential for the development of learning activities, assignments, and rubrics. The article by Lattanzi, Campbell, Dole, & Palombaro (2011) introduced me to service learning as a new teaching method and see it in the works during the DMA event. The article and the preparation that were done for the DMA event made me realize the extent of planning required for implementing service learning method. Although overwhelmed, students enjoyed being a part of and contributing to the DMA event. The textbook, Teaching Naked, was an easy read and helped me to develop learning activities to facilitate active engagement to appeal to different learning styles. In addition to
A Service Learning project is one of the project requirements to complete the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree through Ferris State University (FSU). My Service Learning experience was completed at the VA Medical Center (VAMC) in November, 2014. This paper includes details of the facility along with the contact information for the coordinator of the project. A description of my role as a volunteer, critical reflection of my experience, and a synthesis of the Service Learning are also included.
It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).
The critical difference of service learning and the traditional learning style is that students are learning and addressing real needs in the community. Which connect students to the community through meaningful interactions with others, safety, and educational needs. This specific course includes readings, discussions, and activities to support
The benefit of service learning for the student and community is again a better inform civic minded individual who may use his experience from service learning as a launching pad for career opportunities to better serve within that community. In an article published in the College Student Journal its author noted that with service learning “students gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility" (Strange,
I highly recommend this course continue to require service learning as a component of Academic Foundations. It is never a bad idea to get the students involved on campus and get them familiar with the facilities we have located on campus. Getting involved with the community and individuals active is a positive aspect of this
Service Learning is learning through experience to gain sociological observation, concepts, and theories so I decide to do my service learning hours in one of the two high schools that is part of the Oceanside Unified School District. The name of the school is called El Camino High School. El Camino High School is a high school that is located at 400 Rancho Del Oro Drive in Oceanside, California. It has over 3,000 students currently attending. The school’s mascot is the “Wildcat” and their colors are gold and red. El Camino High School is a public school that is part of a system of free public education that is maintained at a public expense for the education of students who are part of that community or district. El Camino High School is a place is a public school where students are coming out of middle school and are
The meaning this service learning project provided me with was how important it is for us, the Hamline University, to build a meaningful relationship with Hamline Elementary. This was invoked because of the impact the students seemed to have due to us being there and working with them. The students were excited for a communal learning experience, and I think that is going to help encourage them to pursue a college career. Because I work at Hamline Elementary and have been doing so for the past 2 years, I have made strong connections with the students and faculty and think highly of them all. The experience was very similar to what I do at Hamline Elementary on a daily basis. Given this, I had a feeling that the content may have been a bit of
Assistant Professor of Education, Dan Butin, asserts in his essay " Service- Learning is Dangerous" that service-learning is dangerous because it forces the focus of education outside of the classroom and challenges pre-existing notions of what higher education entails and how it is structured. He suggests that it should be more than just a course, but should be the course itself. He also contends that service-learning is able to provoke the student to question who they are and what they believe. It is able to combine conventional education with life experience for a more rounded approach to educating.
The third reason articulated by Kendall was that while the principle of service learning may be sound, the actual service experience itself does not ensure that either significant learning or effective service will occur. Further, Kendall stated that a number of educators, community leaders, and students who truly believed in the potential of service learning continued to support service through the 1980’s during a period of general decline. This small group of faculty pioneers started to experiment with varied service-learning initiatives. Their efforts served to encourage a surge of interest in service learning by institutions of higher education, students, communities and even the federal government that would occur in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
According to Kathleen Flecky and Lynn Gitlow, service-learning is defined as, “learning that occurs in experiences, reflection, and civic engagement” (Flecky & Gitlow, 2011). In recent years more universities are implementing service learning into their curriculum. A key concept of service learning is civic responsibility. Civic responsibility can simply be defined as your responsibilities as a citizen. As will be shown later in this paper, service learning can have many benefits not only to a student, but also to the community members
The service learning exercise with the City of Bloomington would have helped learn the content applying to this course if I didn’t find it overwhelming and time consuming when there isn’t a real end result. I found it more of a detriment during the process. It was beneficial when needing to use the terms and ideas that applied to the papers and information gathered and what type of methods we used. The content of this class has a lot of potential and would be useful to focus a little more on the excel section in the beginning and the end. This exercise did push us to get outside our
The Society for Experiential Education defines service learning as, “any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience” (Staton 1). Service learning is a great opportunity to get extra learning experiences while also experiencing the community around the universities campus. “Service learning allows students to apply what they are learning from their instructors, peers, and readings to genuine tasks that occur outside the four walls of the classroom while simultaneously helping others” (Staton 1). Universities are using service learning to expand beyond the classroom and provide students with experiences that will
In today’s world after graduating school there are so many options as far as advanced education goes. When I finish school I plan to continue my education to keep updated with new products and techniques. I personally will go to Aesthetics International in Camrillo. The cost for advanced schooling varies depending which classes you take. I personally know about two different schools Dermalogica and Aesthetics International where I’ll be attending course to further my career. Not only can you take class at a school but there are also online options. It’s so important to continue education to stay informed with newest machines, products, and techniques.
The term ‘‘service-learning’’ means a method (A) under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that (i) is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; (ii) is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community; and (iii) helps foster civic responsibility; and (B) that (i) is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the educational components of the community service program in which the
I think this course has more prepared me for teaching in higher education through providing various perspectives and considerations around diverse challenges within a teaching and learning environment. This course taught about effective teaching practices that encourages a teaching professional to