Carroll Community College
Spring 2004, No. 15


Contents

Seventy-six Students Participate in Service-learning Community Partnership Projects

Campus Writers Share Works in Progress

Speech Class Leads to Commencement Address

College Employees, Academic Year 2003–04

Speech Team Wins Great Eastern Seaboard Tournament

Student Profile: Jeana Biondo

Info

 

Seventy-six Students Participate in Service-learning Community Partnership Projects

Seventy-six Carroll Community College students participated in service-learning projects as part of their Spring 2004 coursework. Five Carroll faculty had included service-learning options in fourteen sections of their courses in Spring 2004. Twenty community organizations partnered with the college to offer these service-learning opportunities to students.

Service learning is a teaching methodology that connects students' academic learning in the classroom with students' service to community partners outside the classroom. It is an active, experiential process in which students learn through the integration of theory and practice.

Courses that incorporated Community Partnership Projects into their curriculum for the Spring 2004 semester are described below.

PSYC 210: Human Development Through The Life Span (Instructor: Teresa Sawyer)

The learning objective was to gain a greater understanding of the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of the individual through the life span. Students could elect to serve 25 hours with an agency of their choice. They were required to do some reflective journal writing and present a portfolio presentation of their project. Students linked with Human Services Programs of Carroll County, ARC of Carroll County, Meals on Wheels, Bureau of Aging, Copper Ridge, Springfield, Carroll County Farm Museum, South Carroll Senior Center, North Carroll Senior Center, and CHANGE, Inc.

PSYC 205: Social Psychology (Instructor: Teresa Sawyer)

The learning objectives were to understand the methods used in social psychology research to collect and interpret data, and to better understand people, social relationships and attitudes. The specific project for this class was to assist the Human Services Programs (HSP) of Carroll County in collecting and interpreting data on the homeless population in Carroll County. This involved data collection at local soup kitchens (Westminster or Taneytown) or homeless shelters (Westminster). Students wrote a paragraph or two about the experience, and participated in related class discussions. This project gave the students an opportunity to apply interviewing skills, learn more about a serious social problem, participate in data interpretation, and provide important assistance to a local agency. With the students' help, HSP was able to increase the number of surveys completed from 79 last year to 208 this year. And learning took place. As one student stated, "Meeting these people was a very eye-opening experience, as I was able to gain a better understanding of the needy and homeless people that live in our community. I now feel ashamed of some of the assumptions that I've made over the years, saying that these people are just lazy, and that they just need to find a job."

ENGL 101-75: Craft of Composition (Instructor: Siobhan Wright)

The learning objective was to produce unified, coherent, well-developed, and well-organized essays that logically support a thesis. Students that selected the Community Partnership Project interviewed a client of a homeless shelter for the purposes of providing the HSP with materials needed for future grant proposals or community relations. A student who participated in the Community Partnership Project commented that "This assignment was one of the best I've ever done. I almost didn't do it because I am shy and get really nervous around strangers. I was really uncomfortable about talking to someone about being homeless. I'm really glad I did the interview, because it showed me another perspective of life that I had never thought of before."

HLTH 101:The Science and Theory of Health and Wellness (Instructors: Mary Kemp and Wendy Stewart)

The learning objective was for students to learn about and promote health and wellness within an underserved population within our community. Students selecting the Community Partnership Project performed 12 hours of service with a community partner agency and submitted a final portfolio that shows and tells their own personal story. Students partnered with Therapeutic Riding Program, St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home, Patapsco State Park, North Carroll Senior Center, and Habitat for Humanity.

THTR-115: Introduction to Technical Theatre, THTR-110: Acting 1, THTR-125: Theatre Practicum 1, THTR-126: Theatre Practicum 2, THTR-225: Theatre Practicum 3 (Instructor: Don Elwell)

The learning objective was to plan, produce and perform a community play. Students from various theater courses worked together to produce all facets of Flamenia's Wedding, a classic 16th century commedia del arte or largely improvised Italian comedy. The performance was a collaborative effort with the Carroll County Arts Council. Two vanloads from ARC of Carroll County, along with personnel from local service agencies, enjoyed the free performance at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster. Service learning at Carroll Community College strives to meet the following three goals: (1) integration of course or program learning objectives with the service experience, (2) development of a lifelong commitment to service and civic engagement and (3) fulfillment of an identified need in the community.

Service learning can be an assignment in an academic course, service performed by a student club or organization, or volunteerism of individual students that incorporate learning and reflection about the experience. At Carroll Community College, service-learning assignments that are part of an academic course are known as Community Partnership Projects.

Service-learning programs benefit students by enhancing academic and interpersonal skill development, by fostering a greater sense of civic and social responsibility, and by promoting a greater understanding of people with a background different from one's own.

Incorporating service learning in the curriculum helps faculty to bring a fresh approach and new energy to the course content, to deepen student understanding through practical application, and to strengthen faculty-student connections.

By forming partnerships with community agencies the college provides an expanded network of trained volunteers and an increased awareness and understanding of the community's needs. Carroll Community College is grateful for the support of community agencies throughout the region that are committed to supporting the educational endeavors of its students.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Anne Davis at the Center for Service Learning, 410-386-8413 or adavis@carrollcc.edu.

Back to top