The Project
To encourage students to think globally, I decided to incorporate a service learning project into my curriculum. The project began with students researching an issue in our community and developing a service project that they could complete with their peers in order to help this issue. This service project follows the project-based learning (PBL) instructional model with students first identifying an issue and composing a compelling question and then gathering information about this issue and proposing a solution. I have completed this service learning project with two groups of students. The first cohort of students completed the service learning project during the 2016~2017 school year. The second group of students have completed through step 2 of the process, but have yet to participate in the actual service project. The second cohort's Day of Service will be held June 6, 2018. Throughout these projects, I was also conducting action research to determine the impact of this service learning project on students ability to think globally about issues beyond their classroom. I used the student reflection surveys to determine the impact on students thinking and awareness.
Step 1: Research Paper
Students began by writing a research paper that gave details about the issue in our community and provided an action plan for how they would like to go about fixing this issue. For this writing project, I used the group writing approach that I had learned about in ECI 520 - Teaching Composition. Why? First, I wanted students to approach this as a problem/solution style research paper and I wanted to simulate the type of group dynamic that they would experience in the "real world." Second, I wanted students to get comfortable with revising both their own writing and another person's writing. I thought that the group writing dynamic (and shared grade) would encourage students to take the revision process seriously since someone else's writing would impact their grade and their writing would impact another person's grade. It also turned out to be a good learning opportunity for many students who had different writing strengths. Finally, for me as the teacher, having the students writing in groups allowed me to spend more time with each paper during the writing workshop (another ECI 520 strategy). Students published their final research papers on their blogs, thus sharing and publishing their work, an important step in the PBL process. Below is a look at the assignment directions and rubric given to students at the start of the project.
Step 2: The Pitch
Students created pitches that they delivered in front of their classmates and then administrators. In these pitches they explained the community issue they wished to help with and also the service project that they had come up with. The goal was to have their project picked as one of the final Day of Service Projects. Twelve out of 82 total projects were picked to be completed on the final Day of Service. Below are some pictures of the students delivering their pitches.
Step 3: Day of Service
After the final service projects were determined, students signed up for the project they wanted to participate in, which allowed for student choice. Students took video and pictures during their service projects. The below video is a compilation of the first cohort's Day or Service, which was put together by one of my students.
Step 4: Reflection
Students completed a survey after delivering their pitches and then again after completing the Day of Service. Why a survey? After taking ECI 523 - Teacher as Researcher, I realized the importance of incorporating action research into my practice - especially if I wanted to determine if this new strategy helped to create globally-minded students. The survey's purpose was twofold. First, it allowed for student reflection (a pillar of effective service learning), second it became a source of qualitative data that I used to analyze the impact and effectiveness of the service learning project (a pillar of action research).