Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Service Learning: The Rollercoaster of Doom and Epiphany
Wow! What a crazy, mixed-up, wild ride this semester has been. Partly, the rollercoaster ride that was this semester wound through tunnels of oppression not having much to do with this class, but I have to say that the big hill, the one that sent the cars careening at light speed through mind snapping twists and jarring turns was this service learning project. Not that I didn’t smile through most of those turns, and not that I didn’t throw my hands into the air on the way down that hill, but I did feel most of the time like I was completely out of control. I’m actually surprised I don’t feel dizzy and nauseous coming into the final curve.
Mostly, this feeling of intense displacement comes from being pushed completely out of my element and comfort zone by this project. However, it was that feeling of displacement that led to the most important learning experiences and the most important personal gains from the project. This project challenged my preconceptions of group work, working with an agency partner, and using practical technology, as well as service learning goals and what my responsibility as a teacher of subject, audience, and purpose really are. Strap in, hold on, and leave your drinks at the ticket counter. If you listen close, over the din of the clickety-clack of the wheels, you just might hear my mind snap.
This was my first video and my first service learning experience. It was also a group project—something I despise and have not had very good experiences with in the past. I went into this project with very low expectations. I had visions of a dysfunctional group, all leaning different directions and we rounded a steep curve, sending the project car into oblivion. I am happy that this is not what happened with my group. We all meshed really well. I am still trying to figure out why. Possibly it was because we are all older (ish), or that we all have learned to play well with others. Maybe it was the intensity of the project that forced us to work well together. I just don’t know. What I do know is that something in our group clicked, and that is not something that has happened for me before with group projects. As a teacher I have not even considered assigning my students a group project because I know how troublesome they can be. As a result of the success with this project, I now find that I want to invest time in learning about group work dynamics, and I just might consider a group project for some of the classes I teach. Right away, I think an ethnography would make a fantastic group project because of the varied primary and secondary research the assignment requires. Being forced out of my comfort zone, and then finally having a positive group experience, has directly led me to reconsider the way I might teach such an assignment. It still might be a crazy ride for my students and me, but I can now see that a positive experience is possible.
I also had visions of riding the car through the Agency Partner tunnel, running the gauntlet of criticism goblins and passive aggressive direction ghosts. When I thought of working with an agency, I thought that we would be bogged down with someone who, while being an outsider to the group, would expect to be in charge of it. I remembered my days as a courier, when I ran interdepartmental mail and specimens for several medical offices spread throughout the valley. The corporate interference was, at best, debilitating. The criticism and micro-management was never-ending, and worst of all, since it was so passive aggressive, it wasn’t something that could ever be pinned down and directly addressed or resolved. Again, my preconceptions were not positive. Again, I went into this ride thinking that doom was inevitable. However, Cindy, our contact at the Boise Watershed, proved to be a valuable and helpful member of the project. She had a list of expectations, but let us work independently. She offered criticism, but it was offered as a suggestion and not as direction. It was that simple. Since she was the polar opposite of the corporate representatives I had worked with in the past, she made me think of agency partners in a whole new light. While this does not impact my teaching directly, it helps me to realize that working with agency partners on projects, especially educational ones, is something I would consider doing on my own time in the future. This is something I might not have thought about if I had not been forced out of my element with this project. Now the tunnel of ghosts and goblins seems a lot more whimsical that I had previously imagined.
Likewise, I had envisioned the technology we were required to use as a giant gaping demonic maw at the end of the tunnel that would swallow us whole. This was the really scary part of the ride for me since I had never made a video before. I wish I could say that don’t feel that way anymore. But in truth, in many ways, technology is still the same giant gaping maw of evil that it was before to me. While I got some experience with shooting footage and editing, I didn’t get enough experience to make me feel comfortable. However, I do feel less intimidated by the technology, enough that I can see that the usefulness in composing ideas as an audio and visual experience. I have, in the past, brought in videos and podcasts to my classroom as a way of totally engaging the audience, the students. However, this was just another form of classroom material, to be handed down by the teacher and digested by the students. Likewise, the digital projects my students have done have generally been optional. I think now that composition with technology, while a little scary, can be a powerful tool for developing ideas. Getting out of my element, and seeing beyond my fears of the technology, lets me see that there is something to be gained by using it for generative purposes. This is something I plan to require more in my classroom.
The service learning goals of delivering a useful product to an agency in need also are something I plan to encourage and possibly require in my classroom. As mentioned above, my view of service learning was tied to my view of corporate interference. But I do now see the usefulness of producing a product that will ultimately be used for its intended purpose. Like Tom said in one of our class discussions, there is a trade off: the agency gets a product for free, and the students get a real audience and purpose to work with. This is one of the most valuable things I am taking away from this experience. I bring in all kinds of real world examples to my classroom as a way of showing what delivering subject and purpose to a specific audience looks like. I expend a lot of time and energy toward making sure my students understand the value of knowing an audience, and how that shapes the rhetorical decisions that go into a product. I then have them write a paper at an imaginary audience and call that practical experience. Service learning seems so much more concrete, and really, practical. Plus, the students get something to put on a resume, something to show their ability in the real world. The real bonus with this kind of work for a classroom is that there will be considerably less questions about what the point of the assignment is, since it’s built in. This semester, one of my students wrote an anti-smoking paper because she wants to see her mom quit smoking. As a result of my experience with service learning goals, I have encouraged her to revise her paper as a letter to her mom for the portfolio. This kind of real world product is something I will encourage more in my classroom.
So, while this little ride might have been crazy, might have made me feel out of control, might have even made me freak out from time to time, I think that I did learn a lot about the usefulness of using technology, using group work, and writing for a real audience in the composition classroom. Like all good rollercoasters, I want to get off now, thanks. But in a minute I imagine I’ll be stomping my feet and saying, “Again, again!” And, I’ll bring some of my students along for the ride next time too.
Mostly, this feeling of intense displacement comes from being pushed completely out of my element and comfort zone by this project. However, it was that feeling of displacement that led to the most important learning experiences and the most important personal gains from the project. This project challenged my preconceptions of group work, working with an agency partner, and using practical technology, as well as service learning goals and what my responsibility as a teacher of subject, audience, and purpose really are. Strap in, hold on, and leave your drinks at the ticket counter. If you listen close, over the din of the clickety-clack of the wheels, you just might hear my mind snap.
This was my first video and my first service learning experience. It was also a group project—something I despise and have not had very good experiences with in the past. I went into this project with very low expectations. I had visions of a dysfunctional group, all leaning different directions and we rounded a steep curve, sending the project car into oblivion. I am happy that this is not what happened with my group. We all meshed really well. I am still trying to figure out why. Possibly it was because we are all older (ish), or that we all have learned to play well with others. Maybe it was the intensity of the project that forced us to work well together. I just don’t know. What I do know is that something in our group clicked, and that is not something that has happened for me before with group projects. As a teacher I have not even considered assigning my students a group project because I know how troublesome they can be. As a result of the success with this project, I now find that I want to invest time in learning about group work dynamics, and I just might consider a group project for some of the classes I teach. Right away, I think an ethnography would make a fantastic group project because of the varied primary and secondary research the assignment requires. Being forced out of my comfort zone, and then finally having a positive group experience, has directly led me to reconsider the way I might teach such an assignment. It still might be a crazy ride for my students and me, but I can now see that a positive experience is possible.
I also had visions of riding the car through the Agency Partner tunnel, running the gauntlet of criticism goblins and passive aggressive direction ghosts. When I thought of working with an agency, I thought that we would be bogged down with someone who, while being an outsider to the group, would expect to be in charge of it. I remembered my days as a courier, when I ran interdepartmental mail and specimens for several medical offices spread throughout the valley. The corporate interference was, at best, debilitating. The criticism and micro-management was never-ending, and worst of all, since it was so passive aggressive, it wasn’t something that could ever be pinned down and directly addressed or resolved. Again, my preconceptions were not positive. Again, I went into this ride thinking that doom was inevitable. However, Cindy, our contact at the Boise Watershed, proved to be a valuable and helpful member of the project. She had a list of expectations, but let us work independently. She offered criticism, but it was offered as a suggestion and not as direction. It was that simple. Since she was the polar opposite of the corporate representatives I had worked with in the past, she made me think of agency partners in a whole new light. While this does not impact my teaching directly, it helps me to realize that working with agency partners on projects, especially educational ones, is something I would consider doing on my own time in the future. This is something I might not have thought about if I had not been forced out of my element with this project. Now the tunnel of ghosts and goblins seems a lot more whimsical that I had previously imagined.
Likewise, I had envisioned the technology we were required to use as a giant gaping demonic maw at the end of the tunnel that would swallow us whole. This was the really scary part of the ride for me since I had never made a video before. I wish I could say that don’t feel that way anymore. But in truth, in many ways, technology is still the same giant gaping maw of evil that it was before to me. While I got some experience with shooting footage and editing, I didn’t get enough experience to make me feel comfortable. However, I do feel less intimidated by the technology, enough that I can see that the usefulness in composing ideas as an audio and visual experience. I have, in the past, brought in videos and podcasts to my classroom as a way of totally engaging the audience, the students. However, this was just another form of classroom material, to be handed down by the teacher and digested by the students. Likewise, the digital projects my students have done have generally been optional. I think now that composition with technology, while a little scary, can be a powerful tool for developing ideas. Getting out of my element, and seeing beyond my fears of the technology, lets me see that there is something to be gained by using it for generative purposes. This is something I plan to require more in my classroom.
The service learning goals of delivering a useful product to an agency in need also are something I plan to encourage and possibly require in my classroom. As mentioned above, my view of service learning was tied to my view of corporate interference. But I do now see the usefulness of producing a product that will ultimately be used for its intended purpose. Like Tom said in one of our class discussions, there is a trade off: the agency gets a product for free, and the students get a real audience and purpose to work with. This is one of the most valuable things I am taking away from this experience. I bring in all kinds of real world examples to my classroom as a way of showing what delivering subject and purpose to a specific audience looks like. I expend a lot of time and energy toward making sure my students understand the value of knowing an audience, and how that shapes the rhetorical decisions that go into a product. I then have them write a paper at an imaginary audience and call that practical experience. Service learning seems so much more concrete, and really, practical. Plus, the students get something to put on a resume, something to show their ability in the real world. The real bonus with this kind of work for a classroom is that there will be considerably less questions about what the point of the assignment is, since it’s built in. This semester, one of my students wrote an anti-smoking paper because she wants to see her mom quit smoking. As a result of my experience with service learning goals, I have encouraged her to revise her paper as a letter to her mom for the portfolio. This kind of real world product is something I will encourage more in my classroom.
So, while this little ride might have been crazy, might have made me feel out of control, might have even made me freak out from time to time, I think that I did learn a lot about the usefulness of using technology, using group work, and writing for a real audience in the composition classroom. Like all good rollercoasters, I want to get off now, thanks. But in a minute I imagine I’ll be stomping my feet and saying, “Again, again!” And, I’ll bring some of my students along for the ride next time too.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)