EDCI 5684 / SPAN 5684/4684

WEB PAGE: http://www.fll.vt.edu/lubbs
http://www.soe.vt.edu/secondlanguage

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE COURSE:

This is a service-learning course designed for preservice and in-service teachers and other students who wish to have an immersion experience in the Latino community. The students will have the opportunity to interact in a personal way with members of the community, thereby enriching their understanding of the culture and the language. This is a grass roots program that will be driven by the needs of the Latino community. The course itself will be co-constructed by the students, the members of the Latino community who are involved in the project, and the instructor. This immersion in a diverse culture will provide exposure to different perspectives in preparation for teachers working with students who represent diverse cultures in the classroom.

MISSION STATEMENT:

In facilitating a service-learning class, I plan to create an inviting and stimulating environment in which the students will form a learning community based on mutual respect and interests with the common goal of pursuing research and inquiry into the methodology and practice of working within a diverse community. They will construct their own knowledge so that it will be meaningful and applicable to their own projects and goals, thereby granting them ownership of the class and its outcome. They will design projects that will immerse them in the Latino community. By means of reflection, they will constantly evaluate their progress, examining how the theory that they are reading is or is not present in their experiences in the community. Their reflection will be guided by reading current teacher education literature and relating it to their own experiences.

OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the semester, the students will be able to articulate what they have learned about service-learning within the Latino community. Through a variety of readings, in-services, guest speakers and reflections, they will be able to analyze how they can help people from other cultures to navigate within the community in which they are now living. They will have the opportunity to examine themselves by interactions with others. They will examine their own teaching in terms of working with diverse student populations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Having successfully completed this course, the students will be able to:

• Identify their own personal perspectives through interactions with others.
• Analyze how they can facilitate ways for people from other cultures to navigate within the community in which they are now living.
• Make evident through journal reflections their understanding of and appreciation for Latino culture and the Spanish language.
• Demonstrate an understanding of different learning theories by putting them into practice.
• Articulate methods to integrate parents of immigrant children into the school community and put them into practice by acting as a liaison between the home and the school.
• Describe an awareness of the complexity of multicultural education.

PRINCIPLES OF SERVICE-LEARNING:

This service-learning experience will be guided by the following principles which state that an effective program:

• engages people in responsible and challenging actions for the common good;
• provides structured opportunities for people to reflect critically on their service experience;
• articulates clear service and learning goals for everyone involved;
• allows for those with needs to define those needs;
• clarifies the responsibilities of each person and organization involved;
• matches service providers and service needs through a process that recognizes changing circumstances;
• expects genuine, active, and sustained organizational commitment;
• includes training, supervision, monitoring, support, recognition, and evaluation to meet service and learning goals;
• insures that the time commitment for service and learning is flexible, appropriate, and in the best interests of all involved; and
• is committed to program participation by and with diverse populations.

Honnet, E.P., & Poulen. S.J. (1989). Principles of good practice for combining service and learning (A
Wingspread Special Report. Racine, WI: The Johnson Foundation.)

ASSESSMENT:

The evaluation for the service-learning course will be based on the following:

• Class participation and exit slips 20%
• Weekly journal reflections 20%
• Service-Learning Expo Poster 10%
• Final transformation paper 15%
• Power point presentation 15%
• Community project 20%

Total 100%

CLASS PARTICIPATION AND EXIT SLIPS:

In a discussion class, attendance is crucial to the
dynamics of the group. The class activities will be varied, ranging from rich discussion of the
reflection papers to guided activities whose goal is to foster deeper understanding of diversity
to guest speakers who will share about their work in the Latino community. There will be in-
class journal writing which will provide opportunities for deep reflecting to relate the
teachers? lives to those of their students. Each week the students will be asked to write an exit
slip commenting on the direction of the class itself.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS:

During the first two class meetings, the students will have the
opportunity to hear about the various collaborative activities in which they may participate
with their families in the Latino community. Each student will have an individual plan, based
on proficiency in Spanish and the circumstances in her/his own school setting. 50 hours of
contact with the families are required, including the Family Literacy Program (FLP). Below
are listed some of the possible activities:

• Serve as a mentor/tutor to ESL students.
• Attend the meetings of the FLP, interacting with Latinos and their families.
• Work with the families of the Latino students, functioning as a cultural mediator.
• Facilitate literacy activities for children during the FLP.
• Provide transportation and a nurturing presence for women who want to attend group support sessions.
• Make phone calls to make appointments or to find out information about the available services.
• Interpret for people at medical and social service appointments where no interpreter is provided.
• Work with individuals and families to help them with their English, either by tutoring or by teaching small classes.
• Teach basic survival skills, ranging from how to ride the bus to how to get a library card to be able to use the library facilities.

REQUIRED READINGS AND VIDEOS:

Certain readings, web pages, and videos will be required for the course. The readings will be available on Blackboard under Course Documents. The web page links are included in the electronic syllabus on the web page as hot links. The readings are an essential component of the course, and serve as a guide for constructing theory from experience. All course readings will be directly connected to class discussions and activities and must be done for full credit in the course.

REQUIRED WEBPAGES:

February 6:
National Council of La Raza: http://www.nclr.org/
U.S.C.I.S. site: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm

March 13:
Mi pediatra: http://www.mipediatra.com.mx/inicio.htm
Jefferson Latino Health Organization: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Field/4725/
National Hispanic Medical Association: http://home.earthlink.net/~nhma/

March 20:
Oral Histories from the Mexican Migration Project: http://mmp.opr.princeton.edu/expressions/prologue-en.aspx
Las mujeres: Sandra Cisneros: http://www.lasmujeres.com/sandracisneros/cisnerosgoal.shtml
Interview with Cisneros: http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/rpearce/MultiC_Web/Authors/Sandra_Cisneros/body_sandra_cisneros.html
Cisneros? career: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cisneros/career.htm
Hear Cisneros? interview: http://www.wiredforbooks.org/sandracisneros/

March 27:
The true story of Francisco Jim