| Education
355/395: Field Experience
Instructor: Sister Dorothy Bredehoft, Dr.
Tammy
Feil,
and Sister Betty McVeigh
Subject Area/Discipline:
Education
School: Neumann College
Project Area: Schooling/Education/Youth
Fall 2006
Service Learning Syllabus in conjunction
with
EDU 345: Language Arts I, EDU 370:
Science and EDU 390: Mathematics
Methods
Integrated into the EDU 355/395 Field
Experience
Instructors: Sister
Dorothy Bredehoft, Dr. Tammy Feil,
and Sister Betty McVeigh
Office:
332-D
332-B
Phone: 610-558-5654
610-358-4518
E-Mail:
bredehod@neumann.edu
mcveighb@neumann.edu
I. Description: A
service learning project may be
completed in conjunction with the regular Field Experience Lab required
for EDU
345 and EDU 390. This service learning
project is designed to be a comprehensive, integrated educational
experience
that fosters an understanding of the factors that may make a child
at-risk* and allows the student to gain
“hands-on” knowledge of how to differentiate learning skills for
at-risk
students.
The
service learning component is offered to enable students not only to
put the
theory and pedagogical skills they learned into practice but also to
develop
their social skills and to be enriched by the experience of working
with
at-risk children.
II. Sites for the
Fall Semester:
Nativity Prep
School
St.
Katharine Drexel School
1515 Linden
Street
1901 Potter St.
Wilmington, DE
19805
Chester, PA
19013
1-302-777-1015
610-872-7358
Brother Ed Ogden, OSFS
Mrs.
Joann Carroll
[Please note: There are
two more school sites available in
the spring semester. Both schools are
located in North Philadelphia: Hope Partnership for Education and LaSalle
Academy]
III. Knowledge
Objectives: Academic Skills, Attitudes,
Values, Life Skills
Through active participation and
involvement in this
project, students will:
A. Apply the
knowledge of academic skills and
theoretical concepts learned in EDU 345, EDU 370, and EDU 390 into an
actual
classroom setting
B. Experience
a growth in the Neumann College
Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes, especially in their ability to:
- Explain how
Franciscan values are
used in service of society
- Demonstrate
the ability to engage in self-reflection
- Recognize and evaluate
differences in
individuals and cultures
- Work
effectively in small groups
- Communicate ideas
clearly and effectively in both
written and oral forms
C. Explore the characteristics of children
at-risk
D. Provide
service to children at-risk
E. Gain a
greater understanding of their role in
meeting the needs of children at-risk
IV. Learning
Activities:
Students will visit the school at
least six times and will
spend approximately six hours (including travel time) each visit. During these visits the students will explore
the following areas as described in the Field Experience Guidelines for
EDU 355
and EDU 395:
- Community
of Learners (History,
Philosophy, Mission
of the
School Site)
- Curriculum
Guidelines and
Standards
- Selection
process for Textbook and
Materials
- Professional
development of the
Faculty and Staff
- Types of
Assessment Used
- Record-keeping
and Reporting
- Provision
for Individual
Differences
- Learning
Environment
- Classroom
Arrangement
- Teaching/Learning
Strategies
- Management
and Motivation
Techniques
Neumann students will meet with the
school principal and/or
their mentor teacher to define the greatest area of need in which the
students
may help. Students will also participate
in direct interactions with the children as directed by the mentor
teacher at
the school site. Most interactions will
be geared to Language Arts, Science, and Math activities but are not
limited to
these two areas. Hopefully, these
interactions will develop from one-on-one interactions to whole group
experiences.
Although the
expectation of this
service learning project is that the student participates in a minimum
of six
visits and at least 10 hours of related service, the goal of service
learning
is that the student feel ‘called’ to get more involved in meaningful
ways with
the school-site community through time and a sharing of talents and
heart.
V. Assignments
and Evaluation Procedures:
Service
Learning Journal: Select a special
notebook for your journal. Make notations
in the journal as soon as
possible after each visit to your assigned school.
The following questions will aid you in
fleshing out your Service Learning Journal:
- What is
the history of the school?
- What is
the mission/philosophy of
the school?
- What is
the Community of Learners?
- What are
some of the factors (e.g.
economical, cultural) that put students at risk?
- How does
the school service their
students?
- What
programs does the school
offer for their students?
- What
types of resources are needed
to engage the students in learning?
- How did
you engage yourself in
using these resources?
- Were you
able to relate your new
learning to your prior experience?
- Do you
think your life will be
different because of this experience?
- Did the
experience result in a
behavior change, an emotional change, a value change, an intellectual
change?
Time to Reflect on
your experience and learning: The
students involved in the Service Learning project will meet at least
twice
during the semester –individually and/or in a group – to process your
experience and to share your new learning.
Final Reflection
Paper:
The final paper will be based
on the students’ responses to
and notes on the questions in Section 5 of this syllabus as well as the
Field
Experience Guidelines for EDU 345, EDU 370, and EDU 390.
Your Final Paper is expected to be 15 to 20
typed pages (double space; 12 point font). More
details will be reviewed in class and the date
due will be
announced in class.
[Please note: There
is an option of completing the Portfolio assigned for Field Experience
instead
of the Final Reflection Paper if the student wishes to do so.]
The
Neumann College instructor will distribute a Community-based learning
Student
Survey at the conclusion of the project in order to continue to develop
the
Service Learning Project in cooperation with the Neumann students and
our
community partners.
*Operational
definition of “at-risk”
“…any child or youth who, due to
disabling, cultural,
economic, or medical conditions, is
a.) denied or has
minimum equal opportunities and resources in a variety of
settings
b.) in jeopardy of
failing to become a meaningful member of his or her
community including home, school, business, and society.”
(Welch
& Sheridan, 1995, p.31)
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