Teaching To Empower
Students learn content best when they are active learners. Within the classroom, I work to create this by creating innovative assignments that have real world applications. Sometimes, these assignments take the form of service projects that students complete at the request of local social agencies. Of course, the service provided should be of service to the community and not present an additional burden to our agencies. In what follows, I showcase one such project that my students have done.
The service project was my favorite thing that I did in this class. Doing class. Doing all of this work and then seeing how interested New Directions was in using our material, and seeing that our ideas will be helping those affected by domestic and sexual abuse, was great to see. |
LATINX COMMUNITY ENGAGED PROJECT
In our Latinx Psychology class, students worked with our local domestic violence shelter, New Directions, to brainstorm some initiatives that the shelter could use to do more inclusive work in the community. At the end of the semester students presented their work to the shelter and also showcased their work in a local conference at our college (see image on LEFT). Below are some of final reflections from the students: I thought that the service project was an amazing component of the class! I thought it was very helpful as it allowed us to realize the importance of what we were studying in class. The service project was a very rewarding assignment. it gave me an opportunity to impact the Knox County community in a way I would not have previously. I felt as if the Professor provided sufficient feedback that I could work from This assignment was very useful to learning the material as well as achieving an experience which has ramifications outside of Kenyon, and in preparation for my professional life. I am very glad we had this assignment. |
For me, the service project was very meaningful. It challenged me to go beyond my comfort zone as a Spanish speaker and allowed me to work on a project with a classmate. Professor López was available to us whenever we had a question or concern regarding the process. Presenting to New Directions was also a new and deeply enriching experience.