|
Service Learning
The service learning
projects described below have two purposes: to serve your local community
within the tradition and values of Jesuit education and to serve as a vehicle
for learning about group process and decision making from your own experience.
Additional information about service learning is included on the OB
Resources page and an example of one OB cohort's
project.
Volunteer
Team Project
"Great
discoveries and achievements invariably involve
the cooperation of many minds." --Alexander Graham Bell
The team and/or
project approach to achieving organizational goals is common today. Effective
group members and facilitators are able to function optimally within that
framework, in terms of capitalizing on an individual's strengths, maximizing
efficiencies, and accepting responsibility and accountability. "A work team
generates positive synergy through coordinated effort - individual efforts
result in a performance that is greater than the sum of those individual
inputs" (Robbins, Organizational Behavior, 10th ed, p. 258).
We have included several references to help you better understand the structure
and nature of teams and approaches to teaming on the OB
Resource page. We suggest you read at least some of these.
Teams will be
established during Session 1 (the size of the team will depend on the number
of students in your group). The task of the team is to volunteer within
your local community for a minimum of four (4) hours during the course.
The only limit on the type of organization you may choose is that it should
be consistent with the Jesuit tradition of service to the community. The
Service Learning Manuals at your regional campus and the Community Service
Database at the USF
Service Learning site will be good places for you to begin. Beyond that,
it will be up to the team to organize itself and accomplish its task.
The team will
make a presentation during Session 7 that describes both the experience
itself (the content) and the team's effectiveness, or productivity (the
process). The guidelines for the content of the presentation are detailed
below; the design and delivery of the presentation are up to the team.
Cohort
Project
Previous OB learning groups designed
and developed a Service Learning Manual that would serve as a resource and
tool for future groups as they plan for their volunteer projects.
An example of
a Cohort
's Project
Observing,
Reflecting and Tracking Progress of the Volunteer and Cohort Project Groups
The Service Learning projects
are designed to help you observe first hand the practice of group process
and decision making. As such, one of your tasks will be to monitor and reflect
on how the principles and concepts covered in the reading and in-class and
online discussions are manifesting in both the volunteer and cohort team
meetings.
We strongly recommend that your
volunteer team discuss and record your observations and reflections as soon
as possible after each project team has met (you can always go back and
add more). Decide how you will summarize and use this information in your
presentations. We also suggest that you elect one of your members to serve
as the team recorder/historian.
The following
questions should help you organize your reflection about the progress
of the team in completing the volunteer experience (modify the questions
as appropriate for tracking the progress of the cohort project):
| |
1.
What did your team volunteer to do? |
| |
2.
Where did your team volunteer to do it? (Provide some description of
the organization) |
| |
3.
How did the volunteer project impact each team member? |
| |
4.
What was the most meaningful aspect of the volunteer project? |
| |
5.
What were the benefits, challenges, and successes of the experience?
|
| |
6. What
was the personal learning gained from the service learning project?
|
| |
7.
How has this experience impacted your understanding of the Jesuit tradition
of service to the community? |
| |
8. How will this experience inform your OB
practice? |
When it comes
to recording your observations of group process, we suggest
organizing the journal around the characteristics of effective
groups you will be discussing during the course:
| |
1.
Roles and Norms |
| |
2.
Group Goals |
| |
3.
Communication |
| |
4.
Leadership |
| |
5.
Use of Power |
| |
6.
Group Decision Making |
| |
7.
Controversy |
| |
8.
Conflict and Negotiation |
Of course, you
will also cover topics within each of these broad areas in reading and class.
These eight areas of group dynamics, with their subtopics, should serve
as the basis for your formal observation. To facilitate your record keeping,
additional slides
with summaries of some of these subtopics are also included on the Supplementary
Materials page. We suggest you review these before you make a record of
your observations. Finally, be mindful that you want to keep track of how
the team developed over time, what worked and what did not, how the team
was effective and how it was not, etc.
Since you will
be a participant observer in both your team and cohort projects, you will
be discussing your observations from memory. We recommend reviewing Indirect
Methods of Data
Collection: Observation. It is important that your team keep regular,
detailed and comprehensive notes to facilitate preparing the most effective
presentation you can.
Your discussion
and notes may speak to the observable behavior, but not the personality
or motivation of individual team or cohort members. For example, if Mary
does not attend a meeting (the observable behavior), you may discuss the
impact of that behavior on the group, but avoid interpreting that behavior
in terms of Mary's personality or motivation (e.g., she is lazy or not committed
to the group).
Team
Presentation
Your team's presentation
should include descriptions and evaluations of both the volunteer experience,
and the nature and effectiveness of the team's process. Your presentation
should demonstrate your critical reflection about and analysis of both the
experience itself and the team's process. Also, your presentation should
never make direct reference to any one individual. The presentation should
address the productivity (effectiveness) of each team as a whole.
The questions
and topics discussed above should guide you in developing your team presentation.
Remember this is a presentation not a recitation. Visuals and/or handouts
are encouraged. The Course Resources page includes helpful web-based references
to guidelines for making a presentation.
Include a list of references cited.
Learning
Outcomes
These projects are
designed to allow students to experience first hand:
-
learning how teams form
and function (group process)
-
learning what it means to
be a team member the value of collaboration
-
learning behaviors for team
effectiveness
-
learning how to take actions
and be accountable (stewardship)
-
experiencing different group
problem solving techniques
- practicing observation as
a data collection tool
|
