Start Date
6-6-2013 1:45 PM
End Date
6-6-2013 2:55 PM
Description
Service learning responds to calls for higher education to engage with community and to develop more active-learning strategies in undergraduate education. This Panel Presentation highlights the use of service learning within the disciplines of sociology, psychology and education at an Australian university. The CAR (Concept, Action, Reflection) model employed includes conceptual development within the discipline, an opportunity for action that is situated in the local and global community and critical reflection. CAR builds on existing service learning pedagogical frames and presents interdisciplinary perspectives. This panel aims to stimulate discussion about modes of community-based learning in higher education curriculum. The first presentation interrogates the experience of pre-service History and Geography teachers using a CAR model. In the course Social Science Curriculum, students enacted their conceptual knowledge and pedagogical knowledge through active community based projects involving practicing teachers and community organizations. As further part of the course students were asked to reflect on their service learning experiences shaped their professional knowledge and personal development as active citizens. This presentation discusses these reflections, evaluates CAR and examines the role of service learning pedagogy within the teacher education curriculum. The second presentation focuses on how CAR fosters reflection and critical thinking within social psychology, which emphases the notion that service-learning is beyond knowing and doing. Three aspects will be discussed: 1) impact of reflection and critical thinking on student’s personal and professional development and growth; 2) structures of reflection and critical thinking in social psychology; and 3) how reflection makes a difference in achieving the learning outcomes of service-learning. The final paper explores the effectiveness of a service learning assessment for the subject Power and Protest in a Globalising World. In this subject, students not only learned about protest, activism, and social movements; they also organised activism on their own. By making service an assessable activity, and directly linking it to theoretical concepts, students receive a rich experience that takes them beyond the classroom. This presentation will examine the success of this assessment, based on the students' performance and their reflections on the project through a survey.
Recommended Citation
Halbert, K., Li, W., & Petray, T. (2013, June). Using CAR (Concept, Action, Reflection) in the disciplines to connect the local and global. Paper presented at the 4th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning: Service-Learning as a Bridge from Local to Global: Connected world, Connected future, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
Included in
Using CAR (Concept, Action, Reflection) in the disciplines to connect the local and global
Service learning responds to calls for higher education to engage with community and to develop more active-learning strategies in undergraduate education. This Panel Presentation highlights the use of service learning within the disciplines of sociology, psychology and education at an Australian university. The CAR (Concept, Action, Reflection) model employed includes conceptual development within the discipline, an opportunity for action that is situated in the local and global community and critical reflection. CAR builds on existing service learning pedagogical frames and presents interdisciplinary perspectives. This panel aims to stimulate discussion about modes of community-based learning in higher education curriculum. The first presentation interrogates the experience of pre-service History and Geography teachers using a CAR model. In the course Social Science Curriculum, students enacted their conceptual knowledge and pedagogical knowledge through active community based projects involving practicing teachers and community organizations. As further part of the course students were asked to reflect on their service learning experiences shaped their professional knowledge and personal development as active citizens. This presentation discusses these reflections, evaluates CAR and examines the role of service learning pedagogy within the teacher education curriculum. The second presentation focuses on how CAR fosters reflection and critical thinking within social psychology, which emphases the notion that service-learning is beyond knowing and doing. Three aspects will be discussed: 1) impact of reflection and critical thinking on student’s personal and professional development and growth; 2) structures of reflection and critical thinking in social psychology; and 3) how reflection makes a difference in achieving the learning outcomes of service-learning. The final paper explores the effectiveness of a service learning assessment for the subject Power and Protest in a Globalising World. In this subject, students not only learned about protest, activism, and social movements; they also organised activism on their own. By making service an assessable activity, and directly linking it to theoretical concepts, students receive a rich experience that takes them beyond the classroom. This presentation will examine the success of this assessment, based on the students' performance and their reflections on the project through a survey.