Session III: International Service Learning (ISL)

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Session IIIInternational Service Learning (ISL)
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Service Learning Definitions

• Definitions vary considerably
• - Skinner and Chapman (1999)
• More than 147 definitions
• - Kendall (1990)
• Some grouped in SL philosophy
• SL pedagogy of education
• Some purely nominal

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Theoretical framework ELSL Definitions
Deweys philosophy establishes certain
characteristics for SL

1. It is an experience or that it is experiential
   theory with the aim of
2. a social justice goal
3. can be educative if it can be
4. understood reflection while trying to
   establish that social balance.

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ISL Definition
International service learning takes place when
students academic learning occurs in a foreign
context reflecting around a carefully organized
experience that aims to meet a specific community
need or needs. The key component is that learning
occurs through reflecting on the whole course
experience that might involve comparisons,
problems, confrontations, critical analysis,
interactions, etc. In this context experiential
learning is action oriented in that it involves
interaction with the host community, requires
reflecting upon different contexts and
communitys dynamics deriving meaningful learning
from the entire experience. - Pagano, 2005
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Goals of ISL

• To enhance the academic content of the course
  through interaction with the host community
• To develop intercultural Knowledge
• To learn to be intercultural proficient
• To learn specific issues in the host culture
• To develop critical thinking skills through
  reflection pedagogy
• To fully interact with the host community
• To develop group goals that build community
• To aim to reach the reciprocity concept
• Other

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Types of ISL Programs

• Faculty Led
• Partnership
• Direct Enrollment
• Hybrid
• Travel Embedded

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ISL Models Academics
Discipline Based
Problem Based or Seminar
Capstone Course
SL Internship?
SL Research?
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Key Elements of ISL
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ISL Elements Analyses
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Main Element Worksite/Volunteer

• Worksite needs to be tied into every part of the
  curriculum

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ISL Mike Woolf

• FIE
• Foundation for International Education

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ISL Pedagogy Reflection

• Reflection
• The act of reflecting or the state of being
  reflected.
• Something, such as light, radiant heat, sound, or
  an image, that is reflected.
• Mental concentration careful consideration.
• A thought or an opinion resulting from such
  consideration

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Reflection-Refraction

• Reflection in Education
• Dewey Vehicle to think about our experiences
• Critical Thinking the mental process of actively
  and skillfully conceptualizing, applying,
  analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating
  information to reach an answer or conclusion

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Refraction

• Refraction The turning or bending of any wave,
  such as a light or sound wave, when it passes
  from one medium into another of different optical
  density.
• De-fantasize fate!

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Refraction Process
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Levels of Thought Analysis in II and ISL Towards
Refraction
REFLECTION CRITICAL THINKING REFRACTION
Starts a dialogue Weights viewpoints Alternative solutions
Recollection Revises clarifies
Passive Passive/aggressive Active
Accepts Questions Defines
Old materials Past and present materials New material
Individual perspective Alternative perspectives Integrates all perspectives
Reviews Scrutinizes Selects
Monocultural Multicultural Intercultural
Individual Makes connections with others Engages with others and scholarship
Search First step in providing evidence Unmasks paradigms Uncovers situations
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Refraction
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Refraction

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Knowledge
• Subject Matter
• Context
• Skills
• Ability to look at alternative perspective
• Ability to interact with the host culture
• Attitudes
• Willingness to seek out international or
  intercultural opportunities
• Accepts cultural differences and tolerates
  cultural ambiguity

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Refraction Teamwork

• What types of assignments?
• What features do assignments need?
• What logistics need to take place?
• Other

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ISL and II Refraction Examples

• Essay
• Multiple choice
• Journal
• Portfolios
• Presentations
• Research Papers
• Role-plays
• Related Story Telling
• Video Diary
• Learning Logs
• Re-entry activity

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ISL and II Refraction Examples
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ISL Environmental Issues

• After
• I drew the river with different colors. I drew
  the Tapajos river with brown to show its true
  color and then the Amazon in blue. The Tapajos
  River is a tributary of the Amazon. I mixed both
  colors where they get together. People here
  depend heavily on the river for anything they do.
  I never knew parts of the river are so polluted
  and it is creating so many problems for so many
  communities. We need to take this into
  consideration and start prosecuting the
  responsible for so much pollution. It does not
  seem that much is done about that

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Writing Time