IRB agreement:

Anneliese Mueller Worster, Ph.D. Assistant Professor

Increase Citizenship through Service Learning in Social Studies Methods Course

1. Summary, aims and purposes of project:

This service learning project is being undertaken to investigate how service learning can be experientially taught as a useful teaching strategy in a social studies teaching methods course. The project engages elementary education teacher candidates in current event research and service learning projects in order to experience active citizenship and effective social studies teaching strategies in an ever changing world. “Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy” (NCSS, 2010).

As a member of the SSU service learning FLC (Faculty Learning Community), I would like to expand upon our existing service learning study to investigate the following:

a. How to best teaching the teaching strategy of service learning to teacher candidates so that they will feel empowered and educated enough to implement this strategy into their own future classrooms?

b. By teaching teacher candidates through this experiential mode, do they understand the link between service learning projects and teaching social studies?

c. Does increased content knowledge about current events and then subsequent service increase active citizenship so that they can model civic engagement to their future students?

I intend to survey the students to assess their own opinion of their developing competence around active citizenship and using service learning as a teaching strategy and tool to meet the goals of NCSS (National Council on Social Studies). I intend to use the EDU 309 social studies methods course blog posts to code and identify if they in fact met my goals of implementing such a project in the class.

2. Describe the exact method of finding subjects, and if applicable, obtaining informed consent and insuring confidentiality (including data storage). Attach informed consent and/ or disclosure form:

Subjects: Students enrolled in spring 2012 EDU 309 Social Studies and Arts Elementary Methods.

Methodology:

a. Survey: I plan to implement an anonymous survey pre and post survey, at the beginning of the class before I even introduce the assignment, and at the end of their project, meaning they have already researched their current event topic in depth, connected it to governing agencies, conducted their service learning project, and presented on their project to the class. (Attached is the draft survey). When they complete the surveys, students will be asked to place their student identification number on the survey to enable me to match surveys. After the post-test is administered and surveys are matched, student id numbers will be eliminated from the surveys and will be replaced with sequential identification numbers, beginning with 1. Through this process, the anonymity of the participants will be preserved.

b. Blog: Over the course of the semester I plan to have questions for students to explore that connect government and civics to their current event topic and service learning project. I would like to analyze whether or not they are drawing explicit links between this project and their own teaching social studies. My hope is that the project is integrated into the goals of the course, teaching social studies methods, and that these links are seamless. I hope to analyze their blogs to assess whether or not this is happening. In addition, their blogs are reflective, and I hope to analyze whether or not they might or might not use service learning as a teaching strategy in the future, and assess what barriers might be perceived for them (attached are sample questions for their blog).

3. Methodology with respect to human and animal subjects.Beyond voluntarily completing the pre and post survey, students will not be asked to do anything that is outside the normal instructional work for the relevant courses.

4. Materials or equipment A pre survey that evaluates students’ prior knowledge with service learning, citizenship, and social studies.A post survey that evaluates students’ experiences with the course project.

5. Potential risks to participants

There are no potential risks to participants.

6. Potential benefits to participants

Students are likely to benefit from an instructional approach I believe to potentially be very effective.

7. Letters of agreement from participating organizations or institutions.None needed.

8. Work Cited

Campus Compact (2003). Introduction to service learning toolkit: Readings and resources for faculty. Providence, RI: Brown University.

Goldberg, J. (2009). Five ways to increase civic engagement. Social Studies and the young learner 22 (1) pp. 15-18.

Kaye, Cathyrn Berger (2004). The complete guide to service leanring: Proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum and social action. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

National Council for Social Studies. About National Council for social studies. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/about

Wade, Rahima C. (2007). Community action rooted in history: A civiconnections model of service learning. Silver Spring MD: NCSS Publications.