Learning that Extends Beyond the Classroom: AEDU 410: Service Learning Practicum Course
“What is service learning?,” asks Amy Pasqualini as she begins her final presentation in the Service Learning Capstone and Practicum Course. As she continues: “Service learning is experiential learning, centered on reflective thinking and civic learning that extends beyond the classroom to impact the community.”
Pasqualini was joined in the course by three other Adult Studies students: Melissa Serna, Aya Ghannam and Bisan Yahya. Taught by Dr. Rhoda Mattson, the purpose of the course was for each student to design, implement, and assess the success of their own service learning project over the course of the spring semester. “Each student has to implement a service learning project, overcome challenges, and determine the best way to assess the project’s success,” explained Dr. Mattson. “Service learning is different than volunteering. It’s mutual in that the students are learning from their service learning site and giving back to their community. They reflect on their experience as they seek to achieve real objectives and a deeper understanding of themselves, the education field, and the world around them.”
Each student presented their reflections on their project in the final class session on Monday, May 1st. Melissa Serna began the evening with a recap of her project, Pintar El Mundo Club, an afternoon club for 14 students at St. Gall Elementary School. Serna herself attended St. Gall Elementary School, and developed her project with the intent to teach her students what it was like to help and serve others, and to learn what others in the world are going through— Pintar El Mundo in English means “To Paint the World.”
Serna planned 3 primary activities for her students. The first was to make dog toys out of old t-shirts and blankets to donate to local humane shelters in the area. The second was to make handmade cards that would be donated to children in need through the Cards for Hospitalized Kids Organization (http://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com/). The third was in conjunction with the Pulsera Project (http://www.pulseraproject.org/), where the students sold bracelets and bags made in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
“It was great to see the students and the entire school involved in selling the bracelets and bags that benefit the Pulsera Project,” explained Serna. “Students wanted to take them home and sell to family and friends, and by the end all the girls- even the teachers- were wearing the bracelets.” Serna further explained that the students were able to see the impact that making the bracelets has on the lives of those in Guatemala and Nicaragua, and they completed Venn Diagrams to reflect on the similarities, differences, and overlap between their lives and those of kids in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Next to present was Bisan Yahya. Yahya worked with a group of 5-6 year old children at Al-Tayseer School teaching them how to identify, read, and write Arabic letters. “My main goal by the end of the project was that the students would be able to write 5-7 Arabic letters, write their own name in Arabic, and be able to speak some of the more difficult characters,” explained Yahya.
Yahya employed a number of activities to get the students involved and engaged in learning. She created a board of letters in both Arabic and English, and used cards that had the image of the word along with the Arabic and English word. She worked with the students on writing the letters correctly, from right to left, and used Play-Doh games and bingo. “I went back to my textbooks from class to research and see what other ideas I could implement to keep the students engaged,” explained Yahya. “One day we made fruit salad, and the students picked the fruit they knew the name of. It did get messy, but the students had a great time with it.” Yahya ended her presentation with a video of her students speaking the Arabic letters as she held up cards, showing the success and engagement of her students.
For her project, Aya Ghannam worked with 4 students from the third grade at University School. The 4 students were identified by the principal as ones that needed extra help with Arabic and reading the Koran. “I was excited yet nervous before beginning the project,” explained Ghannam, who gave birth to her third son in February, yet did not miss one scheduled meeting with her students. “The goal of the project was to be a bridge for the students, so that they could be successful in class and have more increased cultural interaction with their classmates.”
Ghannam met with the students each Saturday, and employed a range of activities to help them succeed. She created an educational brochure to show the importance of learning Arabic, went to the gym for activities, and engaged in walks and casual conversation. “I could tell that spending time with the students meant the world to them,” said Ghannam. “They are smart and want to learn, and needed varying activities and tasks to engage them with the material.”
The final member of the class to present was Amy Pasqualini. For her project, Pasqualini developed and implemented a Kindergarten Club (K-Club) at Adventures in Learning, which provides childcare for kids who are anywhere from 6 weeks to 12 years old.
“The purpose of the K-Club was to prepare the kids age 4-5 years old to be socially and emotionally ready to transition to kindergarten this fall,” explained Pasqualini. “We had a sharing circle, worked on fine tuning their motor skills through crafts, and had the kids fill out writing sheets each week to track their progress in writing their names the proper kindergarten way.”
As Pasqualini continues to explain, the kids filled out the same sheets in February and again in April to see what they said after being asked: ‘On the First Day of Kindergarten’. One wrote in February they were ‘afraid to leave my backpack at home,’ but then again in April answered ‘excited to build new friendships.’ Another answered ‘nervous on what the big kids will say’ in February, and then ‘excited about the big big teachers’ in April, showing they are comfortable with the transition to kindergarten.
Pasqualini will continue to work with her kids over the summer, and the K-12 program will remain in place at Adventures in Learning. “When Dr. Mattson visited the K-12 class, the kids were asking what she was teaching me, so I explained about the Service Learning Class and that service was to make others happy,” explained Pasqualini. “They said they wanted to do something for others, which was amazing to hear. Next week, they’ll be singing and taking some crafts they painted to Tiller Nursing Home right next to us at Adventures in Learning.”
“It was great to see the impact of each student’s project on their students, school, and community,” explained Dr. Mattson. “The class proved to be transformational for these students and was a great way to end their time at Trinity.”