CCCC 2005: ReviewReview: K.06: Re-imagining the Community: Service-Learning as Access in the Writing Classroom Re-imagining the Community: Service-Learning as Access in the Writing Classroom Lana Kuchta (no title) Lana addresses the subject of whether basic writers are helped by service-learning. Thomas Deans calls service-learning a pedagogy of action; service-learning gives students a way to move between the academic world and the real world. Service-learning works to recognize their backgrounds and discourse communities as valid. This is especially important for basic writing students. Many students bring workplace and nonacademic literacies to the classroom. The academy benefits from recognizing students’ nonacademic activities because doing so can help make the students feel more confident. Kerri McCanna: “Chalkboards or Blackboard: The Place of Technology in Service-Learning Composition Courses” Kerri agrees with Lana that service-learning increases access, but so does technology. Many dissertations have been written on service-learning. There will be a special issue of Reflections in 2006 published on service-learning. There are many models and projects for service-learning in the comp classroom. Technology has improved access to service-learning in three ways. Participating in a community of service in the student’s own neighborhood builds a sense of connection. Service-learning in a technologically enhanced composition class helps students with time constraints. Also, the rhetorical aspect of the medium has increased through using technology and composition. Including new media in how we allow students to write increases students' access to media but also the surrounding community's access. Erin Whittig (no title) Erin discusses nonnative speakers of English and their service learning experiences. She taught the first section of 101 at her institution that was offered for ESL students only. The lessons that seemed to yield the most excitement from ESL students at other places she’d worked were the ones where they designed something that was important to them and they executed that task. For example, if they wanted to cook some meal from their home country, they would compile lists from cookbooks and actually get to the store to buy the ingredients. Those lessons were the most successful. Service learning offers an opportunity to do similar work. In her 101 class, service-learning increased student motivation. It also increased their access to a community that most of them are tentative about entering. Even very accomplished students are very shy and insecure. Participating in service-learning work increased their confidence. |
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