Teaching social justice online with a service learning component

1. Teaching social justice online with a service learning component Dr. Carmen Mónico, Elon University Dalia El-Khoury, PhD Student, VCU

2. Content • Why teaching online • Online learning and learners • Teaching social justice • The challenge: The online social justice, summer course • A tour of the course BB page • Examples of service learning activities • Course assessments • Questions for discussion • Resources • References

3. Teaching online • Online education research highlight building communities online and enabling social presence • Online learning enhances student’s subject knowledge, critical thinking, and other learning outcomes • Online technologies in higher education are learner-focused and self-directed learning (heutagogy); enable constructivist pedagogy • Knowledge and meaning is constantly created through interaction, feedback, collaboration, group activities, and other learning tools • Instructors become facilitators of the learning process Palloff & Pratt, 2003, 2007

5. Learners National Center for Education Statistics (2002) on enrollment on online courses (Dec 31, 1999): • 65% of 18 y.o. or less • 57% of 19-23 y.o. • 56% of 24-29 y.o. • 63% of 30 y.o. and above Current Social Work Distance Education (DE) Program enrollment: 51 Demographics from this class: Total Enrollment: 16 Age 23-30: 58% Age 30-45: 42% Male: 12.5% Female: 87.5% Race/Ethnicity – White: 69% African-American: 19% Latino: 12.5% Geographic Regions: Charlottesville, Fairfax, VA beach, Portsmouth, Mechanicsville, Chesapeake Palloff & Pratt, 2003

6. Teaching social justice • Social justice is integral to the identity of social work as a profession, and to social workers • Diverse definitions: • Afford to less fortunate, minorities, persecuted, ostracized, and disadvantaged the same rights, opportunities, and access to resources (Beverley & McSweeney, 1987; King, 1995; Swensen, 1998; Morris, 2002) • Wakefield (1998): distributive justice (fair minimum) is the key organizing value • Morris (2002): capabilities perspective as a vehicle to undergird oppression

7. Course description and goals • Social work's historical and current commitment to social justice as related to oppressed groups in a multicultural society • Understanding of appreciation for diversity in self and others • Encourages discussion of ethical dilemmas when promoting empowerment and advocacy roles • Analyze oppression resulting from persistent social, educational, political, religious, economic, and legal inequalities • Study of strengths, needs, and responses of oppressed groups in the U.S. and abroad

8. The challenge • Instructor’s prior experience teaching online and in teaching social justice & CTE training (Dr. Mónico) • Same course description and goals but an adapted curriculum for online instruction • Selected readings and video clippings developed from prior course & Dr. Liz Cramer syllabus • Test a newly designed course in only 8 weeks • Half of the class wrote 3 short papers as in classroom course, half elected service learning option

9. Blackboard Course Tour • Syllabus and course organization (announcements, units, groups) • Course documents and videos • Weekly discussion board • Introduction, Q& A, and assessment blogs • Assignment tasks • Additional resources

10. Service learning component • Service learning: Immediate use of knowledge acquired (90% retention in learning pyramid) • Examples: • Production of a video with stories about the experience of transgender communities in Washington DC • Support for transition from a Dialogue on Race in a Human Rights Commission in Charlottesville • Preparation of an instructional manual for relative placement as an alternative to foster care in Alexandria • Development of a multicultural training curriculum for volunteers of the Virginia Beach Court Appointed Special Advocates Program

11. Assessments (mid & end point) When assessing your learning at mid-point or at the end of the course, please address the following questions: • What have you learned in this course (so far)? • How that knowledge and skills have been "operationalized" (put into work) or enhanced in your assignments, service learning projects, at work or at home? • How that knowledge and skills acquired are grounded in the social work values? • How do you hope to use them in the future? Please provide examples, short stories to share with others in the class!

12. Lessons learned • No prior online teaching experience required! • Get support from the CTE and colleagues with prior knowledge • Required: passion for innovation in pedagogy, “learning by doing,” no fear to make mistakes!

13. Questions for discussion • Having no prior online teaching experience, where does one starts? • What are the resources available to do so? • What are some challenges you face when teaching online? • What are some useful strategies and effective tools you use in teaching online? • What is the value added of integrating a service learning component into online education?

14. Resources Online Teaching and Learning Resource Guide (through VCU CTE) http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/OTLRG/index.html http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/ecoach/tenbest.html http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/implementing-best-practices-online-learning http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/OTLRG/00_02_WhitePaper.html Service-learning at VCU: http://www.servicelearning.vcu.edu/ Others?

15. Bibliography Beverly, D.P. and McSweeney, E.A. (1987). Social Welfare and Social Justice. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Morris, P.M. (2002). The capabilities perspective: A framework for social justice. Families in Society, 83(4), 365-373. Palloff, R. N. & Pratt, K (2003). The Virtual Student – A profile and guide to working with online learners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: San Francisco, C.A. Palloff, R. N. & Pratt, K (2007). Building online learning communities – Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: San Francisco, C.A. Swenson, C. R. (1998). Clinical social work’s contribution to a social justice perspective. Social Work, 43, 527-537. Wakefield, J. C. (1988). Psychotherapy, distributive justice, and social work. Social Service Review, 62(2), 187-210.