Clemson Collaborations in Service- Learning - Assessing Students' Individual and Collective Gains- Service-Learning Case Studies

[Announcement from he-sl listserv]

Clemson University - Collaborations in Service-Learning Webcast


Monday, April 1, 2013, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST

“Assessing Students Individual and Collective Gains: Service Learning Case Studies”

A number of service learning projects for the Hispanic community have been implemented in Spanish courses since 1993. Students have participated in organized teams dealing with a variety of community needs. For this presentation,  Dr. Clementina Adams will focus on the following areas of services rendered:

• interpreting for Hispanic patients;
• helping with elementary and high school students’ performance through the use of English as a second language to communicate in English;
• helping students with reading and writing assignments;
• assisting official institutions, such as police departments, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), South Carolina Employment Security Commission (SCESC), and the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure; and
• coordinating planning and archiving services for free clinics.

At the conclusion of each semester students are required to provide a written page of reflections about their projects, not only from the point of view of application or enrichment of their learning, but also from their attitude and feelings about the service provided. Using students’ reflection documentation, a qualitative analysis and conclusions will be provided to document the relative the importance and worth of the different service- learning projects analyzed.

As a way of making recommendations for future service-learning projects,  Dr. Adams will discuss her current Creative Inquiry Project where her students are determining the worth of the services being provided from the point of view of the community served. The results of this research study will provide useful data to determine not only the worth and need of the services provided, and making necessary improvements that guarantee not only the continuity but also the sustainability of future service-learning projects. 

Presenter:
Clementina E. Adams was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, South America, where she completed her Licenciatura (MA) in Hispanic American Culture and Literature. She obtained an MS and then a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, Florida. She has taught Spanish at Gallaudet University, Washington, DC and at Clemson University, where she is currently teaching since the fall of 1989. She has three books published; in addition she has published more than thirty five articles in refereed and peer-reviewed journals as well as chapters in peer-reviewed books. Dr. Adams has been a pioneer in projects and programs in the Department of Languages such as FLES (Foreign Languages for Elementary School Children), the inclusion of (ASL) (American Sign Language) as part of the Department of Languages’ offerings, and the development of a new major, Language and International Health (L&IH); currently, she is working on the design of a medical interpreting certificate. Dr. Adams has been active in service learning activities focused on improving the life of the Hispanic community in the Upstate of South Carolina; in that regard, she has received honors and awards at the regional, national and international levels; recently, she has received the Clemson University Service Alliance Faculty Fellow Award, for academic years 2008-2009, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013.

To view the webcast got to : http://www.clemson.edu/public/servicealliance/faculty_fellows_program/webcast_instructions.html

Further webcast information can be accessed at: http://www.clemson.edu/public/servicealliance/faculty_fellows_program/webcast_page.html