2D & 2E — Teaching Style & Class Norms

Introduction

Chapter 1 — Social Action: An Overview

A & B —Social Action’s Role & US College Social Action

C & D — Benefits & Bring Into Class

E — Overcoming Challenges

Chapter 2 — Developing a Social Action Class

A & B — Course vs Co-Curricular & Prerequisites 

C — Creating a Social Action Syllabus

D & E — Teaching Style & Norms

F — The Students

G — Building Allies

H & I — Role of Place & Each Semester v Every Year

J — Maintaining Momentum

Chapter 3 — Launching Student Campaigns

A — On Your Mark

B — Students Choose Their Issue

C — Group Dynamics, part 1

D — Change Theory

E — Building Power

F — Campus Tour

G — Research

H — Group Dynamics, part 2

I — Strategy & Tactics

J — Campaign Kickoff

Chapter 4 — Planning, Implementation, & Evaluation

A — Campaign Plan & Timeline B & C — Implementation & Execution D — Campaign Evaluation E — Finals: Binder & Presentation

Chapter 5 — Where Do We Go From Here?

A & B — Next Semester & Mainstreaming TSA C & D — Internships & Pipeline to Jobs E — Status of Current Campaigns

CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action

• Chapter 2D: Teaching Style (p. 42-43)
• Chapter 2E: Classroom Norms (43-44)

Teaching Style

Teaching style focuses on what happens in a classroom, and how it happens. The goal of the teaching style for social action is an engaged classroom; thus, a social action teacher is more “a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage." The professor in this model yields the central role by having students practice their organizational raps, giving mini-lectures, providing them time to work on their campaigns (with you being available to help address problems that have come up in real time), and bringing in speakers (both alumni and from the community).

This is a democratic education model grounded in an engaged or Freirien pedagogy where students and teachers are co-creators of knowledge and where students have agency. Listen to SML discuss this teaching style:

Listen to Sydney Rittershaus from Northern Arizona University discuss how she balances her faculty role to encourage a democratic classroom:

Listen to Heather Pollock from University of Akron discuss how she has her students lead group discussions:

Class Format

To create a participatory, engaged classroom, the class structure has to be changed from the professor up front, and the students in rows, which is that old style of "the sage on the stage" to where the  teacher is the "guide on the side". Thus, the physical setting changes (students are in a circle), and the class format is different too.

Below is Scott’s class format features that he used to create an engaged social action class. Feel free to adopt some of these, as well as create your own.

• 5 min: Business & Social Action Activities (with a focus on youth, both nation & world)
• 5-7 min:  Quizzes (on reading)
• 7-10 min: Organization Raps (start on Class 10)     
• 15 min:   Mini Lectures
• 20-30 min: Campaign Work in Teams (sometimes this needs to happen at beginning of class)
• 10-15 min: Speakers (both alumni & local social action folks)
• 5-10 min:   Videos

Examples of the Class Format

• 7-10 min:  Organizational Raps

• 15 min:  Mini Lectures 

• 20-30 min: Campaign Work in Teams

• 10-15 min:  Speakers: Alumni on Zoom 

• 5-10 min:  Videos

Classroom Norms

But what if the students don't believe social change is possible? Helping students to understand that change is possible is key. Everything done in the first third of the class is to help students believe change is possible and to encourage engagement.

Check out Scott’s discussion of what to do if students don’t believe change is possible:

Question:

• How many ways can you identify in the CHANGE books where it is shown that change is possible and where an active learning stance is supported?

Continue to Ch. 2F — The Students