Introduction
Chapter 1 — Overview
A — Social Action's Role in U.S. Experiment in Democracy B — US College Social Action C — Benefits of Social Action for Students, Campuses, and Society D — The Vision: Bringing Social Action into the Classroom E — Overcoming Challenges of Teaching Social Action
Chapter 2 — Developing a Social Action Class
A — Academic Course vs Co-Curricular / B — Prerequisites C — Creating a Social Action Syllabus D — Teaching Style / E — Classroom Norms F — The Students G — Building Campus Allies and Community Partners H —The Role of Place / I —Each Semester vs Every Year (or Other Year) J — Using Mural Board (option)
Chapter 3 — Launching Student Campaigns
A — On Your Mark: Preparing Students for the Road Ahead B — Go! Students Choose Their Issue C — Get Set: Setting the Tone D — Change Theory E — Building Power F — Walking Tour G — Research: Historical Overview, Power Mapping, & Target Analysis H — Group Dynamics I — Strategy & Tactics J — Campaign Kickoff
Chapter 4 — Campaign Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation
A — Timeline & Campaign Plan B — Campaign Implementation: "Series of Actions" Begins C — Campaign Execution & Case Studies D — Campaign Evaluation E — Day of the Final: Campaign Notebook & Group Presentation
Chapter 5 — Where to Go From Here
A — Next Semester B — Mainstreaming Social Action C — Social Action Internship Program D — Pipeline to Jobs & Graduate School E — Status of Current Campaigns F — Impact of Social Action on Former Social Action Students
Read CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action
- Chapter 2F: The Students (p. 45-46)
In the text, it discusses how many students is optimal to be in a class using social action whether it should be lower or upper division, what type of majors will take the class, and the "type" of student who might take the class. On page 46, it discusses how to recruit students.
Watch Video Clip
Recruitment of Students
To ensure that there are enough students in a social action course, you may need to recruit students. The Soci. 164: Social Action course at SJSU was an elective, so there was alwas a needs to recruit students so that it met the minimum so it would not be cancelled. (When I started at SJSU, the minimum was 12 students for a class to go, but it changed in my 24 years, and by the end it was 22 students.)
If you are in a similar situation, you may need to recruit students. Here are some proven suggestions:
1) create and then post a flier, like the one below, in the main teaching buildings.
2) email faculty who were teaching social problem and DEI coures, and ask them to invite their students to enroll in the social action class.
3) email various campus programs (Equal Opportunity Program, Multi-Cultural Centers, Women's Center, LGBTQ+ Center, etc.) and to invite students to enroll in the social action class.
4) give extra credit in your other classes for students to support the work of the student campaigns. This will create a natural flow of students who want to take social action the following semester since they become so interested in a campaign.
Reflect on Course Development Question
- Will you have to recruit students? And if yes, how will you recruit them?