This two-day, in-person institute at Rollins College will introduce faculty and staff to an experiential learning approach for incorporating social action campaigns into either a semester-long course or co-curricular workshop series. In this transformative experiential learning model, students develop and launch a social action campaign of their choosing during the semester the course is taught. The student campaigns seek to change a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution, whether on campus or in the community.
Note: we ask that attendees fully participate in our community of practice by making the following commitments.
Institute Host
Dr. Jason Surian
Education Department, Asst. Professor
Rollins College
Institute Participants
Bridgid Shannon
Center for Leadership & Service
Florida State University
Caitlin Swann
Center for Community Engagement
Stetson University
Caroline Nickerson
University of Florida, just received Ph.D
Florida Community Innovation (nonprofit)
Hiba Zakai
Steans Center and College of Education
DePaul University
Jeremy Posadas
Marchman Program (also Religious Studies and Gender Studies)
Stetson University
Nicole Richter
Critical Media & Cultural Studies, Film Studies
Rollins College
Rajni Shankar-Brown
College of Arts and Sciences - Education
Stetson University
Victoria Machado
Environmental Studies
Rollins College
Deanna Barath
PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM
Florida State University
Lisa Miller
Sociology/ Public Health
Eckerd College
Rebecca Olsen
Health Scoences and Human Performance
University of Tampa
Briana McGinnis
Political Science
College of Charleston
Hollis France
Political Science
College of Charleston
Jewrell Rivers
Rural Studies
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Kris De Welde
Women's and Gender Studies
College of Charleston
Rachel Winter
Communication Studies and Strategic Communication MA
Rollins College
Preparation for the Institute
During the two-day institute, participants will draft a syllabus and develop a teaching and a plan for supporting student campaigns which are launched mid-semester. The institute sessions will be led by Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Professor of Sociology at San Jose State University. We will use a flipped classroom model, where participants will be asked to prepare for sessions by reading two textbooks — CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action and CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action — and reaching CHANGE! A Companion Guide to Teaching Social Action. These resources cover address all aspects of teaching a social action course, including:
- An Overview of Teaching Social Action
- Organizing Your Class
- Issue Development & Choosing Campaigns
- Change Theory & Building Power
- Research & Group Dynamics
- Strategy & Tactics
- Campaign Kick-Off
- Campaign Plan & Evaluation
Participants will work with a syllabus template which includes guiding questions. We will discuss the pros and cons of revising a course to incorporate social action campaigns or develop a new course that complements an existing course, concentration, minor, major, or certificate program. We will also share the process and lessons learned from prior student campaigns. We welcome participants who want to explore developing a co-curricular social action workshop series embedded into a fellowship or co-curricular or integrated program.
Over the two-days participants will meet each day for discussions about your goals, course models, teaching approach, and sharing examples and exercises that will help you plan your social action course or workshop series.
At the conclusion of the institute, we will invite participants to join a year-long support and networking community of fellow practitioners who are teaching or learning how to teach social action using this experiential, real-world model. The Teaching Social Action Group is hosted by the Bonner Foundation on the Bonner Learning Community Platform to give faculty, staff, and students a forum for asking questions, discussing active student campaigns, sharing successes and challenges, and announcing future opportunities for training, education, and reflection.
Application
There is no registration fee for the Rollins College Institute on Teaching Social Action. However, we want to restrict participation in the institute to those faculty, staff or students who are committed to implementing this experiential social action course model. Please note that preparing and supporting students to launch their social action campaigns generally takes at least half of the course content and assignments. Some courses are directly on social action and change, while others address a societal issue (e.g., climate change, housing, poverty, etc.) around which students develop their campaigns. From experience, the social action campaign dimension of these courses takes up roughly half of the course work (readings, assignments, and in-class teaching and group work).