Summer ‘25 Institute on Teaching Social Action (virtual)

Email Robert Hackett at rhackett@bonner.org if you need the Zoom link for this meeting.

This three-day virtual institute 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.

Our long-term goal is to mainstream this model for teaching active democracy. The world needs more people who have developed their knowledge and skills in bringing about positive change through real world experience. While not all of the student campaigns are successful, many have been and those that haven’t succeeded have still taught valuable lessons to those who led them and those who were engaged in one form or another.

Note: we ask that attendees fully participate in our community of practice by making the following commitments.

Institute Participants

Voices of Freedom

Deanna Chappell

Prison Education Program

University of Oregon

Change Leadership

To Be Determined

Emily Vietti

The Communication of Change: Social Action and Community Engagement

University of Kansas

Change Leadership

Engaging Local and State Policy

Erin Elliott

PACE (professional and continuing education)

The Evergreen State College

Change Leadership

Solidarity in Action

Michael Downs

Service Learning / Sustainability

Bishop O'Dowd High School

Change Leadership

Christian Living and Values Education

Teresa Camarines

Humanities and Social Sciences Department

DLSU Manila

Change Leadership

Urban Food Systems: Planning, Policy, & Justice

Emanuel Preciado

Geography, Planning, and Recreation

Northern Arizona University

Environment & Sustainability

Socially Engaged Art

Leslie Robison

Visual Arts

Flagler College

Humanities

Current Issues in Public Health

Frecia Gonzalez

Department of Public Health

Belmont University

Public Health

Advocacy for Health Equity

Leah Branam

Health Promotion, Populations, and Health Systems

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

Public Health

Women and Gender Studies course (TBD)

Quinn Houlihan

Urban Affairs and Public Policy

University of Memphis

Social Science

Foundational Values and Ethics

Addie Campbell-Mungen

Social Work

Albany State University

Social Work

Policy Analysis & Advocacy

Carmen Foster

Social Work

Belmont Uniiversity

Social Work

Social Welfare Policy

Staci Wolfe

History, Philosophy and Social Science

Pittsburg State University

Social Work

Institute Preparation

During the three-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, with support from Bobby Hackett, President of the Bonner Foundation. We will use a flipped classroom model, where participants will be asked to prepare for live webinar sessions by reading textbooks CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action and CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action and watching a series of short video presentations on the following topics:

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 the below syllabus template to discuss the possible ordering of course topics, and we will share the process and lessons learned from prior student campaigns. 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 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 three days participants will meet for discussions about your goals, course models, teaching approach, and sharing examples and exercises using a Mural Board 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.

You will also be added to the Teaching Social Action Email Discussion Group 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 cost to join the Institute on Teaching Social Action. However, we want to restrict participation in the institute to those faculty or staff (who can teach) 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).