This two-day, in-person institute at Christopher Newport University will introduce faculty and teaching 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. 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.
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.
Note: we ask that attendees fully participate in our community of practice by making the following commitments.
Host
Brooke Dinsmore
Assistant Professor
Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology
Christopher Newport University
Read profile here.
Brooke’s Social Action Course
Institute Participants
Andria Timmer
Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology
Christopher Newport University
Brian Ortega
Community Engagement and Volunteer Center
James Madison University
Brooke Covington
English
Christopher Newport University
David Taylor
Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Homeland Security
Hampton University
Dingani Mthethwa
Sociology and School Of World Studies
Virginia Commonwealth University
Erica Brown-Meredith
Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work
Norfolk State University
Jaime Harris
Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology
Christopher Newport University
Kenyuatia Gash
College of Social Work and Criminal Justice
University of Kentucky
La’Toya Edwards
Social Work
Grand View University
Linda Waldron
Sociology
Christopher Newport University
Melissa Buckley
Social work
Coppin State University
Qasarah Bey Spencer
School of Social Work
Virginia Commonwealth University
Steven Keener
Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology
Christopher Newport University
Susan Bodnar-Deren Mthethwa
Sociology
Virginia Commonwealth University
Institute Preparation
During the two-day Institute, participants will begin to develop a teaching plan to support student campaigns to be launched mid-semester. The Institute sessions will be led by Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at San José State University. In preparation for the Institute, participants will read CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action as well as A Faculty Guide to Teaching Social Action.
These resources 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
Here is a graph of how these course topics flow in Scott’s social action course:
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. Institute participants will work with this course planning worksheet (below), which explores many of the issues that arise when teaching social action.
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.