Wittenberg Magazine P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720
Phone: (937) 327-6141 Fax: (937) 327-6112
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Around Myers Hollow
Faculty Integrate Service Learning Into Classroom
Already one of the nation’s select few universities requiring community service of all its students, Wittenberg’s commitment to service has also consistently inspired faculty. Two more professors continued that tradition this fall. Christine Cloud, visiting instructor of languages, and Marcia Frost, assistant professor of economics, both received course development awards to assist them in providing service options in their classes as part of the $50,000 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans-funded Wittenberg project “Sowing Seeds of Servant Leadership: A Campus-Wide Integration of Service-Learning, Social Justice and Spirituality.” The project, spearheaded by Kristen Scott Collier ’92, director of community service, and Rachel Tune, pastor to the university, seeks to engage Wittenberg faculty and students with the Springfield community in deeper and more meaningful ways, build upon the university’s long-standing tradition of community service, and empower faculty and students to plan and implement their own diverse service-learning experiences. Frost is using her $1,000 Thrivent stipend in two classes, Labor Economics and her WittSem. In the former, students are evaluating TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the 1996 reform to welfare for Clark County’s Department of Jobs and Family Services (DJFS). “DJFS was interested in learning which programs offered, during and after cash assistance, families found most helpful in their transition to work,” Frost said. As part of her WittSem exploring Mongolia from the late 12th century through the mid 14th century and in light of the increase in homelessness since 1990 in the country, Frost initiated a project where students work with homeless families through the Springfield-based Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). In addition to tutoring and playing with the children at the ISN facility, students are assisting with meal preparation, cleaning and conversing with parents. Cloud is using her $1,000 Thrivent stipend to enhance the service component in her Spanish class Conversation and Contemporary Issues. Previously, students helped with the ESL program at Medway Elementary School by assisting with translation during parent-teacher conferences and/or helping with one-on-one ELS lessons. They also participated in the Tecumseh School District’s Adelante!, an after-school collaborative program sponsored by the school and the non-profit group Del Pueblo Inc. The program aims to serve the academic, linguistic and social needs of Spanish-speaking students. “I chose these two particular programs because I felt that through working with both ESL educators and the parents and children of immigrant families, my students would gain through their first-hand experience a better understanding of the issues and challenges confronting immigrants from Latin America,” Cloud said. She now plans to add field trips and additional enrichment materials to the course. 
Wittenberg Magazine P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720 Phone: (937) 327-6141 Fax: (937) 327-6112 |
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