Relational Leadership Model Meets Project Management: High Impact and Reciprocal Service-Learning

Dr. Lynn Donahue Director, Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY

PACE Conference February 5, 2014

Reciprocity in Service-Learning

Relational Leadership Model

Inclusive

Empowering

Purposeful

Assignments and Project Management Tools

Case Studies

Discussion and Application

Outline

What do we mean by Service-Learning? (at St. John Fisher College)

1. Meaningful Service: Service meets real community needs and is sustainable over multiple semesters. It acknowledges the wisdom and skills of our community partners.

2. Student Learning: Service work meets course goals. It increases the meaningfulness of course material and enhances students’ learning.

3. Reflection: Assignments link course content with service. Reflection results in learning from service.

4. Demonstration: Students share results of work to partners and peers and celebrate their successes.

In the Service-Learning field, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of dual benefit to both the community and the student. Reciprocity means:

1. focusing on mutual benefit to both institution and community through

sustainable partnerships. Focus is on collaboration with vs. service to the community.

2. hearing the “voices from the community” and understanding the significant

societal issues that impact our partners as an important step in finding solutions.

3. using a strength-based approach that build on the assets and capacities of

those we serve and the strengths of those that “serve”.

4. avoids reinforcement of negative stereotypes and students’ perceptions of communities as helpless.

Reciprocity in Service-Learning

Adapted from Barnes, Altimare, Farrell, Brown, Burnett,

Gamble, & Davis, 2009; Fitzgerald and Bargerstock 2007); Randy Stoeker and “The Unheard Voices”

“A relational process of people

together attempting to

accomplish change or make a

difference to benefit the

common good.”

Relational Leadership Model Komives, 1988

. . . through being Inclusive, Empowering, and Purposeful

Relational Leadership Model

Relational Leadership is Inclusive Including others and showing you value involvement.

Being open to differences and engaging a diversity of viewpoints and diverse perspectives.

Getting to know your audience and their needs and strengths

Taking the time to learn about the social/contextual/root cause issues that impact the clients and partner organization.

Inclusive – of people and diverse points of view

. . . in order to develop the talents of each individual member so the whole can benefit.

Make sure you know your “audience” (community partners/client): their needs, assets and strengths, and desired outcomes for the service-learning project.

Figure out how to create a product that meets your audience’s needs and will be relevant and well-received. Use good listening and investigation skills and be receptive to ideas that may be different from yours (from your partner and from your group members).

Commit to understanding the complexities of the issues that impact your audience and integrate this understanding into your project. Learn about the root causes of the issues.

How your students can use inclusive practices in SL

Analysis of the

Organization

Organization: Describe your community partner site in terms of its history, mission, goals, staff, and clients.

Culture: Describe our community partner site in terms of the social interactions, styles of communication, sounds, working styles of individuals, and aesthetics of facility you observe.

Need: Describe the social justice issues and

challenges your partner faces. Describe how these issues could be interrelated.

Root Causes: What are the social, physical, economic, and psychological factors that may be contributing to the needs?

Opportunities Describe the opportunities, assets, and strengths of your partner.

Inclusive Sample Assignment

PSJS 250: Social Change through Service

Students planned and taught lessons on life-skills to women in transition bi-weekly, followed by sharing a meal. Topics included stress management, budgeting, nutrition and healthy eating.

Students:

Researched the mission, goals, and services of Sojourner House.

Had conversations with the staff and women of Sojourner to determine their needs and skills they wanted to develop.

Researched the factors that lead to the women to need the services of the Sojourner House to better understand the issues of women and families in transition and go beyond the stereotypes.

Example: Sojourner House

Relational Leadership is Empowering

Giving others the sense that their contributions matter

Feeling that you have the right to be heard

Taking initiative to work independently, solve problems and get the information you need to do the job.

Empowering – of yourself and others who are involved

. . . so everyone can feel that their participation matters in working towards a common goal.

How your students can use empowering practices in SL

Don’t wait to be “supervised” by your instructor or partner. Take a leadership role in your project by not waiting for a strong student in the group to do the work. Provide updates on your project to your community partner and group members and request feedback on project drafts.

Communicate assertively and professionally. Ask for what you need and ask questions when unclear. Use professional non-verbal and verbal communication.

Develop roles for every student in a project team and for the staff/clients at your partner organization if possible so each participant has a clearly defined responsibility and all ideas are heard.

Creating Team Roles

Team Name:

Your understanding of the Service-Learning Assignment:

Sample Project Management Roles:

Information Coordinator

Communication Leader

Active Learning Coordinator

Marketing Coordinator

Resource Manual Coordinator

Sample Individual Roles:

Students divide up workshop topics

Students divide up research topics

Students divide up video creations

Professional Standards for your Role: Dress professionally, be on time, cultivate respectful relationships, communicate honestly, challenge yourself, be safe, communicate honestly.

Empowering Sample Assignment

PSJS 250: Social Change through Service

Students supported the needs of adults with disabilities at CP Rochester and created life skill videos on topics such as self-care and communication skills.

Students:

Determined the tasks needed to create the videos and assigned tasks to group members.

Assigned roles for the adults within the videos as “actors”.

Assigned a Communication Leader who sent weekly e-mail reports to their instructor and site supervisor.

Example: CP Rochester

Relational Leadership is Purposeful

Establishing a common vision

Creating personal and group goals

Having a commitment to the final project

Purposeful – means having an individual commitment to a goal or activity.

. . . in order to promote change and pull people together towards a common goal.

How to Practice Being Purposeful Create a plan for your service-learning project. Determine

your:

Vision

Goals and Objectives for accomplishing that vision

Strategies/Steps for implementation

Benchmarks/Due dates for when activities should be done by

Assessment that provides feedback on if the goals were accomplished

Create a time-line for your plan with deadlines.

Determine how your partner will receive your final product at the end of the semester and/or how you’ll conclude your work with agency clients.

Project Planning Document

Vision: What is your project’s vision (e.g. What does the organization want to accomplish as a result of this project?)

Action plan:

What are your overarching goals of your workshop?

What are the steps you need to do to accomplish your objectives?

When will each step be due?

Obstacles: Identify obstacles, risks, and or limitations that will impact your project and how you can overcome them.

Purposeful Sample Assignment

A Project Management Framework for Service-Learning Combined with Student Case Writing (Campbell, 2008)

Tasks for Website Development Project: • Task 1: Meet with client and discuss website’s general requirements/features • Task 2: Create website “Tree” design, receive approval • Task 3: Find template/background for website, purchase if necessary • Task 4: Design layout of web pages • Task 5: Client provides media/links/text files • Task 6: Build Site • Task 7: Walk-through Site with Client • Task 8: Complete Site • Task 9: Test Site - Ask for user feedback

Gantt Chart

Weekly Progress Report

(Adapted from Munger, R. & Gutowski, A., Preparing Future Leaders: Project-Management Strategies for Service-Learning)

Purposeful Sample Assignment

Project Summary: Describe the team’s approach to addressing the community partner’s needs (summary of vision and goals).

Work Completed: Describe the work you’ve done to date.

Project Feedback: Describe the feedback you’ve received from your community partner and instructor and how you’ll be integrating this feedback into your final project.

Work to be completed: List future tasks needed to complete your project. Describe how you’ll finalize the project.

Problems: Identify concerns the team is facing and potential solutions.

Learning: Reflect on lessons learned at this point (academic, personal, professional).

Questions: State the questions and/or concerns you have for your partner or the course instructor at this stage in the project.

PSJS 250: Social Change through Service

A Gannett grant provided $5,000 to support student-led projects for After-School Programs to benefit at-risk youth from the Rochester City School District. Students used half of these funds to revitalize a Greenhouse in the Center for Youth AS Program at Monroe HS.

Students:

Used the Action Plan that had been created before the semester as their roadmap.

Added their own vision, goals and objectives, and a time-line for the project in collaboration with their partner and program youth.

Submitted a mid-semester Progress Report to assess and communicate progress.

Example: Center for Youth AS program

Action Plan The Action Plan is completed by the course instructor, community partner, and Center Director before the semester begins.

1. Contact Information

2. Service-Learning project description

3. Organization description

4. Needs/growth

5. Student preparation

6. Course description

7. Faculty project support and reflection

Final Reflection Assignment

Team Process: Evaluate the process your team took to

accomplish the service-learning project. What worked well and what do you wish could have been done differently?

Individual Process: What worked well regarding your client support work and your individual role with your service project? What do you wish you could have done differently?

Present Impact: Was the project a success in achieving its

intended objectives? Was it successful in meeting your community partner’s needs? If not as much as you would have liked, why not?

Knowledge and Skill Development: What have you

learned as a result of this experience (i.e. course content knowledge, values, social issues, leadership skills, changed perspectives)?

Future Impact: If you could continue this project into the future, what would your vision and goals be?

Scenario #1: You (your students) are working with a community organization dedicated to welcoming refugees into your city by offering workforce training and tutoring in English. As a service-learning project in an American Studies course, the students are meeting with a tutee every week at the public library for a two-hour tutoring session. Their tutee showed up for the first scheduled session, missed the second session entirely, and came for the third session but indicated that he could only stay for a half an hour. Since the tutee is from Burma, there have been some cultural and language barriers. The students are feeling frustrated by these challenges.

How can students use principles of being inclusive to succeed?

Case Studies

Scenario #2: For your service-learning class, you (your students) are creating Historical Biographies on the Great Depression for senior citizens and the staff at a local nursing home. The experience entails oral interviews, transcription of interviews, incorporation of photographs, creation of a typed biography, and presentation of their interviews to the elders and staff. Three students are paired with one or more elders. It is clear that some students are leaders and others are holding back and feeling a little overwhelmed.

How can students use principles of empowering to succeed?

Case Studies

Scenario #2: You (your students) are developing a public relations campaign for an organization that provides free health care to low-income individuals. The team has been very excited about diving into this project after listening to a panel of prior patients. In order to complete the project, the students need to conduct interviews, research articles on health care for the uninsured, and create a plan of PR solutions that meet the needs of their partner and incorporates principles from their PR course. After the initial excitement, the team is unsure how they’ll get the project done by the end of the semester and what they should do first.

How can students be purposeful to succeed?

Case Studies

Impacting and Reciprocal

Service-Learning

Empowering

Purposeful Inclusive

Application on Your Campus

For further information or questions, please contact:

The Center for Service-Learning and Civic

Engagement

Website and Showcase Site: http://www.sjfc.edu/academics/servicelearning/

Dr. Lynn Donahue

Director 585-385-7342

ldonahue@sjfc.edu