Service Learning in a Social Studies Methods Course: Experience and Place-Based Curriculum

by Reese H. Todd

Abstract

When an instructor reframed the social studies methods course to include a

sewice-learning project, both education certiJication students and a museum's outreach

program benejted. University students gainedpractical teaching experience leading a

children's summer class about local prairie dogs, and the museum gained quality

teachers. Enthusiastic responses promoted future partnerships between the university and

the museum. Project evaluation addressed the role offield experiences in teacher

preparation, museum education partnerships, sewice-learningpedagogy, andplace-

based curriculum content.

Prairie dogs seldom receive recognition as participants in a teacher education

program, yet an interest in these creatures sparked a service-learning partnership between

preservice teachers in a social studies methods course and the local ranching heritage

museum. Teacher education often includes a field experience component; but when the

instructor reframed the teaching and learning assignment to meet a local community

need, the value of the learning experience increased for those involved.

Like many local museums around the country, fbnding limitations (Wolins 1991 ;

Sheppard 1993; Institute of Museum and Library Services 1998) required that the

National Ranching Heritage Center (NRHC) cut back on its services or rely on volunteers

to maintain programs. The educational director of the NRHC stated:

Our mission is to interpret the history of ranching to the

community. Certainly, we invite visitors to tour the ranch buildings, the

grounds, and the exhibits year-round, but much of our work centers on

outreach into the community. We could not do that without many

volunteers, especially with classes for children. This summer, we had

fewer returning instructors and needed quality teachers to offer the variety

of classes ourpatrons have come to expect.

The other entity involved-the university-had a mission for its teacher education

program of "preparing educators for a diverse society and integrating scholarship,

research, and practice in collaboration with individuals, communities, educational

institutions, and agencies" (College of Education 2004). The university also had an

initiative to develop more service-learning courses. At the time the project with the

museum emerged, a faculty advisory council was in its second year of shaping criteria for

service-learning course designations. The council proposed establishing a faculty service-

learning fellows program to support creative service-learning projects within existing

courses, as well as developing new service-learning opportunities with community

partners.

Further, faculty members in the university's College of Education had wrestled

with the problem of inadequate field experiences for teacher education students who took

all their classes in summer sessions or the evening. Though some evening courses in the

fall and spring semesters included field experiences, summer sessions still lacked

adequate opportunities for interactions beyond the university classroom.

Hence, a collaborative service-learning project between the local ranching

museum and the university was launched. The museum needed instructors for its summer

courses, the university was seeking ways to expand its involvement with the local

community and to increase service-learning courses, and students seeking teaching

certification needed to obtain field experience. By identifying a community need and

matching it with the skills of university students, a vital service (Sheppard 1993;

Crawford 1999) was provided to the community's youth, and students obtained practical

teaching experience.

Prairie dogs, the selected topic for the summer classes at the museum, was ideal

for social studies educators because the study of the familiar, local environment forms the

foundation for student learning about people and places, and then extends toward

understanding the global environment. Investigating social studies issues through local

civics and through geography, history, and economics engages learners in meaninghl

and relevant curriculum. These animals, which are commonly found in fields in the

community, have successfully adapted to the physical environment of the southern plains,

yet their role in the ecology of the semi-desert landscape is often debated by ranchers,

farmers, urban developers, and animal lovers.

Did this collaborative service-learning project provide the field experience that

students seeking certification needed? Were the students in this social studies methods

course able to apply their classroom learning to the community and practice their skills in

a real-world setting? Did teacher certification students have meaningful teaching and

learning experiences with children (Jacoby 1996; Bringle and Hatcher 2000; Buchanan,

Baldwin, and Rudisill2002)? Did the project meet the academic requirements and goals

of the university in terms of working with other educational agencies and developing

service-learning courses? Did the project also meet the needs of the museum in serving

area residents? To answer these questions, data from participants in the service-learning

project, including the administrative team and students, were analyzed to evaluate the

effectiveness of the project. This paper describes a service-learning project between a

university social studies class and its museum partners and presents the outcomes of this

affiliation.

Project Participants

A faculty member in the university's College of Education and the program

director of the NRHC began collaborating five months before the classes were to be held

to ensure that the project met both of their needs. The museum wanted to offer classes

during the summer for K-6 children as part of their outreach mission. Education students

seeking certification needed experiences with children to give practical application to

theoretical learning.

The museum director selected a theme for the summer classes and provided

materials, a training session for all summer teachers, and guidelines for the hands-on

curriculum. Though the director offered to review lesson plans, the university students

instead submitted proposed lessons to graduate students and to their university instructor

as part of their course requirement rather than adding to the museum director's workload.

The professor asked for volunteers to teach in the museum's summer program.

Five teams volunteered to take responsibility for one lesson with a class of 12 upper-

elementary children during the one-week summer program. Their challenge was to

integrate social studies strategies into the informal summer camp atmosphere with active

learning that was fun for the children. A technology team comprised a sixth group. This

group collected photos each day, described learning activities, and obtained assessments

from the children and teaching teams. The technology team edited and organized the

information into a photo journal and gave each child and teacher a compact disc on the

final day.

Two graduate students also had vital roles. One graduate student handled all

administrative tasks and served as the central contact person between the museum, the

professor, and the preservice education students. She was on-site at the museum during

the summer program and came to the university class several times during the planning

stages to confirm supply lists and deliver resource materials. A second graduate student

reviewed all the lesson plans for feasibility, time allotment, appropriate content, and

continuity across the five days. In her role as curriculum mentor, she gave teaching teams

feedback on proposed lessons before they were submitted to the university professor. She

also stayed in close contact with the university students and the director of the museum.

The university professor observed part of each class and had daily contact with teaching

teams.

Data Sources

Field notes and observations from the administrative team provided one source of

data (Denzin and Lincoln 2000). This team included the social studies methods professor,

the educational director of the museum, and the two graduate students (the administrative

assistant and the curriculum mentor). An additional outside observer contributed a written

assessment of the project from her perspective as a practicing teacher. Certification

students' written reflections at the end of the teaching experience were another source of

data. The technology group provided a visual source of data with photos of learning

activities, resources, and student products.

Four students in the social studies methods class chose not to volunteer for the

teaching project. One of these students went to the museum before class one day and read

to children who arrived early. His reflection offered a perspective not presented

otherwise. The other three nonparticipants wrote about the project from an outsider's

perspective. The administrative team used a focus group format that was taped and

transcribed for evaluation purposes. A questionnaire focused on lessons and activities, the

multiple teaching team structure, the effectiveness of communication among leaders,

opportunities for future collaborations at the museum and in the community, and the

effect of the collaboration on the other nine classes. Because members of the focus group

recognized that the team approach (with 20 preservice teachers) might have intimidated

leaders of other classes (mostly teachers working alone), they sought assurance from the

museum director that other classes did not suffer negative effects from the team

approach.

Framework

Four areas were analyzed from the data from this project:

the role of field experiences in teacher preparation;

museum partnerships;

service-learning projects; and

place-based curriculum content.

Field experience is a key element in teacher preparation (Darling-Hamrnond

1990; Aiken and Day 1999) and usually occurs through a university-managed placement

program that targets exemplary teacher-mentors in area schools. For example, at the

university involved in this project, students in the elementary education program

complete 100 hours of field experience observation and teaching prior to a semester of

student teaching.

In a related study of field experiences in a teacher preparation program in

mathematics (Cooper and Nesmith 2006), researchers questioned whether varied field

experiences prepared teacher education students for student teaching. A Mathematics

Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (MTEBI) was used to compare two groups of

preservice teachers. One group had traditional field placements in public elementary

school classrooms, while the other group had an alternate field experience in a summer

math camp. Using ANCOVA analysis, no significant difference was found in the

development of mathematics teachers based on traditional or alternative field

experiences.

Another research study (Aiken and Day 1999) analyzed teacher education

students' early field experiences, with most preservice teachers reporting that these

experiences had a positive influence on their career decisions and motivation. However,

in responding to questions about practical experiences, the respondents weren't as

satisfied, noting that field experiences did not provide real teaching experiences because

they did not have the opportunity to actually teach a class (Aiken and Day 1999).

The teacher candidates who participated in the service-learning museum project

indicated that they also did not feel that they had real experiences and practice in actually

teaching a class (Robinson and Darling-Hammond 1994; Crawford 1999). They did

report, however, that they revised lessons in the midst of a session based on student

feedback, and that they engaged in problem solving and decision making as a real teacher

does.

Overall, the results suggested that the service-learning partnership between this

university and the museum provided the same degree of self-efficacy development as a

traditional field-based placement in an elementary school classroom. Reflective writings

and portfolio selections by students, focus group discussions, and observer reports from

the study supported this conclusion.

Studies of placements of preservice teachers in museum internships showed that

social studies students gain valuable teaching experience interpreting resources of the

museum with children that visit the site (Hein 1998; Cox and Barrow 2000; Wunder

2002). In this project, preservice teachers organized learning centers, created age-

appropriate activities, and developed teacher resource guides, while contributing to the

quality of the museum's educational programs in an informal learning environment. The

project helped university students see how a service-learning component contributes to

the ownership of a community program. Following their involvement in the summer

session, students in the social studies methods course donated their lessons and samples

of their activities to the museum's educational resources library.

By shifting the focus to service learning, preservice teachers' experiences are

enriched (Aiken and Day 1999; Cox and Barrow 2000). By including reflective questions

about service learning, professors can encourage students to extend their vision of an

educator's role from the school building to civic engagement (Jacoby 1996; Wade 1997).

Indeed, their emerging teaching skills are needed in the community-at-large.

When preservice educators frame their instruction in the context of the local

environment, the role of teachers as citizens is enhanced (Procter and Haas 1993; Wade

2000; Merryfield 2004). The focus is on teaching and learning outward, rather than solely

on the teacher-to-be practicing skills for the classroom. Teachers are not simply training

for a job; they are preparing for civic responsibility in society.

A strong argument for place-based curriculum is based on Dewey's (1902)

experiential educational philosophy and a child's natural sense of wonder about the

environment (Stilgoe 1998; Smith 2002). A primary value of place-based education "lies

in the way that it serves to strengthen children's connections to others and to the regions

in which they live" (Smith 2002, 594). Using local places as the foundation for the

curriculum allows the educator to recognize the unique characteristics of particular places

and "help overcome the disjuncture between school and children's lives that is found in

too many classrooms" (Smith 593).Furthermore, a place-based curriculum serves to

strengthen connections to others and to the regions in which they live.

Despite the variability in place-based curriculums, common elements exist (Smith

(2002,593-94):

teachers and students turn to phenomena immediately around them as the

foundation for curriculum development;

the emphasis on learning experiences allows students to become the creators of

knowledge rather than the consumers of knowledge created by others;

students' questions and concerns play a central role in determining what is

studied;

teachers' expertise lies in their capacity to help students acquire skills and

dispositions of effective learners; and

the wall between school and community becomes more permeable and is crossed

with frequency. Students enter the community to participate in activities, and their

work is assessed on the basis of its competence and contribution to community

well-being and sustainability.

Place-based learning uses available resources to encourage learners to wonder

about what they see around them. The university involved in this project is situated on the

prairie lands-home to many people before the westward expansion of the United

States-where ranching is a tradition. Lessons at the NRHC put students in touch with

the artifacts, buildings, and activities associated with the area's history (Sunal and Haas

2005; Welton 2005). Because the lesson presented by the social studies students was

based on the study of a local phenomenon-the prairie dog-student interest was high, as

often happens with place-based education.

Narratives and Reflections

An analysis of the qualitative data (Clandinin and Connelly 2000) from preservice

teachers' reflections, focus groups, the leadership team, and independent observers

affirmed the significance of the service-learning project with the museum. From the

perspective of the university, the partnership promoted the teacher education course's

goal of developing social studies programs for students K-4. The project also offered

students an opportunity to gain skills to meet professional competency standards from the

State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Students acquired content knowledge in

social studies education from four key disciplines: history, geography, civics, and

economic resources. These aspects of the project were consistent with the expectations of

traditional field experiences (Darling-Hammond 1990). The additional theme of self-

efficacy emerged from the data coding and enriched the results of the study (Freedman

and Johnson 2004). Students described their levels of confidence and independence as

they engaged in the teaching and learning process. They reflected on their knowledge of

themselves as learners and their personal determination to continually reach higher

standards.

Skills for Developing Social Studies Programs

The first step in evaluating the project was determining whether it provided

teacher certification students with the skills necessary for developing social studies

programs in K-4 classes. The researchers used student reflections and administrative

team observations to ascertain whether or not this fundamental goal was met.

When the first team returned to the university classroom to report on its prairie

dog teaching experience, the initial comment affirmed a message team members had

heard in all their classes: "It doesn't work to just talk [to the kids]; they like to do things."

Hence, the next teaching team questioned, "How can we make this lesson more

engaging? What are the abilities of fifth-grade students? Are certain activities too

difficult? How challenging should the activity be to hold their interest?"

Another teaching team received comments about the level of difficulty of the

informational texts it had selected as read-alouds with the children. Team members

decided to create their own text material by writing an informational book about prairie

dogs that was "appropriate for grade school students."

In their final evaluation of the lesson, teaching team members noted that though

they had actually planned lessons before, they did not know how they would work or how

much time activities would take. One respondent said, "I felt more confident in my

planning as I talked with our graduate assistants."

The graduate students, who served as mentors, all had previous classroom

experience and were enrolled in an advanced social studies seminar. One described her

involvement:

I suggested ways to modEfir lessons, but some teams decided to go a

different direction. The results often were more creative than I had

imagined. I had to learn to let go of control of the project and trust the

students. I started each day welcoming students and introducing the

teaching team. We briefly reviewed previous lessons and connected

learning to the activities planned for the current session.

The mentor drew upon her classroom experience to address continuity and to balance

lessons that were "unrealistic in the amount of time the activities would take." She

suggested modifications to fit within the scheduled class time while maintaining "a

balance of activities and transitions between segments."

The academic success of students participating in the project was high. Research

has suggested (Jacoby 1996) that one of the reasons service learning improves student

academic success is that students work side-by-side with an instructor on a project-a

"do as I do" approach of applying academic expertise to the environment in which we

live.

Student Progress toward Competencies

One course, however, does not stand alone. The entire teacher certification

program is designed to help students gain the skills to meet state standards for

professional teacher competency for licensure. These standards are divided into four

domains (SBEC 2006):

designing instruction and assessment to promote student learning;

creating a positive, productive classroom environment;

implementing effective, responsive instruction and assessment; and

fulfilling professional roles and responsibilities.

To demonstrate progress toward certification, students prepare a portfolio each

semester to document their knowledge and skills in social studies instruction. They are

asked to select five items from work in the class that demonstrate their competencies in

social studies education. Students then write a one-page reflection, including a

description about the assignment, an explanation of what they learned, and a relationship

between their learning and one of the competencies. A 20-minute individual conference

is held with the professor during final exam week to talk about the portfolio. The

instructor listens, makes notes, and asks questions to link learning theory and practice.

Fifieen of the 24 students involved in the NRHC project mentioned that

experience in conferences with their professor. These students explained that they gained

knowledge and skill in designing instruction, implementing responsive instruction, and

acting as responsive citizens in the community. One respondent explained that the prairie

dog lesson allowed participants to implement "what they had been learning in class" and

that it was a "great test to see if our teaching approaches and strategies would work."

Another respondent said, "We used a debate which was one of the most successful

activities of the day, but we thought it might be too difficult." The teaching team was

pleased to find that the children were able to engage in critical thinking about issues and

use resources the teachers had gathered for the lesson.

The teaching experience at the museum raised one participant's awareness of her

role as an active citizen in the community:

I decided I wanted to be part of this summer program again next

year. I would be providing a service to the community and be a part of

something important.

Students Visualize Themselves as Teachers

Reflective writing and focus group conversations made students more aware of

the teacher preparation process. As they thought about their learning, students grappled

with fears, doubts, and uncertainty as they taught children for the first time in a classroom

setting.

I was so nervous and wondered ifthe lesson we prepared would be

appropriate for the children. Would we have enough material for an hour

and a halfsession?

As they worked together, the students recognized the importance of the support

they received from their peers and the leadership team. They also gained confidence and

a sense of independence as educators:

When we got started and began talking with the kids, I was okay.

Having Jan there each day helped us get acquainted with the kids. Each

person on our team had prepared well and we could play off one another

ifwe got into a tight spot.

Another student's reflections echoed similar feelings:

I was excited and frightened about teaching this lesson. I feel

better about my abilities as an effective social studies teacher after having

taught this lesson. I believe this teaching experience was one of the most

effective lessons I learned in this course because it helped me work hard

and I was able to see the fruits of my labor in process and working.

From the project, a sense of self-efficacy emerged. One participant stated:

Because I was able to participate in this great project, I now feel

more comfortable with my teaching skills and more confident with myseg

I understand how crucial it is to develop thorough plans, even though

sometimes it is necessary to change the plan ifstudents are not

responding.

Those who had chosen not to participate in the service-learning project observed

their classmates and described their frustrations and feelings as they saw themselves

excluded from an important aspect of acquiring teaching skills. The disappointment is

evident in the comments of three students:

Reflecting on the project, I wish I had participated in this unique

experience. An outsider, looking on, saw excitement among that teaching

group. It was like they walked into class with a new side to them. Each

group seemed to gain a unique perspective on the whole teaching

experience.

We really felt left out. I am sorry I did not choose to do the prairie

dog project. I thought it would take too much time, but everyone talked

about the kids and how much fun they were having.

I feel like I missed out on a great opportunity to 'practice

teaching. " I do not have a lot of experience in a teacher-student setting.

This would have been good practice toprepare me for what is expected of

me when I teach.

Museum Educators' Perspective

When planning summer programs, a common challenge for museum educators is

to find instructors who have experience working with children and the ability to create

exciting lessons for the one-week class. Instructors most often are drawn from a cadre of

museum volunteers because they have educational training, experience working with the

public, and knowledge of ranching history. However, because most volunteers also work

full-time jobs, securing 12 teachers for a week from 9 a.m. until noon was quite difficult.

By using university students to conduct the courses, the museum was able to avoid this

employment challenge.

The lessons developed by the teacher certification candidates provided elementary

students meaningful learning experiences through a variety of multisensory activities. By

incorporating real objects in an authentic environment, the university students created a

variety of learning techniques to communicate the subject matter. The children explored

the social interaction and natural habitat of the prairie dog, learned about predators and

prey through theme-based games, and debated the idea of the prairie dog being a friend or

foe to local farmers and ranchers. At the end of the week, "Bacon," a real prairie dog

from the local science museum, visited the class.

From the perspective of the museum, the partnership provided a vital service

during the summer (Sheppard 1993, Crawford 1999). "There's nothing like the real thing.

No textbook account, video image, computer simulation, or recorded sound can ever

match the wonder of the real. When students enter a historic site, gaze at a distant star, or

stand before a work of art, they encounter the object, place, or experience described on

the pages of their texts. This is the 'magic' of museums, the special ingredient museums

bring to the educational experience" (Sheppard 1993,5).

Authentic evaluation came from the museum's educational director. She included

College of Education certification students in planning for next summer's classes.

Teacher Preparation for the Long-Term

Though the short-term benefits the university-museum project provided-helping

students meet teacher preparation course requirements and state standards for

professional competency-are important, the greater long-term benefit is the confidence

and commitment the students gained. These traits correlate with four aspects of self-

efficacy identified in competent teachers (Freedman and Johnson 2004'9):

Confidence. Attitudes, willingness to participate, level of active

participation, willingness to collaborate, risk-taking, critical thinking, and

questioning.

Independence. Work habits, initiating questions, problem posing, and

willingness to seek answers and solutions and help others.

Metacognition. Depth of self-reflection, ability to think about and

verbalize strategy used, knowledge of self as a learner and user of literacy

tools, and willingness to try new strategies.

Stamina. Sustained reading, sustained writing, sustained discussing

without direct and continuous prompting from the teacher or peers, self-

regulation of time use, and ability to organize time.

Conclusion

Education students seek opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills in

teaching and learning environments with children. In many instances, universities offer

students the opportunity to teach in a classroom setting-an exercise which contributes to

their competencies as educators. However, in alternative certification programs, post-

baccalaureate teacher education courses, and in summer preparation courses, classroom

teaching may not be available. In those instances, teacher educators can offer

opportunities for active engagement with children in service-learning partnerships in the

community. Teacher educators recognize that by being engaged in informal educational

programs with children, certification students can obtain the practical application of

teaching knowledge and skills they need, contribute to the community, and learn from

partners. For community agencies, student participation extends their ability to reach out

to children in the community in informal educational services.

For the NRHC and the College of Education, the service-learning partnership

described in this paper met each parties' needs and provided a useful service to the

community by providing quality programming for children during the summer. These

benefits continued into the fall semester. At least four participants used aspects of the

prairie dog project in classrooms where they student taught. They became ambassadors

for the museum by taking information about the museum to teachers and schools in the

region. One student teacher led a prairie dog lesson with all third-grade classes (more

than 100 children) at her school.

Future studies should focus on the effects the museum experience had on the

practices of certification teachers as they were employed in area school districts. Once

teachers, do they continue to volunteer to teach sessions at the museum and do they

engage their students in museum programs? Are they participants in other civic activities

in their communities?

With a clear vision for the desired outcome, successful museum-school

partnerships are possible for institutions of any size. Whether local schools partner with

their county museum or larger schools partner with a big-city metropolitan museum,

these entities are in the business of education and these efforts benefit the community as a

whole. As Frankel (1996, 10) stated:

The common thread is this: when a partnership is developed in

response to an expressed need, the result is a transformative experience.

Teachers, students, and museum educators never think about learning the

same way again.

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Reese H. Todd, Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University, teaches social studies in

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