Public and Community Action / Action Learning III

Provisional approval, Fall 2002 June 21, 2002

PUBLIC & COMMUNITY ACTION / ACTION LEARNING

Level III

RATIONALE: This competency calls for informed action and reflective learning from that action. Those who demonstrate this competency will participate in an action for social change. The learning will be based on reading texts and “reading the environment” in which the action takes place. The sources of that learning will vary, depending on the kind of action taken, but can include books, articles, working papers, interviews, information from the media, etc. Students reflecting on their participation in a social change project will be expected to indicate how their participation changes through the course of involvement, based on learning both from experience and from other sources indicated above.One objective of this competency is to help students learn how to develop a knowledge base from which their social change efforts can become more effective in the future. For those demonstrating this competency on the basis of prior learning, the expectation is that they will either have done appropriate consultation of sources before or during their action involvement, or will do that consultation “after the fact” as a reflective exercise on the action already completed.

COMPETENCY: Can make a well-conceived proposal for participating in a social change project; can participate and report on one’s participation in that project; and can assess the effectiveness of the project, including the effectiveness of one’s own participation.

CRITERIA:

1. Identify and succinctly define an issue, problem, or situation that makes an action learning project desirable or necessary.

2. Describe the nature of the project or campaign you will participate in, identifying the broad goals, specific objectives, the strategies and tactics of the project.

3. Present a rationale for your involvement in the project or campaign, indicating the role you will play, what you think you can contribute, and what you hope to gain from your participation.

4. Develop an annotated list of sources to inform and support the action project. (You may want to add to that list as you confront new questions or issues in the course of your participation.).

5. Document your participation in the project.

6. Give your assessment of the strengths and limitations of the action project, informed by consultation with leadership and with participants.

7. Evaluate your own participation in the project.

PORTFOLIO LINKS: You are expected to use the Writing Portfolio criteria and standards as guidelines for the written products required by this competency. Papers written for this competency may be considered for submission to the Writing Portfolio.

STANDARDS:

1. To be counted as “action” for Criterion 1 the project you participate in must have a primary purpose other than intellectual inquiry or research. It must be designed primarily to mobilize people and resources for constructive social change at an institutional, community or government level. To be appropriate for this competency, your participation in the project must be sustained over a period of time—ordinarily several weeks at a minimum. Your description of the project or campaign should place it in its context and include an assessment of its importance. Before proceeding further with your proposal, you should get the approval of an evaluator that what you are proposing is appropriate for the competency.

2. For Criterion 2, discuss the origins of the project, who is involved, and locate, where possible, planning documents and working papers created for the project that describe goals and strategies. Summarize this information in enough detail to make your understanding and participation as effective as possible. Interview leaders for insights about the goals and objectives, strategies and tactics of the project, and summarize your findings. Finally, identify and summarize literature on the theory and practice of social change related to the particular kind of action you are taking, and integrate the insights from your study into your analysis of the goals and strategies, objectives, strategy and tactics of the project. Your response to Criterion 2 should be developed following dialogue with leaders of the project with whom you will be working.

3. For Criterion 3, your rationale should detail the skills and knowledge you bring to the project, along with new skills and knowledge you hope to gain from your participation. Describe how your role contributes to, and fits with, the objectives and goals of the project.

4. For Criterion 4, sources consulted can appropriately include the following:

a.       written sources and interviews, etc., that help you locate the project or campaign in its current and historical context;

b.      works on models of change as they apply to the particular type of change you will participate in;

c.       sources that help you reflect on your own role and the leadership roles of those who are the primary organizers and administrators of the project or campaign;

d.      sources that give you a framework for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation plan developed by the leaders of the project.

5. For Criterion 5, in documenting your own involvement, keep at least a weekly journal of what you do and how you see the project is unfolding. Include details about modifications to organizers’ plans and why they seemed necessary. Include, as well, new insights and skills you feel you are developing as a result of your participation. With this, describe any changes in the action aspects of your participation that you feel are based on the learning and new skills you have gained. In the case of an Action Learning project demonstrated on the basis of prior learning, the “journal” can take the form of a reflective description of what you recall as the project unfolded. Be prepared to submit your journals for evaluator review, either periodically through the project or when you have completed it.

6. For Criterion 6, your assessment of the project should include interviews with key leaders and with participants.

7. For Criterion 7, indicate the positive and negative aspects of your own participation as you see them, drawing on your journal for appropriate illustrations. Indicate what you would do differently in future involvement in similar ventures, based on your experience and study related to this project. As part of this evaluation, provide evidence that in your demonstration of the competency you have made full appropriate use of the written and other sources you developed for Criterion 4.

Examples of Demonstration:

1. Prior Learning: As a member of a community development corporation, you participated in an effort to get a supermarket to locate in your community. The campaign, which took more than a year, was finally successful. You feel that you learned a lot in the process, and would like to be evaluated for Action Learning. So you negotiate with an evaluator regarding what you know and what you should read to supplement your understanding. You are then evaluated through a combined oral and written presentation.

2. Independent Learning: As a concerned member of your local church, you decide to participate in an effort to make your congregation a welcoming institution for gay and lesbian people. You join a group of members in forming an ad hoc committee to draw on resources from your church’s denomination and plan a series of events and workshops with the goal of getting the church as a whole to adopt a statement of welcome. One aspect of your participation is to share with others in the group your findings from the sources you consult. Using this experience, the student demonstrates the criteria and standards.

3. Project-Based Learning: You decide to join a community service activity for which the project is to lobby the legislature for a framework and resources that will allow low-income people receiving public assistance to work toward degrees at public institutions of higher education. The project addresses the Influencing Public Policy competency along with this one. Your work on the Action Learning competency informs your participation in a campaign to broaden educational opportunities, particularly for low-income women. Using this experience, the student demonstrates the criteria and standards.