Part VI: Add a Component of Personal Responsibility, Action and/or Communication

“Most peoples preferred learning method
is not reading. The term paper is dead.
Long live the blog!”
Ideas stolen from
lectures by
Dr. Jochen Fried.
(Combination mine.)

Different cultures and individuals have different learning strategies. Your students may learn better by doing, acting, communicating, or demonstrating. At the university level, while a term paper might be necessary for improving writing skills, other actions that add a component of personal responsibility could be a more meaningful companion project. Here are some ways to engage your students in action and reaction.

Phase III: Challenge students to go out in the community and act

Service Learning - provide assistance or service in the community
• Promote Community volunteerism (National Volunteer Day, School Volunteer Day)
• Help non-profits or religious places (feeding the poor, clothing drives)
• Schedule emergency training (the Red Cross, and fire department offer free of charge in some cases)
• Environment (sustainable gardening, e-waste, recycling)
• Volunteer at schools, festivals, parks
• Volunteer with League of Women Voter’s drive to call and remind people to vote

Field Trip Reports
• Sustainable gardening at a school site
• Recycling center
• Visit an ethnic art exhibit/museum
• Non-profit agency
• Take a tour of city hall

Interviews (Create a list of questions from students before you go, or they come to your class)
• Talk to someone who is practicing Global Citizenship
• Non profit agency workers
• Local officials
• A history story teller

Demonstration
• Composting
• Oil Recycling

Communicate findings to a wider audience
• Make a speech to the class
• Present findings outside of class
• Blog on the Internet
• Create a video on the Internet
• Write a letter
• Compile a list of resources and make available on the web (make a list of local and global ethnic/non ethnic NGO resources) for other students

Engage the Community
• Have a community fair at the adult school.
• Have representative from EED/job placement come regularly to your school and Report on new jobs
• Have a recruiting event at your school for hard to fill positions
• Organize a charity event or drive