Seeking Social Justice in the Digital Age: A Praxis-Oriented Approach to Community-Based Learning and Offender Reentry
Stephen R. Barnard · Bucknell Digital Commons (Bucknell University) · 2016
This presentation explores the pedagogy and praxis of a digital, sociological approach to community-based learning (CBL). Through a close examination of experiences planning and teaching a course tailored to fit the needs of a county jail, I demonstrate a model for teaching CBL that serves the community as well as the students. After reviewing the process of conducting a needs-assessment and designing programming appropriate for the cooperating institution, I discuss strategies for crafting appropriate course curricula. The combination of individual (reflective blogging and experiential research) and collaborative assignments (community improvement project, group discussion facilitations, and presentations) provides a diverse yet sequenced set of assessments, which approach community engagement from a variety of angles. The success of this CBL approach is shown through examples from students’ reflective blog posts as well as feedback from members of the cooperating institution.