Student Teaching in London-Fall 2007
Service Learning Projects

Dr. McDonald and a group of CMU student teachers are currently in the Enfield, England area.  Dr. McDonald is sharing his diary and pictures of the students as they experience student teaching in England.

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Jenna Rickmon and Tara Hunter
Enfield County Secondary School

Academic Component
The project focuses on homelessness in London and greater England.  In a Year 12 Morals Issues class, the outcome is for the students to make connections from information learned is that homelessness affects people of all backgrounds and it is up to the community to address the problem and come up with a solution.

Service Component
The need was determined through discussion with the cooperating teacher and research done on the topic.  Those being served by the project, primarily homeless individuals, will benefit from this project through a monetary donation that will be raised by the students of the class and given to one of the leading charities dedicated to homeless prevention and treatment, CRISIS in central London.  The students will organize a bake sale and the profits given to CRISIS.

Reflection Component
Students will be expected to complete a written response that is in the format of either a free write or a prompt containing a series of questions that would be an adequate reflection.  The free-write would be the students told to write about the entire experience, what they though about each stage, and how they think the overall project went.  The prompt of questions would guide the students’ responses toward specific activities/events.

Andrea Andrek, Raglan Junior  School
Kayla Ball, Turnford Secondary School

In this project, Miss Ball’s Year 8 English students will examine the process of character development.  After looking at how Robert Swindells develops the character of Shelter in the novel Stone Cold, students will work in groups to create a description of their own character.  Once a description has been determined, students will create a short children’s story in which they develop their own character.  The children’s story will then be passed on to Miss Andrek’s Year 4 class at Raglan Junior School, where her class will identify important pieces of the story and create illustrations for it.

Academic Component
The academic component for Year 8 students will involve learning about character development from first hand experience.  The writing experience will create ownership and provide a purpose for writing.  For Year 4 students, the academic component of this project will involve identifying the important details in the Year 8’s stories.  This project will give the students an opportunity to thoroughly analyze a story and identify important aspects of plot, setting, and character descriptions.

Service Component
Students often see writing as an assignment with short term outcomes either for their teacher or a test.  Because of this, many students do not feel a sense of ownership and/or purpose in their writing.  This service learning project gives the Year 8 students a purpose for their writing since their stories will be given to Year 4 students to illustrate and then be donated to the school to be read by students.

Reflection Component
After seeing the completed illustrated children’s books, students will write a short reflection about their satisfaction with the book and the assignment.  Year 8 students will also write about what it feels like to have their books illustrated and read by younger students.  Year 4 students will write about how they feel about having books they helped illustrate placed in the school library.

Andrea A. telling her Raglan Junior School students
about their service learning project.

Small groups of Year 4 students deciding what to
put in their illustrations.

Students also had to divide their stories into sections.

Kayla's Turnford students wrote the stories for the Raglan books.

The curricular tie for Kayla's students was learning about
 character development in an English class.

Shannon McGrath
Raglan Infant School

Year 2 students attending Raglan Infant School in class 3 will be given the opportunity to decorate a paper grocery bag with a drawing and/or recycle message on the front.  This will be then be distributed to a local grocery store for shoppers to use/reuse as they shop.  The shoppers will then have an insight to the students’ work from a local school and are reminded of the importance of recycling in the community.

Academic Component
The students have just completed work on creating road safety posters with messages pertaining to pro road safety behavior.  This type of lesson worked well with the previous activity because it provided students the opportunity to create messages that are geared towards a community working toward enforcing a good cause.  In this particular lesson it would be learning science and literacy while encouraging the importance of recycling.

Service Component
The need for students to participate in a recycling service learning project was determined by noticing the importance and encouragement in the community as it is.  Many of the homes in the area participate in recycling, reusing, and composting.  By encouraging students to follow this lead, they are becoming involved with a project that their community already feels strongly about and therefore will be growing with their community as a whole.

Reflection Component
The following day during snack time, the teacher will inform the students that their bags were distributed to a local grocery store and describe to them how everything went.  They could also conduct a brief 5 minute discussion about how they felt about creating something for their community, making a difference with recycling and if there were any other ideas they may have to help out with their community in the future.

Shannon's Year 2 students did a service-learning
project on recycling.

The students drew pictures about how to keep Enfield tidy.
 

Here is the finished project, grocery bags describing how
people can contribute by recycling.

Students Teaching Students
Trevor Collins
Mount Grace School

Two classes of year 9 students will be asked to choose on of the following questions to answer in essay format:

Service Component
The year 9 students have already learned about slavery, black rights, and the Civil Rights movement in America.  The year 8 students, however, are slightly behind.  Year 9 students will be learning something different next year.  However, being that the years are in transition and are learning nearly the same concepts, the older students should be able to greatly help through indirect service.  The students in year 8 will receive copies of the best essays, and will be asked to read them for the class.  They will then include them with the rest of their notes dealing with black history so that they may study for assessment.

Reflection Component
Students will be asked to fill out a survey dealing with the service learning projects they complete.  These surveys will ask about their comfort level with the material, with the assignment, and the overall experience of helping others.

Trevor's students wrote essays on the Civil Rights Movement.

Trevor dividing the students into groups using playing cards.

Trevor is passionate about service-learning!

Ornaments for Senior Citizens
Amber Gross and Cynthia Panchula
Galliard Primary School

Each reception student will create an ornament or another small craft for a senior citizen in a nearby retirement home.  The class will then write a letter to be included with gifts.

Academic Component
The class will be taught the basic components of a letter.  As a class, the students will brainstorm ideas and write group letter to the senior citizens at a retirement home.  The letter will include the school as the return address in case any seniors would like to write back.

If possible, the students will go to the retirement home to personally deliver their card and gifts during the month of December.  However, if this is not possible, the gifts will be delivered by the student teachers, and we will bring a class photo or video clip along to show the seniors who sent them the ornaments and the letters.

Service Component
The need for young children to take an interest in elderly people’s lives exists in every community.  There is a great deal to learn from older generations; however, this age group is often wrongfully forgotten.  The young and elderly both benefit from interactions with one another and have the ability to bring each other great joy through simple correspondence.  This project will be a direct service benefiting not only the senior citizens, but also the students in our classrooms.

Reflection Component
A class discussion will take place after the delivery of the letters to reflect on the project.  The student teachers will facilitate the discussion of the project.

Amber working with her Galliard students to write a class letter.

Students brainstorm ideas to be included in the letter.

The class letter was shared with residents of a retirement home and told the senior citizens about the gifts that the students made.

Cynthia with her Galliard reception students talking
about their grandparents.

Cynthia brainstorming how people feel during
the Christmas holidays.

Ms. Panchula models the holiday cards that the
class will make for the seniors.

Writing the class letter.

Children Helping Children
Kathleen Gale
Raglan Infant School

My Year 1 students will be making Christmas/Holiday cards to send to the Evelina Children’s Hospital in St. Thomas’ Hospital of London.  They will be making over 140 cards so that each child in the hospital over the holiday will have a card made for them.

Academic Component
Lesson will include learning about others in need and involving students in community support.  Students will be able to individually contribute to the art project by making their own Christmas or holiday cards to give to children at the Evelina Children’s Hospital during the holiday season.  Students will also be able to explain why they are making holiday cards for children in the hospital.

Service Component
The need was determined by reading an article about St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and making the connection to London because of the location and that the students would have a better to people in their own country.  The ill children will each receive one card with a holiday message from a student in the Year 1 class.

Reflection Component
Students will reflect by drawing a picture of how they feel after making the holiday cards.  Students will be able to make connections to their own feelings and be empathetic of children in the hospital.  I have always had a passion for helping children in need and I believe that something as small as a holiday card can give someone a smile.

Physics of Safe Driving
Allison Webster
Hendon Secondary School

The students have learned about the physics behind driving and the forms of safety features in automobiles that keep drivers and passengers safe while traveling on the roadways.  The year 11.3 physics students will organize, plan, and present information about being a safe driver to Hendon School in a Year 7 science class.  They will also make posters to place around the school, for students and teachers to read.

Academic Component
The students will have a chance to tell others what they have learned during their physics class.  They will use skills like public speaking, organization, teamwork, and planning to successfully present a 5-10 minute informational commercial, PowerPoint, or talk about being a safe driver and passenger.

Service Component
Need was determined by the age group of students, the population of the student body, and the material that the students had been learning about in physics.  Those being served were presented the information during a Year 7 science class.

Reflection Component
The students will get a chance to reflect before the service begins and after the project is over.  I will have them use paper that I give them and I will collect the paper afterwards.  I will require two entries, but I will encourage more writing.

Allison helping her Year 11 students work on their presentations.
 

Students used laptops to create PowerPoint slides
on the physics of driving.

Allison working with the group of Hendon students who
gave the presentation to a Year 7 science class.

Connie Mallinson and Naomi Kassner
Woodside High School

Students will be evaluating a copy of the school budget for Woodside High School in Wood Green.  They will use excel to graph the existing budget.  Then, they will be making changes to the budget as they see fit, with explanations for each change, and will graph their new school budgets.  Copies of both budgets will be displayed in the hall of the school for peers and staff members to examine.

Academic Component
Woodside High School is a Business and Enterprise School and the incorporation of technology and computer skills into each content area is strongly suggested and very well received by higher staff.  This project will allow students to use their math skills to evaluate an existing budget for their school while incorporating the computer software of Excel into their learning.

As part of their existing curriculum, students in Year 8 learn to display data in different representations, including bar graphs, pie graphs, and scatter graphs. 

Service Component
This project will benefit both the students and the administration of Woodside High School.  It will allow students to learn more about the school in general, and it will also allow the students to see what the administration values as part of their education.  This project will give students the chance to voice their opinion on where they think money should be spent on their education.

Reflection Component
At the end of this experience, the students will fill out a reflection form to voice their opinions about the value of the lesson.  This reflection time will be useful to gain student input on creating further lessons in Excel for the math department after we leave England.

Promotional Marketing Scheme
Jessica Kijek and Andrea Zech
Hornsey School for Girls

Our service learning project will involve a group of Year 13, Applied Business students from Hornsey School for Girls.  These students are finishing up their last year of sixth form before they head to university.  Our goal is to provide them with a real-world look into how an actual local business operates and manages its own marketing.

Academic Component
Currently, these students have been studying the different managerial and supervisory styles.  Next, they move into promotion and marketing techniques.  This project will be beneficial because it will cover aspects of each unit.

Service Component
Need was determined by overall size of business and initial contact with business.  Local business managers and owners will be involved with the service provided.  They will have an input as to what information will be advertised and how it will be advertised (coupon, flyer, brochure, word-of-mouth, etc.).

Reflection Component
Students will reflect on this project by analyzing their experience and results in a business paper format.

Andrea Z and Jessica work with their students to come up with marketing plans for local businesses.
 

The students visited the businesses, received important information, and then developed brochures, business cards,
and marketing plans.

Local businesses received a service they needed and
the students gained applied business experience.

Writing Letter for British Soldiers
Alecia Russell
Hendon Secondary School

Students will make thank you cards for British soldiers that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan after studying past soldiers and the traditions of soldiers coming home.

Academic Component
Year 8 students are currently studying the English Civil War.  As a post lesson for the end of the English Civil War, students learned about traditional ways of honoring students that have returned from wars or battles.  The students concluded that not much was done for soldiers that went to Afghanistan or Iraq for their country.

Service Component
Students determined the need for the project.  Soldiers will benefit because they will know they are appreciated.

Reflective Component
Students will reflect on their experiences in a written survey about service learning.