WST 3930: Women and Leadership

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WST 3930 Women and Leadership

• (A Service Learning Course developed through
• FCTL Summer 2003 Institute)

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The Challenge Course Description

• This course considers women and gender in/and
  leadership from interdisciplinary and community
  perspectives.

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2. Purpose Teaching Objectives

• Consider relationships among academic theoretical
  perspectives on WS and womens actual experience
  of gender in community leadership positions
• Involve WS students with community partners
  linked to their disciplines
• Develop a service learning project related to the
  community partner
• Reflect on the ways that gender, race, ethnicity,
  and sexual orientation might be understood in a
  larger community context

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3. Curricular Changes

• Develop new course content, including definitions
  of civic leadership and responsibility from
  diverse disciplinary perspectives
• Consider what students and community partners
  will bring to and take from the experience
• Develop specific reflective assignments and a
  final course project that addresses the links
  between course materials and service experience
  with community partners

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4. Assessment Instruments and Methods

• Weekly postings to WebCT using variations of 24
  Reflection Activities (comp. Josh Young, Miami
  Dade), i.e. quotes, directed writings, forum
  discussions
• Journal reflections on relationship between
  community experience and course materials, i.e.
  key phrase journal, double-entry journal,
  critical incident journal, quotes
• Final project to be determined with instructor
  and community partner, i.e. some kind of written
  materials, including brochures, webpage,
  instructional materials for clients, etc.
• Or, final research paper on a civic leadership
  issue related to students disciplinary field and
  area of interest
• Note All assignments will have written
  guidelines posted in WebCT.

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5. Future Plans and Needs Assessment

• A. Future Plans
• Where does this course fit with WS core
  requirements? Does it replace a requirement?
  Form part of a sub-specialty in activism?
• Developing the content of the course materials,
  including readings on feminism, leadership, civic
  responsibility, and activism
• Identifying community partners. Students should
  help to identify.
• Balancing theory and practice components of
  course.

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5. Future Plans and Needs Assessment

• Needs Assessment
• Definitions of engaged pedagogy, leadership,
  feminist leadership, activism, feminist activism,
  civic responsibility
• Awareness of the ways different discursive
  strategies operate in an interdisciplinary course
• Clear guidelines of expectations for written and
  service assignments
• Some kind of culminating experience, i.e. a
  reception or gathering where students and
  community partners highlight salient points of
  their partnership