Professor: Randy Stoecker |
Spring 2012 |
WELCOME!
Facilitating a course that is designed to produce outcomes for both the community and the students is one of the most exciting things I do. It can be a bit unnerving at times, since the success of the entire project requires fitting so many pieces together in a tight timeline. But I have done it enough to know that it can work, and can have real impacts. So if you like learning by doing, are comfortable with a little unpredictability, and like to work in collaborative contexts, this course is for you.
COURSE GOALS
I have two goals for this course:
1. to support the community organizing and development work of the SouthWest Community Organizing Committee
2. to learn how to conduct community-based research by doing a CBR project start-to-finish, and to learn specific research methods and practices.
SPECIAL LEARNING NEEDS
Please inform me if you have special learning needs so I can adjust the course to meet those needs.
MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
When teachers realize they still have things to learn and students realize they have things to teach, and when everyone is in an atmosphere where teachers are encouraged to learn and students are encouraged to teach, everyone benefits.
My job is to create and maintain a learning atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable taking intellectual and interpersonal risks, and to help you do your part in maintaining that atmosphere. I welcome critiques ofideas, especially my own. But please practice respect for each other as people while you question and criticize each others' ideas.
PROFESSOR CONSULTATIONS
Please consult with me whenever you have a question about course assignments, lectures, discussions, or readings. I will gladly discuss questions you have about the course material. You should also consult with me whenever you may find yourself interested in the issues raised in the course and you want to discuss further or get more information.
COURSE ORGANIZATION
There may be times in this class when the phrase "course organization" will sound like an oxymoron. Project courses like this are somewhat like a line of dominoes--knock one down and the rest behind them also fall over. Thankfully, there aren't that many dominoes, and they are easy to set up again. The timeline of this project is not dependent on just you and me, but on the university bureaucracy and the community organizations we will be working with. For the most part, then, our class meetings will focus on troubleshooting where we are in the process.
However, we will also be engaged in a variety of in-class training exercises. You will learn how to do research from start to finish in this class, and to connect it to real community organizing and development work.
COURSE WORKLOAD
In general, the workload for this class is average. The challenge is that it can be quite uneven unless you manage your time effectively.
You will see that the first few weeks are heavy with reading and activity. I have, for the most part, "front-loaded" the preparatory work of the course so we can move into the project as quickly as possible. The reading load reduces more and more the further we get into the semester.
You will also notice that we will not meet at some points in the semester. That is partly because I am traveling, and partly because you will be spending time scheduling appoints, conducting interviews, returning transcripts, and drafting the report. It will not be crucial for us to meet as a class during those times and I want to give you as much time as possible for doing the project work.
CLASS PROCESS
This class will be a group effort. My job is to be a project manager, trainer, and guide. You job is to tell me what you need to learn to carry out the tasks of the project, what you need to have clarified to keep the project on track, and what skills you can bring to help troubleshoot when things go wrong.
READINGS
Most readings are available on the Internet, though many require that you be logged onto the UW network, and some may be available through the online library reserve system. I have taken every effort to post links that will work from on and off campus. When you are off campus, you will likely need to login to access some of the readings.
I will also provide a list of recommended books, in addition to the readings here.
Please print out the readings or bring your pda/laptop to class with an electronic version.
COURSE WEBSITE
This course is supported online, at Learn@UW This is the site we will use to manage online discussions, upload interviews and drafts, etc. It will be a basic workspace. It may take a little getting used to.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Because this project is being designed jointly with you and a community organization, it is impossible to say for sure right now what we will be doing. The course calendar below will show the tasks that need to be accomplished as they become clear .
Final grades calculation:
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = <60
COURSE CALENDAR
**Remember to print out the readings or bring your tablet/laptop to class with an electronic version.
**I will add readings as the semester progresses. You can always find the most up-to-date list on the web version of the syllabus.
January 26: |
Introduction to the Community--Southwest Madison
Read: Creating a Sense of Place in Southwest Madison: An Evidence-Based, Public Health Approach to Community Revitalization, Kim Neuschel and Jessica LeClair, 4-24-2008, http://www.publichealthmdc.com/documents/CommunityRevitalization.pdf Madison's Meadowood: Time to Act, Paul Soglin, 8-24-2009, http://www.waxingamerica.com/2009/08/madisons-meadowood-time-to-act.html City dispatches public health nurses to help Meadowood neighbors connect. The Cap Times, 1-30-10. http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/article_e00bd3eb-61d1-594d-950a-3f3af827201c.html Public Health Madison & Dane County turns attention to neighborhoods, violence prevention. The Isthmus, 12-15-11. http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=35452 Tasks:
|
|
February 2: |
Introduction to the Project--Neighborhood Free
Spaces
Read: Michelle Fine et al., 2000, Educating Beyond the Borders of Schooling, Anthropology & Education Quarterly Volume 31, Issue 2, pages 131–151. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/doi/10.1525/aeq.2000.31.2.131/pdf Barbara Trainin Blank, 1998, Settlement Houses: Old Idea in New Form Builds Communities, New Social Worker 5. http://www.socialworker.com/settleme.htm Australian Association of Neighborhood Houses, 2011, Neighborhood House Case Studies, Newsletter, pp. 5+: http://www.anhlc.asn.au/files/news_111013__anhlc_news_nov_11_v2.pdf . The Australian network is enormous; there are over five dozen neighborhood houses in Melbourne alone, and about 350 in the state of Victoria, which has half a million fewer people than Wisconsin. Network West, Inc. 2010. Western Suburbs communities gather locally & celebrate nationally. http://networkwest.net/sites/default/files/Media%20ReleaseNHweek%20May2010.pdf Duke Street Community House, Our History. http://www.dsch.org.au/history Optional: Sara Evans and Harry Boyte. 1992. Free Spaces: The Sources of Democratic Change in America. University of Chicago Press. What's This Place? Stories from Radical Social Centres in the UK and Ireland. http://socialcentrestories.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/whats-this-place_lo-res.pdf Francesca Polletta, 1999, Free Spaces in Collective Action, Theory and Society 28: 1-. 38. http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~polletta/Articles%20and%20Book%20Chapters_files/Free_spaces.pdf Tasks:
|
|
February 9: |
Project-Based Research
Read: (choose four for class, read the rest prior to beginning interviews)(articles without a listed URL are available through http://my.wisc.edu) Randy Stoecker, Research Methods for Community Change (**stay tuned as I am hoping the new edition may be available by this time**) Tasks:
|
|
February 16: |
Models and Ethics of Community-University
Partnerships
Read: What's This Place? Stories from Radical Social Centres in the UK and Ireland. http://socialcentrestories.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/whats-this-place_lo-res.pdf Randy Stoecker and Mary Beckman, 2009, Making Higher Education Civic Engagement Matter in the Community. Campus Compact. http://www.compact.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/engagementproof-1.pdf Ward, K., & Wolf-Wendel, L. Community-centered service learning. The American Behavioral Scientist, (2000).43(5), 767-780 http://abs.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/cgi/reprint/43/5/767 Optional:
Tasks:
|
|
February 23: (no class) |
It is likely that part of our research task will involve learning about some of the real life options in Madison that might be adaptable to southwest Madison. You can use the class time to do that research. Read: Case study research: Randy Stoecker, 1991. Evaluating and Rethinking the Case Study. The Sociological Review. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c2064760-cd33-49aa-bae7-27483df64ce9%40sessionmgr12&vid=4&hid=19 Sue Soy. 1996. The Case Study as a Research Method. http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~ssoy/usesusers/l391d1b.htm Focus groups: Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Beverlyn Lundy Allen, and Kathlene Larson. 2004 Focus Group Fundamentals. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/pm1969b.pdf Omni. Toolkit for Conducting Focus Groups. http://www.omni.org/docs/focusgrouptoolkit.pdf Tasks:
|
|
March 1: |
Neighborhood Center Research Read: Student reports from community center case studies. Tasks:
|
|
March 8: |
Community Data Collection Read: Links to readings on community data collection: http://www.health.state.mn.us/communityeng/needs/needs.html Links to readings about house meetings: http://www.npaction.org/resources/WORC/mtg15.pdf http://www.du.edu/ccesl/docs/co_handbook_2010_11_print_protected.pdf (see p. 23) http://www.piconetwork.org/admin/tools_resources/files/0028.pdf Tasks:
|
|
March 15: |
Prepare neighborhood center preliminary report
Read: organization reports
Tasks:
|
|
March 22: |
Meet in Southwest Madison
Read: floor plan
Tasks:
|
|
March 29: |
Course check-in Read: student-generated source material on zoning, code, and ADA requirements Tasks:
|
|
April 5: (no class) |
Spring Break
|
|
April 12: |
Preparation for last community meeting
Read: student reports on zoning, code, and ADA requirements Tasks:
|
|
April 19: |
Preparation for last community meeting
Read: reread chapters from Stoecker, Research Methods for Community Change
Tasks:
|
|
April 26: |
Final community meeting
Read: student reports on zoning, code, and ADA requirements
Tasks:
|
|
May 3: | Preparation of final report
Read: Foundation Center website, http://foundationcenter.org/
Tasks:
|
|
May 10: | TBA
Read: how to evaluate success of community-university partnerships David Wilson: Key features of successful university-community partnerships, http://www.pew-partnership.org/pdf/new_directions/2_partnerships.pdf Core characteristics of authentic partnerships, http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pdf_files/grids.pdf Community-university partnerships, what do we know, http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pdf_files/symposium_report.pdf
Tasks:
|
|
Designated Finals Period: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Strengths and Weaknesses Essay
Randy Stoecker
I have been involved with community change projects for
over two and a half decades. I have
also studied the process of making community change for the same amount of time. And probably the first thing I have learned about myself in the process
is that I really like combining the making of change with the studying of
change. In fact, I think combining
them makes each stronger. So my main
strength is my ability to transform the research process to serve the community
change process. I can easily see
what knowledge questions a community is facing and possibly ways that they can
answer their knowledge questions.
Of course, for me, all strengths have a kind of yin-yang
weakness associated with them, and I was reminded of this again just last night,
when I helped with a community event that included an issue development process. I had forgotten that what seems obvious to me is not obvious to others
and may not even be part of how they think in the world. So I didn’t do as well in working with a community leader to communicate
the issue development process and we ended up causing some confusion in the
group as a consequence. It wasn’t a
fatal lapse, but was still humbling.
One of the other things I have become quite good at in just
the past half-decade is getting a course-based community project from start to
finish in a single semester. Without
fail, by the end of the semester we have produced for the community what we said
we would produce. Part of the reason
for that is the students, community members, and myself all become involved in
planning the project and shaping it as we go.
The complementary weakness of my success at finishing
projects is that I am often a lot more comfortable with the early uncertainty of
such a project than nearly all of the other people involved. In fact, I have the most fun when things are uncertain and we start
designing a project. It is in
carrying out the project where I feel the most stressful, because I can see when
we risk getting behind. In addition,
I am not the best at detail work. I
really like the big picture work, and really have to push myself to remember
that accomplishing the big picture requires thinking ahead to the details—making
sure that I know when community meetings need to be scheduled, and scheduling
them two weeks ahead, making sure there are drafts ready for review a week
before the meeting, and so on.
My final strength/weakness is that I am comfortable with
the critical reflection process. I
am hardly ever satisfied with my own work, and actually like the process of
reflecting on how to do better.
Sometimes I carry that over to how I reflect on the work of others without as
much sensitivity as I’d like or I hold back because I worry about being
insensitive. So I am still feeling
clumsy about that.