The Service-Learner The Voice of Students, Faculty and Community V O L U M E Looking Back… and Ahead I I , Consistent Growth Towards the end of the Spring 2012 semester, over 50 service-learning advocates gathered in the Oakland Dining Room to reflect on the growth and success of academic service-learning in the past year. They discussed how to improve, expand, and tell the story of academic service-learning at QCC. I I S U M M E R learning in their respective disciplines. The OASL will refine these efforts in the upcoming year by developing generic reflection activities and rubrics aligned to various academic disciplines and by streamlining the existing Institutional Review Board protocol to make it easier for more faculty to participate. The protocol assesses the impact of service-learning on One of the highlights of last year was QCC’s participation at CUNY’s 8th Annual CUE Conference on May 11, 2012. Meg Tarafdar described the training and support offered to faculty interested in service-learning. Sharon Ellerton summarized the results to date of the effectiveness of servicelearning. Over fifteen Service-Learning Students faculty led individual Faculty Teaching SL Courses discussions on how Partner Agencies they implement service- Faculty Reflect on Service-Learning I S S U E 2 0 1 2 students’ education, career interests, attitudes, and interest in community service. The OASL will also support the work of the QCC Sustainability Council in the upcoming year through a variety of service–learning projects designed to meet the council’s needs. If you are interested in joining this exciting effort, please contact the OASL. 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 42 3 6 195 9 7 462 21 28 750 35 10 1013 45 26 1629 72 38 traditional higher education.” Heads nodded in agreement. Round-table conversations touched on individual motivations for including servicelearning in a course, the relationships of service-learning to course material, and the role of service-learning in the broader context of the campus. When the floor opened for discussion, seasoned service-learning faculty and firsttimers alike shared stories of watching students grow as they put the knowledge Jo Pantaleo, QCC’s Project Director of they gained in the classroom to practical Academic Service-Learning, opened the use. Some students met challenges and discussion saying, “Academic servicesurpassed expectations with their creative learning uncovers intelligence in students approaches to problem solving. Other that doesn’t necessarily come across in students became more connected to their standardized tests and other methods in subject material. Faculty highlighted: Accounting students who helped their peers at the QCC Health Fair learn how to open a bank account, maintain a good credit score and balance a checkbook; Nursing and Health students who developed Jo Pantaleo addressing faculty at the Reflection Dinner (From left) Professors Wolston Brown, Jennifer Maloy, Sharon Ellerton & Vilma Daley their skills by teaching elementary school children about cardiovascular disease and diabetes prevention; an Architecture student whose solution to a design problem exceeded the professor’s expectations. While slides of students engaged in service-learning projects from nearly all the campus’s disciplines glided across a screen, Jo Pantaleo wrapped up the discussion, encouraging faculty to continue to collaborate with each other and to tell the story of academic service-learning to professors not yet involved to ensure the growth and success of the program in the future. PAGE 2 Earth Day 2012 VOLUME II, ISSUE II As nearly 200 participants from the QCC community poured into the Student Union, the frenetic energy coalesced into an environmental celebration complete with giveaways and over 20 booths hosted by academic service-learning classes, student clubs and environmental organizations. The booths aligned with the mission of service-learning by enabling presenters to share the knowledge gained from their coursework with the community. Prof. Larisa Honey’s Anthropology class presented their academic service-learning project on Fair Trade Chocolate, and it is no surprise that this booth was one of the most popular of the event. Students informed shocked guests about the exploitative working conditions involved in growing and harvesting cocoa and encouraged them to buy Fair Trade Chocolate that ensures fair working conditions and wages for farmers. Fair Trade certification also requires that cocoa growers use environmentally sound agricultural practices. Professors Peg McConnell, Patricia Devaney and Connie Rehor’s Basic Educational Skills students raised awareness about human trafficking that occurs throughout New York City, even as close to home as Flushing. The students distributed information from organizations that serve youth who have experienced this exploitation; increased awareness makes it more difficult for operators to Interim College President Diane B. Call visits Prof. Eugene Harris’s Biology Honors Service-Learning exhibit created an impressive slide show on the ecosystems of Oakland Lake. Photographs of bird species and their habitats at the lake graced the lounge’s large screen while accompanying musical selections provided an elegant backdrop to the hum of voices in the room. Many QCC student clubs and environmental organizations also hosted informative booths. Guests who came to QCC College Discovery’s booth continue and easier for youth to find help. As were met with a six-foot sculpture made from plastic Earth Day is also about realizing the potential of water bottles to illustrate plastic waste. The each and every person, this presentation was a Queensborough Bridge Research Club suggested a sobering yet hopeful addition to the day. solution to plastic waste by educating guests about Prof. Marcia Coulton-Morrison’s Sociology decomposable corn-based containers and had students addressed hunger in New York City. guests create their own corn-based polymer. The They revealed to guests appalling facts, such as African Student Union took another approach to that over 400,000 people in the city suffer from reducing waste by showing off fashionable purses hunger. They collected non-perishable food for a they made from cardboard and scraps of fabric they local food pantry, receiving an overwhelming Fair trade chocolate had in their homes. For the scraps of waste that level of contributions. could not be used to make trendy accessories, volunteers from the Prof. Franca Ferrari’s Speech students used their NYC Composting Project taught visitors how to make nutrient-rich academic service-learning project to address the issue of recycling soil from kitchen scraps and yard waste. Ross Ber, a local at QCC. They entertained guests by screening a video they beekeeper, dispensed amazing information about bees, honey produced called “Captain and pollination in Queens and Nassau County. Mel Rodriguez and Campus,” which features a super Dexter Williams from QCC’s Sustainability Council introduced hero who teaches students how QCC’s new recycling bins. In addition, students from the to recycle. They also interviewed Chemistry Club, CSTEP, Foreign Language Society, Hillel Club, students, faculty and staff MALES , NYPIRG, SOUL, Student Government Association, throughout the campus to Students’ Health Club, and QCC Bridge Research Club contributed identify what respondents know creative energy and passion for environmental and social issues to about recycling on campus. The the day. results of the survey will help administrators in charge of the QCC recycling program improve recycling rates on campus. Prof. Eugene Harris mentored an Honors Biology student who QCC’s new recycling bins By 3:00 p.m., it seemed that the two-hour celebration had flown by. Guests left with their stomachs full of fair trade chocolate, arms full of environmental giveaways and their heads filled with new knowledge on environmental and human issues. Special thanks to Ziomara Zamora of Student Activities for making the day such a success! VOLUME II, ISSUE PAGE II 3 QCC Family Day at the Farm QCC Family Day at the Farm, held on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Queens County Farm Museum, was an opportunity for members of the QCC community as well as children, parents and staff from Saratoga Family Inn (SFI) to come together to learn about growing food and sustainable farming practices. The day was inspired by the multiple service-learning projects involving SFI’s vegetable garden. SFI, one of QCC’s long-standing servicelearning partners, is a transitional housing facility in Queens operated by Homes for the Homeless. Despite the rain, nearly 300 guests came out to enjoy the Kids enjoy doing crafts with QCC student volunteers event, and 30 student volunteers from QCC helped keep the day running smoothly. Through colorful posters, models, and hands-on activities involving dirt, paint and other child-friendly materials, museum educators gave demonstrations on composting, garden planning, companion planting and bee-keeping. These lessons were immediately applicable for the Saratoga Family Inn and their on-site garden. The Farm Museum also gave hayrides and walking tours that showed the uses of sustainable practices in growing fresh produce and raising free-range chickens for eggs. QCC Academic Service-Learning students also participated. Prof. Lana Zinger’s Nutrition students taught guests about healthy eating and distributed nutritious snacks. Prof. Isabella Lizzul‘s Massage Therapy students offered free chair massages to teach stress reduction. From the reactions of the visitors, it was apparent that both QCC and the Queens County Farm Museum furthered their missions with this event:. This was a special day! Rare is the opportunity to bring QCC faculty/staff families, students, and other friends together. The Queens County Farm Museum created many informative displays. Amy Traver, QCC faculty ALL the students were fantastic-especially the two who did the Healthy Pyramid display [Dave & Kevin]. We also loved Lisa (farm employee) who taught us things about bees and cows and all the other animals at the farm! Marta Jimenez , QCC staff Visitors meet the animals on a walking tour of the farm My daughter and her two little friends had so much fun. It was so educational and the arts and crafts were so enjoyable for them. Camille Testa, QCC staff Mr. C., from the Saratoga Family Inn and Mary Bandziukas from the OASL display some of the produce harvested from the Saratoga garden In late July. PAGE 4 Getting Young Minds Excited About College The Office of Academic Service-Learning develops opportunities to inspire middle and high school students to work hard in school and consider college as part of their future. QCC students across disciplines support this goal by carrying out academic service-learning projects with these young students. In the spring of 2012, the service-learning office was able to expand these opportunities by including a tour of the campus and a meeting with QCC’s Admissions Office staff. The visiting students built and tested robots in Prof. Hamid Namdar’s Computer Control Systems class; learned how to apply the scientific method when “Although some of my students testing water quality with were initially tentative about the Prof. Monica Trujillo’s college tour, they have since environmental science thanked me for giving them the students; saw germs on experience of seeing the insides of their hands glow under an the Nursing Program facilities and ultra-violet lamp and other learning why QCC might be a good amazing phenomena with financial decision for two years beProf. Regina Sullivan’s fore they decide to go away to college. I really think this trip raised the biology research students; puzzled over real-life level of both my students’ engageapplications of algebra and ment and the participation of their geometry with math college mentors.” students of Professors Adam Sacher, teacher at World Mercedes Franco, Steven Journalism Preparatory School Cheng, and Kostas Stroumbakis; and discussed the college application process and college life with Prof. Mike Dolan’s English students. They received chair massages from Prof. Isabella Lizzul’s massage students; learned yoga poses from Prof. Sue Garcia’s students; and observed Prof. Lana Zinger’s Health students engage in the collaborative process of planning future academic servicelearning projects. After working with the QCC students, classes accompanied staff from the Office of Academic Service-Learning across the campus, seeing some of QCC’s unique features, such as the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives, the beautiful sculpture garden, the solar panels atop the technology building, and the planetarium dome atop the science building. Students were wowed by QCC’s virtual hospital, explained in detail by Audrey Maroney, Senior Lab Technician. Anthony Davis, QCC Admissions Office, They marveled addresses students from World Journalism over the 3-D Preparatory School VOLUME II, ISSUE II models “printed” by state-of-theart equipment in QCC’s manufacturing lab, and they were encouraged by Bernard Hunter, Senior Lab Technician, to Learning about the QCC admissions process picture themselves learning how to produce such models themselves. Under the guidance of Aaron Deetz, College Lab Technician, they saw the work underlying the creative process in an art class studying color theory and in QCC’s photography dark room. The highlight of each tour was a workshop with Anthony Davis, Associate Director, QCC Office of Admissions and Recruitment, and Edgar De Castro, Senior Admissions Counselor, QCC Office of Admissions and Recruitment. Tony and Edgar explained the financial aid and application process, and how it may be a good financial QCC Office of decision to obtain an Academic Service-Learning Associate’s degree 222-05 56th Avenue before transferring to a Humanities Building, Room 246 Bayside, NY 11364 four-year college. They 718.281.5612 assuaged the students’ servicelearning@qcc.cuny.edu www.qcc.cuny.edu/servicelearning concerns about applying to and attending Project Director college, as many would Josephine Pantaleo be the first in their Project Associate Director Sharon Ellerton families to do so, and Center for Excellence in Teaching & invited students to keep Learning (CETL) Director in contact if they had Meg Tarafdar additional questions. Perkins Project Coordinators Arlene Kemmerer This year, students Mary Bandziukas from Hillcrest High Cristina DiMeo School, Queens Satellite Adjunct Multimedia Specialist High School for Albert Cardinale Project Coordinator Opportunity, World Katherine Rakowski Journalism Preparatory School, and from the Saratoga Family Inn after school program visited and toured QCC’s campus. The Office of Academic ServiceLearning aims to maintain these partnerships and to add additional schools in the upcoming year. Support for the development/production of this material was provided by a grant under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 administered by the New York State Education Department. All projects and events supported by the generosity of: