The Growth of Community Learning:
The number of faculty and departments offering CLI courses has steadily increased since the inception of the Community Learning Initiative (CLI) in 1996.
|
Departments and Faculty
Involved in CLI |
|
|
|
|
|
Academic Year |
Depts |
Faculty |
|
1997 |
10 |
15 |
|
1998 |
13 |
21 |
|
1999 |
16 |
23 |
|
2000 |
12 |
14 |
|
2001 |
19 |
24 |
|
2002 |
18 |
24 |
|
|
|
|
Though only 10 departments participated in 1997, by last year almost 20 departments were involved in Community Learning. To date 68 faculty and 28 out of 30 departments have offered at least one CLI course. Twenty-four different faculty members taught a CLI course last year and more than twenty faculty members have taught a CLI course in four of the five years since 1997. Likewise, the number of students who participate in a CLI course each year continues to grow, with more than 3000 taking at least one CLI course since 1997. Students consistently report high satisfaction and interest in the CLI component of these courses.
Summary of Events:
This past year the Community Learning Initiative hosted a number of programs and projects to bring the campus and community together.
Conference:
CLI produced a national conference on community learning in October of 2001. Eleven groups from across the country involved in academic and community relations came to Trinity for a two and a half day interactive conference. The attendees visited sites in the community, listened to panel discussions, and participated in workshops. On the last day the groups created action plans to take back to their respective academic or community institutions.
Streetwise Workshop:
The Trinity Center for Neighborhoods (TCN), in conjunction with CLI, presented a workshop at the start of each semester on Trinity’s role in Hartford. The program was designed to introduce new students to the area and city. Streetwise included a history of Trinity in Hartford as well as information on the surrounding towns. The workshop taught students about the diverse activities offered in the city of Hartford, and how to enjoy them while traveling safely. The program was offered again this fall.
Brainstorming Lunches:
The Community Learning Initiative continues to host Brainstorming Lunches open to all faculty who are interested in introducing CLI into their courses. The lunches consist of conversation about past, present, and future courses. These lunches are routinely announced in QPs to the faculty.
Workshops:
CLI gave a half-day workshop on Community Learning in the spring of 2002. Participants discussed their courses with colleagues from other departments. The program encouraged interdepartmental collaboration on course designs, with the hope of creating multi-year, multi-department, multi-agency, or multi-course Community Learning projects. The hope is to bring the existing expertise in community learning at Trinity to new levels of accomplishment.
Evaluations:
Student evaluation forms were redesigned this year in an effort to improve assessments of the impact of CLI. Also, for the first time, an evaluation form for community partners was distributed.
A Sample of Community Learning Courses Conducted This Past Year:
Education 308:
For Education 308, Professor Jack Dougherty’s students conducted and analyzed oral history interviews with Bulkeley High School graduates from 1963-73. They explored ideas presented in Suarez' book The Old Neighborhood. Students also designed ethnographic pilot studies at a Montessori magnet school to examine work by Mary Metz on interracial relationships, and by Jean Anyon on social class definitions of school work.
Philosophy 229:
In Philosophy 229, “Concepts of Madness,” Professor Dan Lloyd had his students spend two hours a day for seven days in the locked ward at The Institute of Living. Their job was to interact with “high functioning” patients suffering from depression, schizophrenia, anorexia, and drug abuse. Students kept reflective journals as part of their course work.
Political Science 355:
Students in Professor Stefanie Chambers’ “Urban Politics” participated in programs such as tutoring kids, helping adults prepare for their GED, and organizing a community festival. Others worked with the Hartford Food Systems, Leadership for Greater Hartford, and the CT Coalition for Environmental Justice. The students’ experiences were carried into their coursework through conversations, journal entries, and a final project based on work accomplished for the organization. The course objective was to give students an opportunity to understand the challenges and prospects for change people of color face in urban America.
Anthropology 301:
Students in Professor Jim Trostle's Qualitative Methods class learned fieldwork methods as part of a five-year study of the Digital Divide in Hartford. This was the second of three methods courses studying a number of community organizations and their use of information technology over time. Students used fieldnotes from a prior class, and prepared their notes for use by a future class. The project culminated in a final presentation to the community groups and interested people on campus.
First-Year Seminars:
Two First-Year seminars, for two years in a row (2000, 2001) worked together on a CLI project involving students from the Classical Magnet Program at Quirk Middle School. Professor Sarah Harrell’s “Body Politics: The Power of Ancient Greek Athletics” and Professor Robin Shepherd’s “Modern Sport” created the first and second annual Hartford Olympics in Trinity's Field House. The students from the Magnet School competed in sport events inspired by the modern and ancient Olympics with prizes awarded to the top competitors. The Trinity students provided educational reports on the history of sport, ancient and modern, as well as the ancient and modern Olympic movements. The first annual Hartford Olympics culminated in a lecture by Connecticut’s own Lindy Remigino who won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympic Games. The second Hartford Olympics ended with a procession in the spirit of the closing ceremonies of the modern Olympics.
CLI is Guided by a Group of Administrators and Faculty Advisors:
Group Members: Stefanie Chambers (Political Science)
Jack Dougherty (Educational Studies)
Hebe Guardiola-Diaz (Biology)
David Henderson (Chemistry)
Ivan Kuzyk (Cities Data Center)
Alta Lash (Trinity Center for Neighborhoods)
Dan Lloyd (Philosophy)
Gail Woldu (Music)
Contact Information:
Jim Trostle
Faculty Coordinator for CLI
(860) 297-2564
james.trostle@trincoll.edu
Elinor Jacobson
Coordinator for Urban Learning Initiatives
(860) 297-4275
elinor.jacobson@trincoll.edu
Kate Adams
Project Manager, Urban Learning Initiatives
(860) 297-2125
kathleen.adams@trincoll.edu
Website:
www.trincoll.edu/UG/UE/CLI/