TUintheCommunity Highlights Service-Learning Courses

February 25, 2010
Lindsey

Lindsey

I came to Graduate School at Towson University with the desire to do more for the community while pursuing my academic and professional interests. Lucky for me, last spring, I had the chance to combine the best of all worlds by taking part in a Service-Learning Course.

According to the Service-Learning website, “Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development.”  Benefits include interpersonal development, connections with community organizations, a stronger relationship between students and faculty, and many more.

TU in the Community, the interactive community engagement database, allows students to search for Service Learning Courses and contact the Professor for information on the prospective course. Currently, Service-Learning Courses from several departments across campus are on the database.

Faculty interested in setting up a Service Learning Course may utilize the full-time AmeriCorps VISTA Service-Learning Coordinator on campus. For 2009-2010, this person is Kate Faris. I asked Kate to describe her role on campus, and she replied “My role as the Service-Learning Coordinator is to create more high quality service-learning relationships between faculty and community organizations.  In doing so I work with community organization to identify opportunities where students may use what they are learning in class to strengthen the organization to better serve the clientele.   Additionally, I work one-on-one with faculty members to help incorporate service-learning into current or new curriculum.”

Faculty also have the opportunity to attend the 2010 Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Conference. Towson University is hosting this conference in partnership with the Baltimore Collegetown Network, Maryland Campus Compact and the Shriver Center at UMBC. Attendees will receive the opportunity to share strategies for success. The Honorable Elijah Cummings will be the keynote speaker for this event and will address the importance of civic engagement and service- learning.

For more information on Service-Learning, contact Kate Faris at 410-704-2806 or kfaris@towson.edu.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

TU in the Community Finds a Cause to ‘Root’ For

February 2, 2010
Lindsey

Lindsey

When’s the last time you enjoyed going to the dentist? For many of us, including myself, it is a task that we certainly dread every six months. However, we put ourselves in that chair and go through the examination because of how important oral health is to a person’s overall wellbeing. Imagine if we didn’t have access to dental care? For some of those people that wouldn’t necessarily have dental insurance, Mary Lashley is there to ensure that they receive the oral healthcare that they require.

Mary Lashley

Mary Lashley is known here at Towson University as a Professor in the Nursing Department. Every day, she goes above and beyond her traditional role and aligns herself with TU’s 2010 Strategic Plan to be active and involved in the community. This is a passion she shares with students by taking them off campus and to the Helping Up Mission to participate in an exciting project: An Oral Health Intervention Program for the Homeless: A Community-Academic Partnership.

Collaborating with the University of Maryland Dental School, this exciting initiative has worked since 2006 to offer education, screenings, and easier access to dental care for homeless citizens of Baltimore City. The main goals of the partnership are to: (1) improve clients’ oral function, appearance, and self-confidence so that they may enjoy better health and improved employability; and (2) inspire future health care professionals to work with homeless and underserved populations.

By participating in this wonderful opportunity, Towson University students are getting a unique and worthwhile experience that they can take to benefit them in and outside of the classroom. For more information on the Oral Health Intervention Program, please contact Mary Lashley at mlashley@towson.edu.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

TU in the Community Wants to see that ‘A’!

December 7, 2009
Lindsey

Lindsey

When I was in grade school, I took part in standardized tests that, at the time, I didn’t fully get the point of. I distantly remember planting a lima bean and watching it grow as a part of one test. To this day, I can’t say that I have utilized the lima bean planting experience to my advantage.

In exploring TU in the Community, however, it is inspiring to see an effective method of measuring and improving student achievement exists in four initials: CFIP. The CFIP (Classroom-Focused Improvement Process) is a six-step process which enhances student achievement. The steps are implemented by a group of teachers who meet as teams as a part of their lesson planning cycle. According to the project page, the model was designed to respond to the question, “What do we know from available data about current levels of student performance and how will we respond to these data?” It is through the model that teachers can identify:  class-wide strengths and weaknesses in the state content standards, students in need of intervention and the focus of these interventions, students ready for enrichment and the ways to keep them engaged and motivated, and instructional improvements that will make the next unit more effective than the last one.

The six steps are:

Step 1: Relevant assessments and the terms used in the assessment reports

Step 2: Questions to answer in the data dialogue

Step 3: Major patterns of students’ strengths and needs at the class level (if possible, by using more than one data source)

Step 4: Instructional factors that might have contributed to the patterns of student weaknesses and the steps that team members will take to address these patterns

Step 5: Students who excelled and those who still need assistance and the in-class enrichments and interventions that will be put in place for these students

Step 6: One or two improvements in future instruction that they will implement

View a presentation

For more information on CFIP, contact Ronald Thomas at rathomas@towson.edu or 410-704-5770 or visit http://www.mdk12.org/process/cfip/.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

It’s a Beautiful Day in TU in the Community

November 5, 2009
Lindsey

Lindsey

As a child of the 90’s, I fondly remember Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a fun show with that catchy song including the lyrics: “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”

I couldn’t help but think of that familiar tune when I heard about the Community Ambassador Program with Towson Manor Village. Launched in fall 2009, it’s “designed to implement new approaches to building community in the neighborhoods and assist students with their transition to living off campus through a peer led education program.” Goals of the program include enhancing communication between the University, students living off-campus and neighbors, instilling responsibility, and improving the quality of life in the communities. Students elected as Community Ambassadors live in specific Towson neighborhoods and are trained to help other students make the transition to community living.

With such a positive community program there is no doubt people will be asking “Won’t You Be my Neighbor?”

communityambassadors

Click here to read more about the program.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

TU in the Community Goes Abroad

October 13, 2009
Lindsey

Lindsey

When you hear the word “community” you automatically think of your own neighborhood, town, or city. TU in the Community is challenging that notion by reminding us that community engagement can reach not only beyond our neighborhood, but even beyond the nation.

Upon browsing TU in the Community’s Projects Database, I discovered an exciting collaboration. It turns out that Towson University’s Study Abroad Office has joined with the Environmental Sciences Department to provide an amazing experience entitled “Environmental Education and Service Learning in the Tropics.”

studyabroadDuring this trip “students apply ecological concepts to environmental education and the use and management of natural resources in Costa Rica. They also work side-by-side with local community members to complete environmental action projects. Through hands on experience, they develop an awareness and appreciation for the local culture and environment.” Not only do students get to travel overseas and participate in community engagement, but they have the opportunity to earn academic credit for doing so.

It’s clear that with exciting collaborations such as this, TU’s Community will only keep expanding throughout the globe.

For more information on Study Abroad, check out www.towson.edu/studyabroad.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

TU in the Community–providing the right link at the right time!

September 22, 2009
Lindsey

Lindsey

Before spring 2009, you could catch me asking “TU in the Community…what’s that?” As a Graduate Student who is involved across TU’s campus and interested in community engagement, I had no idea of the fantastic resource that was right under my nose.

Little did I know, a campus-wide team was busy working to develop and launch a comprehensive community engagement website. This platform was needed to bring together students who were completing community service projects, faculty who were conducting community engaged research, and our partners in business, government, and the greater community.

After much campus-wide research, collaboration, and hard work, TU in the Community was launched in April 2009.

The future is bright for TU in the Community as word is getting out across TU’s campus and the World Wide Web. Community members, businesses, faculty, staff, and students have begun and will continue to utilize this remarkable database to connect with each other and increase community engagement partnerships.

As the Graduate Assistant for TU in the Community, I have been busy receiving emails and phone calls from people on and off campus looking to connect with one another for a greater purpose. With the tremendous response TU in the Community has received so far, there is no doubt that it will live up to its potential to become an outstanding community engagement resource.

For more information about TU in the Community, please contact me by email or by phone at 410-704-2678.

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer