This file was prepared for electronic distribution by the inforM staff.
Questions or comments should be directed to inform-editor@umail.umd.edu.
The NWSA Project to Improve Service Learning in Women's Studies
Supported by a two-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement of
Post-secondary Education, NWSA's Project to Improve Service Learning in
Women's Studies is a clearinghouse for information about the current state of
field experience education in women's studies. Among activities generated
since it began in 1979, the Project has sponsored the Women's Studies Service
Learning Institute (a week-long faculty development seminar), seven regional
workshops (mini-versions of the Institute), and has offered program sessions
at the NWSA National Conventions.
Workshop Sites, 1980-81:
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon--October 24, 1980
De Anza Community College, San Jose, California--October 31, 1980
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado--January 30, 1981
Southeast Women's Studies Association Conference, Georgia State
University, Atlanta--March 6, 1981
New York Women's Studies Association Conference, SUNY/Buffalo--March 20,
1981
Mid-Atlantic Women's Studies Association Conference, Goucher College,
Baltimore--April 4, 1981
Great Lakes Women's Studies Association Conference, Mankato State
University, Mankato--April 10, 1981
The National Women's Studies Association
Founded in 1977, the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) is a
grassroots organization which draws its membership from all fifty states and
associate members from abroad. NWSA offers networking and support for
teachers, administrators, and students in women's studies programs, as well
as those involved in feminist education in the community. Members receive the
Women's Studies Quarterly, a publication which offers articles on teaching
women's studies in various settings; reports of Association activities; news
of jobs, conferences, institutes, fellowships, and new publications and
resources. The National Women's Studies Association meets at an annual
conference which brings together thousands of women and men to participate in
program panels, workshops, affiliated meetings, working sessions of NWSA
regions, caucuses, committees, and task forces. The conference provides
opportunities for networking, project development, and sharing among
participants.
Acknowledgements
The editors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of National
Women's Studies Association staff members Rebecca Fowler, Dorothy
Maxwell and Jan Meriwether. We would also like to thank Mary Scoggins
and her associates at Letter Perfect of Landover Hills, MD.
PROJECT ADVISORY BOARD
Elizabeth Downs, Executive Director, Washington Center for Learning
Alternatives
Ruth B. Ekstrom, Research Scientist, Educational Testing Service
Carol Eliason, Director, Center for Women's Opportunities
Kathryn Girard, Co-Director, Project TEAM (Teaching Equity Approaches in
Massachusetts)
Nancy Hoffman, Ex-Officio, Program Officer, Fund for the Improvement of
Postsecondary Education
Jane Kendall, Associate Executive Director, National Society for Internships
in Experiential Education
Morris Keeton, President, Council for the Advancement of Experiential
Learning
Jessy Leonard, Associate Professor, Counseling and Personnel Services,
University of Maryland, College Park
Carol Parr, Executive Director, Women's Equity Action League
Carol Pearson, Associate Professor, Women's Studies and American Studies,
University of Maryland, College Park
Sharon Rubin, Director, Experiential Learning Programs, University of
Maryland, College Park
CONTENTS
Introduction
Jerilyn Fisher and Elaine Reuben
REFLECTIONS AND FORMULATIONS
Women Thinking Together: The NWSA Service Learning Institute
Barbara Hillyer Davis
Service Learning: Three Principles
Robert Sigmon
Reflections on a Typology for Experiential Education
Thomas Haugsby
MULTIPLE MODELS
Service Learning and the Women's Studies Curriculum
Carolyn Shrewsbury
The Women's Studies Practicum at Loretto Heights: Case Study for Small
Colleges and Small Programs
Betsy Jameson
Integrating Theory and Practice in a Service Learning Co-Seminar
Nancy Schniedewind
Bridging Theory and the Practicum: A Course in Women's Studies
Melanie Kaye
The National Congress of Neighborhood Women: Education in the Community
Laura Polla Scanlon
Returning Women and Field Experience: A Preliminary Research Study
Sharon Rubin
The Congressional Internships on Women and Public Policy
Phyllis M. Palmer
An Internship in Science, Politics and Feminism
I. Description of a Pilot Project
M. Sue Wagner and Alwynelle S. Ahl
II. A Student Perspective
Amy N. Moss
Feminist Learning Opportunities in Experiential Education
Ann Simon
VARIOUS VIEWS
Setting the Stage for Field Placement
Appendix: Format for a Field Supervisor Manual
Marti Bombyk
The Internship Program at WEAL Fund
Maxine Forman
Student Impact in Two Community Settings
I. The Invisible Women
Carolyn Mulford
II. Raises not Roses
Ellen Cassedy
A Student Guide to Field Learning Experiences
Lizette Bartholdi, Laurie Bushbaum, Debra Horn,
Denise Johnson, Kimberly M. Reynolds-Heiam,
Karen Theiler, Robin Williams-Johnson
Coping with Difficult Placements: Two Case Studies
I. Frustration, Anger and Learning at a Rape Crisis Center
Stacey Zlotnick
II. Growth Through Conflict in a Student-Directed Project
Toni Johnson
Reflections on Surviving as an Intern
Judy Sorum
To Arm the Amazons: Students at Feminist Worksites
Kathryn Girard
Tools for Guiding and Evaluating Service Learning
Appendix: Inventory of Knowledge, Skills and Attitude
Objectives
Patty Gibbs
Assessment of Service Learning: Student Achievement and Program Effectiveness
Nancy Ashton
Evaluating Service Learning Programs in Women's Studies
Ruth B. Ekstrom
RESOURCES FOR SERVICE LEARNING IN WOMEN'S STUDIES
Additional References
Selected Bibliography
A Women's Studies Guide to Internship Directories
Media Resources for Women's Studies Service Learning Courses
Possible Goals for Service Learning in Women's Studies
Worksheets: Student Goal Analysis
Sample Course Descriptions, Syllabi and Learning Tools
Contributors' Notes
Response Form
CONTRIBUTORS' NOTES
Alwynelle Ahl is a professor in the Department of Natural Science at
Michigan State University, specializing in zoology and biology. She has
supervised many women's studies students during independent study on women
and biology. Recently, she and Amy Moss submitted a paper to Ms. called
"Pregnancy and Predicting Medicine: A Neglected Area of Women's Health."
M. Sue Wagner is the Legislative Liaison for Michigan NOW. She is an
elected member of the state board, and coordinates between NOW's lobbyist
board and membership. Her interests include work on legislative issues
with the Michigan Consumer Council.
Lizette Bartholdi is hard at work on her B.A. in women's studies. She
loves women's music and is involved with a holistic health care clinic in
Minneapolis.
Laurie Bushbaum graduated as a women's studies student in June, 1980,
then spent the summer in Scandanavia where she studied the language and
absorbed the culture. One of her hobbies is quilting.
Debra Horn is a linguistics major. She plays the French horn and enjoys
traveling.
Denise A. Johnson is in her last year working toward a B.A. in social
work at the University of Minnesota. She would like to work with children
upon graduation.
Kimberly Reynolds-Heiam continues to be an active member of NOW, working
for passage of the ERA. She studies pre-med at the University of Minnesota.
Karen Theiler, from Fridley, Minnesota, is an English major at the
University of Minnesota. She currently lives in Minneapolis.
Robin Williams-Johnson lives in St. Paul with her two daughters and her
husband. Currently she is studying creative writing and Spanish, intending to
continue developing her language skills in Mexico next year. She would like
to go on to graduate school in women's studies.
Marti Bombyk is a doctoral candidate in social work and psychology at
the University of Michigan. She has taught women's studies for four years,
developing "Women in the Community" as well as courses about the family and
social work practice. A political activist, she has experienced working with
both the feminist and labor markets.
Ellen Cassedy was recently appointed Program Director of Working Women,
a two year project funded by FIPSE to develop, test and disseminate a
counseling and curriculum program for mid-life and older women workers.
Before becoming one of the founders and staff director of 9to5, she was a
clerk-typist at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Barbara Hillyer Davis is Director of the Women's Studies Program of the
University of Oklahoma and a member of the Policy Committee of the Women's
Resource Center of Norman, Oklahoma. She has been treasurer of the Steering
Committee of the National Women's Studies Association, and has been active in
the development of the South Central Women's Studies Association.
Ruth Ekstrom is a Senior Research Scientist in the Division of
Educational Research and Evaluation at Educational Testing Services. She is
Directing two research projects on life experience learning of adult women
and its relevance to paid employment.
Maxine Forman is the Associate Director of the WEAL Fund Intern Program,
and former English teacher in the New York City high schools. She received an
M.A. from George Washington University in 1976 as a "returning woman." In
graduate school she focused on domestic violence and on sex discrimination in
educational policy and practices at the local and federal levels. She views
her teaching experience as well as her background in women's studies and
women's issues as assets in working with interns at the Fund.
Patty Gibbs is a doctoral degree candidate in the College of Human
Resources and Education at West Virginia University. She specializes in
curriculum development and incorporating women's studies in the undergraduate
social work curriculum. For the past three years she has been placing and
advising social work students in their practice and teaching a women's
studies course in social work.
Kathryn Girard is currently co-directing Project TEAM (Teaching Equity
Approaches in Massachusetts). She has been involved in the women's movement
for the past ten years, working with campus-based women's centers and other
feminist organizations. She also chairs The Academic Council of Beacon
College, a post-secondary institution for self-directed learning.
Thomas Haugsby serves on the Board of Directors of the National Society
for Internships and Experiential Education. He has authored several articles
on learning and experiential-based education. He is an Associate Professor of
Cooperative Education at Antioch College.
Betsy Jameson is the director of the Research Center on Women and the
Women's Studies Minor at Loretto Heights College in Denver. A Ph.D. candidate
in American Culture at the University of Michigan, her major fields are
women's history and working class history. Recently Betsy produced an
hour-long slide tape on working class families in the Cripple Creek gold
mining district. Her interest in service learning dates back to her
undergraduate experiences at Antioch College.
Toni Johnson is currently an undergraduate student majoring in
Government and Politics. She plans to attend law school in the fall, where
she expects to specialize in women's and domestic law.
Melanie Kaye is a long time activist and women's studies teacher,
currently at Goddard College and University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She
is a poet (We Speak in Code, Motheroot, 1980) and writer, published in
various lesbian and feminist journals and anthologies. She works in the
movement to stop violence against women and is co-authoring a book on women
and violence.
Amy Moss has just finished her senior year at Michigan State University.
Currently she works with the State Legislative office, partly as a result of
her service learning experience as an undergraduate. Amy looks forward to
graduate school in Public Affairs/Public Administration.
Carolyn Mulford was a freelance writer of travel articles and a Peace
Corps volunteer in Ethiopia before she assumed her current position as editor
of "Synergist", a quarterly published by the National Center for
Service-Learning. She is also on the staff of the NEA Journal.
Phyllis Palmer taught women's history at Mount Holyoke for five years,
then began as Academic Coordinator of George Washington University's Women's
Studies Masters Program. She is also coordinating Congressional Fellowships
on Women and Public Policy at George Washington University.
Sharon Rubin, who is Director of Experiential Learning Programs at the
University of Maryland, College Park, has been involved with women's studies
since teaching her first course on women in 1971. A member of the Women's
Studies Advisory Committee at College Park, she is particularly interested in
the concerns of returning women students. As a Kellogg Fellow, 1980-1983, she
will be spending part of her time exploring personnel policies and
decision-making in large corporations.
Laura Polla Scanlon has long been involved in student-centered service
learning. She completed her doctorate at Union Graduate School and has been
both a teacher and curriculum developer with the National Congress of
Neighborhood Women College Program. Currently director of NCNW's Education
Program, she is able to integrate her interest in experiential learning with
feminist education and community development.
Nancy Schniedewind coordinates women's studies at S.U.N.Y./New Paltz,
where she is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies. Having taught
women's studies for eight years, she is now developing a course called
"Issues of Racism" and working under a WEAA grant to complete "Won for All,"
an educational board game about women's and minority history.
Carolyn Shrewsbury directs the women's studies program at Mankato State
University in Minnesota. She has chaired the Minnesota State College System
on the Status of Women and has been active in supporting the leadership
potential of community women. As a supervisor of women studies interns for
over two years, she is particularly interested in discovering ways to
convince traditional organizations that women studies students have something
meaningful to offer them.
Robert Sigmon is assistant director of the Wake Area Health Education
Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has helped develop and manage service
learning models in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
Ann Simon describes herself as an experiential educator at Antioch
College where she is also a member of the Women's Studies Coordinating
Committee. In the community of Yellow Springs, Ohio, she has been involved in
various feminist activities and has served in the Yellow Springs Public
School System as a Resource Teacher on Non-Sexist Curriculum Development and
Title IX Compliance Offices.
Judy Sorum, Special Assistant to the Secretary, Department of Labor,
plans in the near future to write about the experiences of women in top level
government positions. Previous to her White House Fellowship, she directed
The Experiential Learning Program at the University of Maryland, taught
"Women in Drama," and chaired the Women's Commission from 1975 to 1977.
Stacey Zlotnick is director of a National Science Foundation project
which concerns the development, implementation and assessment of career
intervention programs for women. She has co-taught "Women and Madness"
and run groups on contraception at the University of Maryland. She was
a panelist at the NWSA Service Learning Institute in March, 1980.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Jerilyn Fisher
In addition to coordinating the NWSA Service Learning Project,
Jerilyn Fisher directs the Internship Program in Women's Studies at
the University of Maryland. She also teaches an interdisciplinary
seminar about criminally deviant women in the General Honors
Program and will soon teach a new course, "Witches and Saints."
Elaine Reuben
Elaine Reuben, Project Director, is National Coordinator of the
National Women's Studies Association, and Adjunct Associate
Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Maryland, College
Park. She has taught and supervised women's studies internship
students at the University of Maryland and at The George Washington
University, where she was Director of Women's Studies from 1975 to
1977.