Abstract

Through a qualitative textual analysis of written and transcribed oral communication, this study examines the effectiveness of specific learning goals within applied learning classrooms that collaborate with local and national non-profit organizations while exploring the challenges anticipated within participatory pedagogy. The findings of this study will help educators design classes that maximize the benefits of applied learning while overcoming challenges of communication, organizational hierarchy, and learner behavior.

Background

In the Spring of 2019, the SUNY Oneonta Faculty Center funded an interdisciplinary Applied Learning project involving two groups of students in Participatory Media and Animals and Society. The students partnered with a regional animal rescue organization, Thrennions Hoppy Endings Rabbit Resource, Inc. to help them with their educational, recruitment and fundraising efforts.
The project involved a total of 50 students, including 36 enrolled in Animals and Society, and 14 in Participatory Media. The Sociology students in Animals and Society were asked to make two sociological-based recommendations as to how to facilitate the mission of the rescue organization. The suggestions focused on improving the utilization of media and the development of "information packs" to be used to either dissuade impulse rabbit purchases through showing how much effort went into their care, or to accelerate the process of education.
The Communication and Media students enrolled in the Participatory Media class were offered an option of joining a team that aimed to help the rabbit rescue organization with educational, outreach, recruitment and fundraising efforts through digital or traditional media.
At the beginning of the semester, the students conversed with Davida Kobler, the leader of T.H.E. Rabbit Resource, who described the organization’s needs and posed specific goals for the students. The instructors operationalized those into respective course projects. A significant part of each course included reflections on the students’ activities outside of the classroom. These activities generated a data set that the present study utilizes for pedagogic purposes.
Goals and Method

By analyzing the students’ term projects, reflection papers and in-class presentations, the study aims to answer the following research questions:
R1: What types of effective learning goals are appropriate for an applied learning class that relies on a partnership with a community organization?
R2: What types of objective challenges can be anticipated within an applied learning class that partners students with a community organization?
R3: How can future teachers structure their classes to maximize the benefits of applied learning while overcoming predictable challenges?