HESO 449B-001
Topics in International Service Learning

Student Directed Seminar, January-April 2010

Course Information:
Term Two                            Wednesday                        9:00 AM – 12:00 PM                        GEOG 101

Course Coordinators: Sabine Laguë (sabine.lague@gmail.com) and Yan Xu yanxu1@interchange.ubc.ca), or for general queries for the course: isltopics@gmail.com
Office Hours: by appointment

Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Shafik Dharamsi (shafik.dharamsi@familymed.ubc.ca); Assistant Professor, Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine

Course objectives:

1. Develop a critical lens to evaluate different international service-learning opportunities with regards to
   1. What are ethical considerations necessary to take into consideration with participation in these projects?
   2. Is ISL a sustainable program that promotes the well-being of both students involved and the people of the recipient countries?
   3. What are some of the intercultural sensitivities surrounding interaction with people of diverse backgrounds?
   4. Be able to apply this lens to different ISL projects.
   5. Inspire learning in the field of ISL through past and present participants; bringing people with a passion for ISL together.

Course Grading Distribution:

20%                  Journal entries

25%                  Final Essay

10%                  Project Proposal

30%                  Project Presentation

15%                  Participation/Attendance

Journal entries: Journal entries are due the following session from when they are assigned. Completion of the entries will be noted within the first 30 minutes of the class and recorded in a log. Failure to obtain verification of entry completion (coordinator signature on assignment) will be considered equivalent to incomplete assignment.  6 out of 7 of the highest-marked journal entries will be included for the final mark. All completed journal entries should be submitted on April 14, along with the final reflection essay.

Journal entry due dates:

January 13, 20, 27

February 3, 10

March 3, 10

Final Reflection Essay: The rubric for the final reflection essay will be discussed on March 10. The topic of the final reflection essay will be: “How has your view on ISL changed through participation in this course?”.

Final Project: The final project will consist of an analysis project where participants will choose a development initiative and assess its local impact, ethical precautions and level of community engagement.   The students will also be asked to deconstruct any marketing strategies for these service-learning opportunities.  Each student will submit a brief project proposal on the initiative he/she would like to investigate, which will be submitted to faculty sponsor by March 3 (and returned the following week), who will then provide a grade and offer feedback for the proposal.  The student will also present his or her proposal to the class, and receive collective feedback from the class as well.  The final presentation, expected to be 30 min long, will consist of the participant providing an overview of the particular development project to the seminar class, followed by its impact on stakeholders involved in the project.

Revisiting the marking rubric and the outline of expectations for this final project will be done on February 10. Finalized rubric will be strictly adhered to from that point on throughout all presentations.  Students will be asked to begin picking a project on February 3 and e-mail the course coordinators at isltopics@gmail.com, and provide an informal presentation and receive validation to proceed from other participants and the faculty sponsor in the following week. In the event that two students choose the same topic, the project will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.  Project presentations will occur on March 17, 24 and March 31. Presentation dates will be assigned on February 10.

Participation and Attendance: 100% attendance and active participation is expected for all participants of the course. As a seminar that relies on contribution from small diverse group of participants, absence of one member can seriously hinder discussions and achieving group learning outcomes.  Absences will only be permitted under extreme extenuating circumstances. Therefore, unless presented with a physician’s note, absences due to illness will be considered valid.  Travel plans, appointments, and other engagements should be arranged such that they do not conflict with course attendance.

Grading Practices:
***As this is a student directed seminar, the final essay and weekly journal and response assignments will be graded by the faculty sponsor, NOT by the course coordinators.

Important Dates and Deadlines:

January 13: Journal Entry 1 due
January 20: Journal Entry 2 due
January 27: Journal Entry 3 due
February 3: Journal Entry 4 due
February 10: Journal Entry 5 due; Final Project Presentation Dates are assigned
March 3: Journal Entry 6 due; Submit Final Project Proposal to Faculty Sponsor
March 10: Journal Entry 7 due
March 17, March 24, March 31: Final Project Presentations
April 14: Hand in all completed journal entries (dated and initialled by course coordinators) and final essay.