LHRD 4723 – Advanced Leadership Development Service-Learning Project & Presentation

Journal Questions

Students are required to write a periodic journal. Select two questions from each category below. The remaining four questions are to be selected at your discretion. Students are encouraged to submit more than twelve journal entries, but this is not a mandate. These journal entries are to be turned in with the final service-learning portfolio at the end of the semester. BELOW ARE THE QUESTIONS YOU MUST CHOOSE FROM.

Issue-focused questions:

1. Why is there a need for your service?
2. What do you perceive as the underlying issue, and why does it exist?
3. What social, economic, political and educational systems are maintaining and perpetuating it?
4. What can you do with the knowledge you gained from the experience to promote change?
5. How has your orientation to or opinion about this issue changed through the service-learning experience?
6. What would it take to positively impact the situation (from the level of individuals, communities, education and government)

Self-focused questions:

1. In what ways are you finding your involvement with your service program difficult? What have you found that help us you follow through despite the difficulties you encounter?
2. What personal qualities (e.g. leadership, communication skills, compassion, etc.) have you developed through service-learning? In what ways do you anticipate these qualities will help you in the future? To help others in the future?
3. How would you motivate others to become involved in service-experiences? What would you say to them?
4. What contributions can you bring to this field from your service experience?

Course focused questions:

1. How does the service experience relate to class material?
2. Did the experience contradict or reinforce class material?
3. How did course material help you overcome obstacles or dilemmas in the service experience?
4. What aspects of your learning may have been due to your service experience?

Additional reflection questions:

1. Why do you do service? For self-interest or altruism?
2. Describe the people you met at the service site.
3. Name three things that stuck in your mind about the service experience.
4. Describe the atmosphere of the service site.
5. Describe some of your interactions.
6. Are you different when you left the service location compared to when you entered? If so, how?
7. What did the “body language” of the people tell you?
8. How did the people’s responses make you feel?
9. How did the service site make you feel (compared to other identifiable places)?
10. What brings people to the service site (both people seeking service and the volunteers)?
11. Are “strangers” welcomed at the service site? Why or why not?
12. How are you similar/different to the others (others in your service group? others seeking service? etc.)
13. In what ways did being different help/hinder the group?
14. What have you learned about yourself?
15. If you were one of the people receiving services, what would you think of yourself?
16. How does this experience compare to others you’ve had?
17. What connections do you see between this experience and what you’ve learned in your college courses?
18. How has your service contributed to your growth in any of these areas: civic responsibility, political consciousness, professional development, spiritual fulfillment, social understanding, and/or intellectual pursuit?
19. What have you learned about a particular community or societal issue?
20. How did this experience challenge your assumptions and stereotypes?
21. Do you think these people (or situations) are unique? Why or why not?
22. Who determines what’s best for the community?
23. Describe what a typical day might be like for someone who uses the service of the organization where you worked.
24. How would you do this differently if you were in charge?
25. What was the best/worst/most challenging thing that happened?
26. Did you feel like a part of the community in which you were working?
27. How do you define community?
28. Describe an internal or external conflict that has surfaced for you during your service work. Explain the factors that contribute to it and how you might resolve or cope with the conflict.
29. Discuss a social problem that you have come in contact with during your service work. What do you think are the root causes of this problem? Explain how your service may or may not contribute to its alleviation.
30. What could this group do to address the problems we saw at the service site?
31. How can society better deal with the problem?
32. How can this experience apply to the situations in your life?

STRUCTURE OF THE SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Your Service-Learning Final Portfolio must include the following elements and answer the questions below. Each section of your paper should be labeled with the corresponding heading in bold.

• Cover Page: See Figure 1 Below
• Journal Entries: Provide a minimum of 12, half page, journal entries written throughout the semester. Each journal entry must be dated.
• Journal Entry Reflection: In addition, provide a page and half (minimum) answer to the following questions:
• What are three take-aways from this project? You are not limited to three but must provide at least three.
• In what specific capacity did you lead?
• Leadership Questionnaires: Along with the completed questionnaires, provide a half page summary and reflection for each of the 12 leadership questionnaires
• Leadership Questionnaires Reflection: Provide a page and a half (minimum) answer the following questions:
• What are three strengths and three weaknesses you possess as a leader? You are not limited to three each but must provide at least three.
• What have you learned about yourself?
• Contribution to Society: Provide a two page (minimum) answer the following questions:
• How does your service-learning project contribute to society? Ex. Does it contribute to the city of Baton Rouge? Does it contribute to a specific demographic, religious, civic, or minority group? Be very specific and thoughtful in your answer.
• What impact have the past three courses had on you as a leader in particular? Think of your career after LSU. Think of the supervisors, coaches, teachers and professors you’ve had over the years. What have they done right? What have they done wrong? What have you learned? What type of leader to you want to become?

Attatch below are the questionaires, you dont have the actually do them just read them and give an reflection on them, following the directions above.