UNIV 390 Internship Seminar: Social Justice Internship Grant Program

Spring Semester 2014

Instructor: Travis Proffitt, M.A. Location: TBD
Time: TBD E-mail: tproffi@luc.edu
Office Hours: By appointment in the Center for Experiential Learning (Sullivan 295)
Phone: 773-508-7690

Course Introduction:
This course is a seminar focusing on organizational and community leadership through the lens
of your Social Justice Internship placement at Misericordia or Catholic Charities. As a seminar
course, students will work approximately 10 hours per week (totaling 150 hours) over the course
of the semester. Students will reflect on their work experience in the context of organizational
leadership theory, civic engagement, asset-based community development, leadership in the
community and personal contribution.

Academic internships provide Loyola University Chicago students with an opportunity that is
related to this course for purposes of reflection and deeper understanding of the complex inter-
connectedness between leadership, organizations and civic-engagement as experienced through
work.

This course is an opportunity for you to engage with an organization of your choosing through
hands-on work, to connect your work experiences to the course objectives, and to find new
ways of understanding organizational development and community leadership.

This course is web-enhanced, utilizing TaskStream. You will have three assigned written
reflection assignments to complete during the semester (see syllabus description) which will be
done via TaskStream. We will discuss your internship experiences in class throughout the
session in scheduled seminar meetings, tying those experiences to our class discussions of
organizational development and community leadership.

As a member of the larger community, you will need to develop your own understanding of the
organization, through research and analysis of how it contributes to the larger community. Based
on your experience, course readings, class discussion, Blackboard readings and blog, and
building your own ePortfolio, you will have the ability to frame your own role in an organization
and community.

This course meets the Loyola University Chicago engaged learning requirement.


Course Goals:
1. Develop a context for understanding leadership theory, asset-based community
development, civic-engagement and personal development through a work experience.
2. Introduce philosophies of leadership and conceptual frameworks within organizational
leadership development theory.
3. Connect to the world of work through internship, professional learning experiences, and
classroom-based reflection on experience.
4. Foster critical thinking skills and reflective writing skills, and identify transferable skills
gained through work experience.
5. Gain an increased awareness of organizational development and its role in addressing and
responding to community issues and community development.
6. Assess their own contributions, leadership identity, leadership behavior, and civic role.

Course Requirements:
1. Attendance: Attendance at scheduled seminar meeting is mandatory (5 times over the
course of the semester). The course meets approximately once each month. If you do not
attend class you will miss essential aspects of this course and your performance will
suffer as a result. Non-Emergency based absences result in a 20% loss of points per class
missed. I will record attendance during our meetings and your grade will reflect
participation in class and attendance accordingly.
2. Readings and Media: There is 1 required text book and various supplemental readings
for this course. Readings have been selected and are deemed to be worth your time and
energy to complete. The text book is parsed into required and recommended chapters.
Required chapters will be assigned according to the syllabus and we will not always have
time to cover material in your readings. Recommended chapters are those remaining and
are recommended (but not required). It is essential that the required materials be read
BEFORE CLASS for effective class discussions, assignments, group work, and coverage
of material.

A. Course texts:
Sweitzer, H.F., & King, M.A. (2009). 3rd Ed.
The Successful Internship: Personal, Professional, and Civic Development. Cengage
Learning Publishing Co.
Required Chapters: Chapters 1-4, 5 (pages 91-96), 6, 7, 8, 10 (pages 191-204), 11, 12
(Public Relevance of Work), 14
ISBN-13: 978-0495385004/ ISBN-10: 049538500X

B. Course Videos:
Video Training Program: Mobilizing Community Assets. A downloadable training
program based on Building Communities from the Inside Out (1995).
http://www.abcdinstitute.org/resources/
Watch Video #1 & #2 (together if possible)

COURSE OUTLINE
Theme/Topic for
Discussion
Readings
(Due on this date.)
Assignments
(Due on this date.)
Class Meeting #1 Introduction to
Course
Introduction to Your
Work Experience: A
portal to leadership,
organizational
knowledge, community
development and civic
engagement.
Successful Internship
text: Chapters 1-4, 5
(pages 91-96), 6, 7, 8
Loeb: Pieces of a
Vision
Course Syllabus
Intro Reflection
Online Work Who is a community activist/figure in history who truly inspires you? Find
a compelling video online that describes that individual and share with the
group.
Class Meeting #2 Leadership
Theories and
explorations of
leadership in personal
and professional
contexts.
Successful Internship
text: Section Three,
Chapters 10 11
(pp.191-204)
Caldwell and Dixon:
Love, Forgiveness,
and Trust: Critical
Values of the Modern
Leader
Kouzes and Posner:
Introducing the Five
Practices and
Leadership is a
Relationship
Written Reflection A
Leadership Profile
Internship Learning
Agreement

Online Work Find an example of a community which overcame a great obstacle(s).
Perhaps its a news clip, an article, or other media, but share with the group
that story and WHY you think this community was able to rise above its
obstacle(s).
Class Meeting #3 Asset-Based
Community
Video from ABCD
Institute (#1 & #2)
Written Reflection B
Asset-Mapping
Development
Understanding the
approach with
individuals,
communities, and our
work.

Kretzmann and
McKnight:
Introduction to Asset
Mapping; The
Capacity Inventory;
How to Use the
Capacity Inventory
Assignment
Online Work Theres a long history of using music to advance social movements. Find a
song (preferably one that you enjoy listening to) that has been used to
organize, motivate, or mobilize a group of people around a political or social
issue. Share that song with the group and describe how the lyrics were
instrumental (pun very much intended) as a tool for social change.
Class Meeting #4 Civic Engagement
What does it mean to
participate in the life of
a community? What
influences/prevents our
participation?
Successful Internship
text: Chapters 12
(Public Relevance of
Work) & 14
Tocqueville:
Selections from
Democracy in
America
Du Bois: Selections
from The Souls of Black
Folk
Frost: Mending Wall
Written Reflection C
Online Work Take this time to electronically workshop with your classmates as you
develop your ePortfolio. Share your work as you go, seek their input, and
utilize resources they may share as you prepare for your final presentations.
Class Meeting #5 ePortfolio
Presentations of
Learning
Final ePortfolio




Course Assignments:
Written Reflections: General Considerations
It is expected that you will write a reflection on your experiences regarding your internship
experiences. Research indicates that as students reflect on their internship experiences, then
students help make their experiences more meaningful. Your Successful Internship text will also
encourage self-reflection throughout your experience in this course. You will need to write four
reflections. The first of which will be turned in during class, with the remaining three labeled in
TaskStream as Reflection A, B, and C. I will be grading your reflection assignments with
comments via TaskStream, so be sure to look for comments/grades within TaskStream.
Please be aware that the following components will be expected in your reflections:
Description [What?]: Describe your experience.
Analysis [So What?]: What does this experience mean? What does it tell you about the
organization? Analyze your experience.
Critical Reflection [Now What?]: What impact does your role have at the organization?
What organizational needs are you fulfilling? What needs in the community are you
addressing?
Reflections need to be typed, double-spaced with proper grammar and punctuation in a Word
document (minimum of 2 pages, more likely 3 4 pages) in the first person. Do NOT write your
reflection within a frame of the ePortfolio application, it must be in Word. Try to write your
reflections immediately after your work experience (or soon after) so that you are able to
authentically describe your experience. Just use your authentic voice in your reflectionsyou
are the author of your own reflections, just as you are the author of your own education.
As you reflect on each of your experiences and respond to the reflection questions, please
let the following statements guide the way you write your reflection:
1. You are experiencing your work, employer and organizational culture, not me. As the
reader of your work, I need you to be descriptive in your reflections. Assume I do not
know anything about what you are doing or where you are working.
2. Be mindful of the over use of pronouns when describing an exchange or experience at
work. The he said or she said is quickly lost on the reader that might not know who
he and she are within the context of your story.
3. Our culture is currently experiencing an extreme surge of casual communication. Please
be careful not to write your reflections as if they are social media updates or text
messages. This is a formal piece of writing.
4. Reflections can be very versatile pieces of writing. You can make a point, ask more
questions (that may or may not ever be answered), express feelings or just document an
experience and or precise reflection on it.
5. It is always better to write 2 engaged, thoughtful pages that clearly reflect your reading of
the articles and/or text books rather than 4 pages of superficial analysis.

Written Reflection Assignments:
1. Intro Reflection GETTING STARTED AND DEVELOPING A VISION: Now in
your second semester of the internship program, youve had many experiences and,
hopefully, already gained valuable insights about larger social issues, organizational
theories, and your own vocational aspirations. This course is intended to encourage you
to think about the next steps for your personal and professional development. As we
discussed in the fall (remember back to reading The Justice Circle), if no new growth
occurs, if no plan of action develops as a result of this experience, then we have failed.
PART I Describe how you plan to make the second semester of your internship
increasingly challenging and transformative for your personal development and for the
organization itself. What new responsibilities might you want to take on and what new
learning might you want to experience? Outline, as detailed as possible, your plan to
further challenge your intellectual, emotional, and social learning in the second semester
of the internship. Additionally, describe the ways in which you see your organization
growing or benefitting as a result.
PART II To expand the conversation and to set the stage for the rest of this course,
reflect upon Paul Loebs Pieces of a Vision. What, for you, makes up a good
society? To revisit a question we explored at the beginning of the fallWhat does
social justice look like in a community? What values inform that definition for you?
What systems or structures need to be in place in a good society? What is your vision for
the communities in which you do/will live and work?
2. Reflection A --YOUR LIFE & LEADERSHIP CONTEXT: Your work experience,
whether it is in an internship or student employment position, at a company, community
partner or University, has started and every time you are there, you are learning and
developing. Lets focus on where you are today and what youve witnessed thus far.
PART I Your Work Experience:
Based on your reading of The Successful Internship, review your life context as described
in Chapter 2 which components of "Your Life Context" (pages 24-28) seem to be assets
for you as you begin your work and which may be liabilities? Explain your answer with
examples and evidence. How would you define "Your Support Systems" (page 26-28) at
this time?

PART II - Leadership Styles & Theories:
Reflect on your experiences at work this past week (what you witnessed, what you were
asked to do, what went well, what did not go well, etc.) Based on our readings and
discussion of leadership:
a) What values and styles of leadership do you see at your site?
b) How do you and any co-workers respond to the one or various styles of leadership that
you see at play in your organization?


3. Reflection B ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: After reading the
ABCD Institute articles, along with reading The Successful Internships emphasis on
civic development, focus on the importance of leadership and developing organizations
of greater and enduring capacity (i.e. community building).
PART I-- How does your organization or your leadership foster (or not foster) a culture
of assessment, is it on assets or deficits or both? How are both valued at your
organization?

PART II From the ABCD Toolkit, what community building principles do you see
being utilized at your organization? Which are missing? What might be a strategy to
incorporate ONE of the missing principles into the work of your organization?

PART III How is your work contributing to your understanding of community
development? If it is not, how could it be?

4. Reflection C CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: What does it mean to be civically engaged
and how are you exploring this topic in your internship experience, in your experience at
Loyola, and even beyond? Lets dig deeper

PART I Reflect upon Alexis de Tocquevilles assessment of American associations,
their purpose, and importance in society. To what formal and informal associations do
you belong, how did you come to belong, and how is your life organized around those?
How do your individual and collective associations contribute to society?

PART II After reading The Souls of Black Folk and The Mending Wall, reflect
upon your own understanding of what it is that might prevent people from associating,
that is, from being civically engaged with one another. What prevents YOU from
associating, organizing, and working towards the vision for a just society you outlined in
an earlier reflection? Then, outline three concrete actions you can take in order to create,
in the words of du Bois, the union of intelligence and sympathy necessary for
meaningful engagement in your personal and civic relationships.

Leadership Profile Assignment: Finding real-life examples of effective leaders is important for
two reasons: 1) they can help us analyze our own leadership styles and practices and 2) they can
serve as personal and professional mentors. Identify an individual at your organization that you
would describe as an effective leader and ask to have 30 minutes to interview them. In your
interview find out the following:
a. Their own leadership story: who/what were their influences, pivotal moments, etc
b. Their understandings of effective leadership: what qualities do they find necessary
c. Their advice for emerging leaders: valuable lessons, cautions, etc
Then, write a 2-3 page profile on this individual. In addition to the information gathered from
your interview, please reflect on that person and our readings on leadership theory (i.e. Kouzes
and Posner, et al.). What qualities do you see exhibited? What other leadership qualities do you
find valuable in that individual that we may not have read about? You will upload this
assignment onto your ePortfolio as well as present it in class.


Asset-Mapping Assignment: Pick a neighborhood in Chicago. With a combination of online
and on the ground research, you will identify the asset/capacities of that neighborhood and
create a map. Perhaps you want to explore what child-care services are offered in Edgewater.
What are resources for the elderly in Humboldt Park? Whatever your interest/question is, you
will identify assets/resources in that neighborhood and create a map showing those. Utilizing
resources from Kretzmann and McKnight, develop a one-page action plan that might
demonstrate how these community assets could address a particular issue of concern for area
citizens. Your asset map will be presented in class.

Final Engaged Learning Reflection: In this project, you will connect your internship
experiences to your coursework as well as build your professional portfolio. It is a compilation
of your internship experience and course readings, as well as your opportunity to connect it to
some of the themes we emphasized in class, in course readings, and in your own understanding
of organizational leadership, and your role in the community. You will be expected to address all
of these areas in your electronic portfolio. The goal of this assignment is to SYNTHESIZE: for
you to reflect on your work experience, connect it to the course themes of leadership and civic
engagement. This final reflection has THREE COMPONENTS:

1. Multimedia Presentation: You will need to create an artifact for your ePortfolio
that demonstrates how this experience has influenced your professional/educational
goals. You have the option to choose any format for this presentation. Options may
include but are not limited to: PowerPoint or Prezi presentations, videos, or audio
recordings. High quality artifacts will fully respond to the prompt and scale is left to
your discretion.
2. Final Written Reflection: In 5 pages, reflect upon your overall internship
experience, course readings and discussions, and provide at least three tangible
examples which demonstrates your growth in understanding leadership development,
community development practice, and civic engagement. Additionally, identify at
least three new skills you have developed over the experience and how you plan to
utilize those in the future.
3. Building Your ePortfolio: In addition to your other assignments, your ePortfolio
will need to include the following:
a. Organization/Position Description describe your organization and the role
you have within it.
b. Professional resume.
c. Evidence of your leadership involvement in student organizations, campus
committees, athletics, leadership programs, service experiences, employment
opportunities, or other examples OR your participation in Civically focused
activities or organization






Grade Distribution:
Participation (includes online work) (10 points) 10%
Completion of 300 hours and evaluation (25 points) 25%
Leadership Profile (10 points) 10%
Asset-Mapping Project (10 points) 10%
Written Reflections (3 at 5pts=15 pts) 15%
Final Electronic Portfolio (30 points) 30%

Academic Integrity Policy:
Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Plagiarism of any form will be reported
to the Dean of Students and the student will automatically receive a failing grade for the
course. Producing forged or manufactured documents also will result in the same punishment.

The minimum consequence for academic dishonesty is an F on the assignment. However, the
Center for Experiential Learning staff and Loyola University Chicago reserves the right to
enforce the most extreme consequences, including, but not limited to expulsion from the major
or the university. Dishonest behaviors include but are not limited to using research material
without properly referencing source material and using proper citations. Being naive or
uninformed about how to cite sources is no excuse. If you are unsure about proper use of
references, see someone at the Learning Assistance Center and/or consult an APA or MLA
handbook. For more information,
visit: http://www.luc.edu/academics/catalog/undergrad/reg_academicintegrity.shtml