Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) International Conference on Engaged

Scholarship

Theme: Boundary SpanningEngaged Scholarship Across Disciplines,

Communities & GeographyOctober 7–9, 2013

Texas Tech University

Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, Vice President for Community Affairs

GUNi 6th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education

May 13–15, 2013

Let’s Build Transformative Knowledge to Drive Social Change

Enlarging the Conception of KnowledgeChair: Cristina Escriagas, Spain; Claudio Naranjo, Chile; Francois Vallaeys, France; Jesus Granados, Spain; Lean Chan, Malaysia; Manuel Ramiro Monoz, Colombia; Paul Wangoola, Uganda

Enlarging the Conception of Knowledge in the Context of Traditional Research

Knowledge based on perspectives, culture, and experiences of non-academics are often discounted by scholars because that knowledge: •Has not been acquired and validated through established processes associated with the academy.

•May be difficult to incorporate into research accepted by the academy.

•May not significantly contribute to the reputation of the researcher or the institution.

Enlarging the Conception of Knowledge When valued and utilized, community partner knowledge can:

•Provide a more complete perspective and more informed scholarship on the area being researched.

•Lead to scholarship that improves the lives of the community partners involved in the research.

•Contribute to the discovery of new knowledge that benefits the research, the community, the institution, and society.

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Enlarging the Conception of Knowledge

Dr. Andrew Furco, associate vice president and service-learning authority at the University of Minnesota, speaking at the GUNi 6th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education in a session focusing on successful community-university partnerships.

“Community Engagement is the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in the context of

partnership.” -Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of

Teaching

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Differences in Traditional and Engaged Scholarship

Traditional

•Breaks new ground •Answers significant questions•Peer reviewed•Grounded in theory•Advances disciplinary knowledge

Engaged

•Breaks new ground and has direct application to broader public issues•Answers significant questions relevant to public or community issues.•Reviewed and validated by qualified peers in the discipline and community.•Theoretically and practically grounded.

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Success Stories from the Field of Healthcare: Patient Engagement

• Through translational research, the medical field has led the way in engaged research at home and abroad. Involving patients and family members in clinical and administration results in an improved healthcare experience.

• Beverly Johnson, President and CEO of the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care: “Patients do bring an important perspective … innovation needs lots of voices.” She quotes Dr. Gordon Harvieux, Duluth, MN physician: “We have four parent partners on our advisory committee. They come to the table with us every two weeks.” A healthcare plan patients helped write is … “the single most important thing that will keep patients out of the … hospital.”

Success Stories: Amplifying Youth Voice

•Society looks to youth for civic engagement tools. Empowered youth share their perspectives, help create strong communities, and governmental and community organizations benefit.

•In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, University and high school youth, led by their teachers and professors, helped Tuscaloosa recover from the 2011 tornado. And, like so often is NOT the case, those lessons have been converted into scholarly works for the future.

•“… young people engage and mobilize when they can link civic activities to other interests. …links forged between traditionally accepted civic goals (“wish to help”) and experiences more closely associated with participatory culture (“shared media experiences” and “sense of community”) provide important insights into how [participatory civic] organizations mobilize youth to care about, and take action around, civic issues” (Kligler-Vilenchik & Shresthova, 2012).

•By “building communities, telling stories, and producing media,” young people use their collective voice to positively influence others within their home communities and around the world.

Success Stories from STEM: Engaging Teachers and Learners in Engaged Scholarship through Maker Spaces

• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) is powerfully connected to engaged scholarship. Connecting STEM knowledge to daily life motivates teachers and learners. At The University of Alabama we have injected STEM with Entrepreneurship into school and extracurricular activities.

• Makerspace is one example. Griffith and Dougherty (2013): They come in all shapes and sizes. Serve as a gathering point for tools, projects, mentors and expertise. New tools for making, digital design, and fabrication are emerging, we’re working together — with teachers and community leaders — to place those tools into the hands of a wider audience. We’re building the infrastructure for more kids and adults to connect to a future in which they can personally change, modify or “hack” the physical world, creating things that were nearly impossible just a few years ago. Making is about getting hands-on, personally meaningful work.”

• “… in the same way U.S. companies studied the secrets of the Japanese manufacturers decades ago, the institutions around us should look to the maker movement for tips on how to create an ecosystem of talent, connections, and learning …” (Dougherty, 2012)

Conclusion The GUNi conference presented

an opportunity to experience and better comprehend the

international scope of engaged scholarship and its ability to

enlarge the concept of knowledge in ways that help to build a new reality for humanity and for the

planet.

References

Balazs, C. (2013). The three Rs: How community-based participatory research strengthens the rigor, relevance, and reach of science. Environmental Justice 6(1), 9–16. Chang, S. (2013). Pilot profile: Piner High School makers. Makerspace. Retrieved from http://makerspace.com/maker-news/pilot-profile-piner-high-school-makers, October 1, 2013. Dougherty, D. (2012). The maker movement. Innovations 7(3), 11–14. Fitzgerald, H.E., Burack, C., & Seifer, S.D. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of engaged scholarship: Contemporary landscapes, future directions, Volume 1: Institutional Change. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. Fitzgerald, H.E., Burack, C., & Seifer, S.D. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of engaged scholarship: Contemporary landscapes, future directions, Volume 2: Community-campus partnerships. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. Hull, G., Stornaiuolo, A., & Sahni, U. (2010). Cultural citizenship and cosmopolitan practice: Global youth communicate online. English Education 42(4), 331–367. Honey, M., & Kanter, D.E. (Eds.). (2013). Design, make, play: Growing the next generation of STEM innovators. New York: Routledge. 

 

References (continued)

Johnson, B. (2013) Kligler-Vilenchik, N., & Shresthova, S. (2012). Learning through practice: Participatory culture civics: A case study report working paper. Media, Activism and Participatory Politics Project Civic Paths, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Oct 2, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2013 from http://dmlcentral.net/sites/dmlcentral/files/resource_files/learning_through_practice_kligler-shresthova_oct-2-2012.pdf. Peery, A.I., & Kolasa, K.M. (2011). Mini-med school: Developing partnerships with the community and between health professions and students. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 4(2), 61–66. Post, D.M., Kundt, F.S, Mehl, E., Hudson, W.A., Stone, L.C., & Banks, F.R. (2009). Twenty years of experience in service-learning at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 2(1), 18–30. Thomas, A. (2012). Engaging students in the STEM classroom through “making.” Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/user/186317, October 1, 2013.