How do we re-imagine conferences to ensure they maximize opportunities to learn from one another, contribute, and build new networks and alliances? Many of the conveners behind the upcoming International Service-Learning Summit at Duke have been working on just that.

By Patrick Eccles and Paul Arnston, Northwestern University  

Building on the success of highly participative breakout sessions at our previous summit at Northwestern, the ISL Summit at Duke will include two case study sessions that will provide an applied setting for attendees to share their knowledge, experience and perspectives with one another as they engage in critical conversations about student learning and community impact through global service learning (GSL) .

Case Study Sessions

The case study sessions at the ISL Summit have a dual purpose:

• To help build a community of practice among summit participants.
• To share practical examples of effective practice and reciprocal engagement.

Case Study Format:

Case studies will introduce conference participants to examples of effective practice in terms of both program models and community partnerships. The two case study activities at the Summit will address outcomes related to student learning and community impact.

Group Process:

Each conference attendee will participate in two case study group sessions.  They will analyze a different case study during each session and the groups will be mixed across sessions.  For each case study, the groups will identify up to three of the most effective practices in the case and up to three constructive suggestions for improvement.

In order for the group sessions to be inclusive, creative, efficient, and effective, we propose the following decision-making process:

1. Before each case study session, participants will each be given four large post-it notes to write down the two most effective practices that emerge from the case study and suggestions for improvements. More post-it notes will be available if participants change their minds during the session.
2. When the participants arrive at the group session room, they will immediately place their four post-it notes on the wall. Practices that are similar will be placed close together.
3. After the group has read all the post-it notes, the group facilitator will point to each post-it note and ask if it needs clarification, maintaining a firewall between idea clarification and idea evaluation (max 30 seconds per post-it note). The notes may be re-clustered after the clarification phase.
4. When the group is reasonably satisfied with how the notes have been combined, the facilitator will ask if there are any other issues that should be added now that everyone has seen the array of issues/practices and recommendations on the wall. If so they should be added to the wall.
5. Then the group will converge on what they think are the three most important effective practices as well as recommendations for possible improvements. Individual post-it notes, not selected as one of the top three issues may also be placed on the group’s poster board for additional consideration.

We are proposing this process so that every participant’s issues have an equal opportunity to be heard, clarified if necessary, and then considered for inclusion into the group’s final three practices and recommendations.  The groups’ decisions will be posted so that all the participants can see each group’s identification of best practices and suggestions for improvement.

Patrick Eccles serves as Assistant Director of Northwestern University’s Center for Global Engagement. Prior to joining CGE, Patrick spent seven years working to expand and deepen experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students while coordinating local, domestic and international immersion experiences at Loyola University Chicago.

Professor Paul Arntson is the Alumnae of Northwestern University Teaching Professor of Speech Communication Studies, fellow at the Buehler Center on Aging at Northwestern’s McGaw Medical Center and faculty associate at the University’s Institute for Policy Research. Arntson serves on the faculty of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD) and is on the steering committee of the Center for Civic Engagement. He joined the Northwestern University faculty in 1974, serving as the chair of the Communication Studies Department for six years. Arntson’s research includes understanding communities, civic responsibility and the connections between organizations.