PS
110 & PSY 112 Learning Community
Fall
2007
Prof’s
Moran and Conway
Community Project Assignment:
New Britain Election
Campaigns
Summary
Our
learning community, “Together or
alone? Community action, democracy, and
the pursuit of happiness,” focuses on participation in the community and
particularly in the democratic process.
We will examine community/democratic participation from both Political
Science and Psychological perspectives.
It is essential that we have a community experience to draw from during
the semester. You will work with either
the Republican party or the Democratic party of New Britain on mayoral and/or
city council election campaigns from early September to early November
(election day is Tuesday Nov. 6). The
exact tasks will be determined by the parties, but will likely include working
with other volunteers on general campaign work.
At
the end of the campaign (in November) you will write a 3-page essay about the
experience. The assignment will be
graded jointly by Prof’s Moran and Conway, and will be due in PS 110 on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
This
project will involve working with people from outside the CCSU community and we
expect that we will all conduct ourselves in a professional manner. You are expected to be on time for all
scheduled appointments and to conduct yourself appropriately.
The assignment will affect your grades in both PS
110 and Psy 112; the syllabus for each course explains how the project affects
your grade. Here is a brief timeline for
the assignment:
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Activity |
Date |
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1. Class presentations in PS 110 by Republican and
Democratic Parties |
1st or 2nd week of classes |
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2. Turn in Learning Contract with Decision about
Party |
Fri. Sept. 14 |
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3. Do community/democratic work |
Early Sept. through Nov. 6 (election day) |
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4. Essay due |
Wed. Nov. 14 |
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Activity
#1: Class Presentations by Republican and Democratic Parties – First or Second week of the semester
Representatives
of each party will visit PS 110. They
will talk about their parties and what they stand for. They will also discuss what goes on in a
political campaign and what activities you will be involved in. You will decide which party you want to work
with and will indicate your decision on your learning contract (see below).
Activity #2: Turn in your
completed learning contract with decision about party – by Friday Sept. 14
This project is a great way
for you to play an important role in our community. It’s also part of a college course, so it
also needs to be a learning experience.
We want you to participate in deciding what you will learn from it. On the Community Project Contract you should
state at least one learning objective for the community application
project. It should focus on the democratic process or community involvement.
For example, your learning
objective might be (these are only examples; you should come up with your
own):
1. Learn about how
a political campaign works
2. Understand
why it’s good for people to be involved in their communities
Please
come up with a learning objective of your own and write it on the contract.
Activity
#3: Completion of Community Work
Your community work will begin early in September
and continue until election day, Tues., Nov. 6.
You will be responsible for working out your schedule with whichever
political party you choose.
Activity
#4: Essay due Wednesday Nov. 14
The
main point of the essay is for you to consider what you have learned from your
community work, and to examine it from two perspectives: the political science
perspective and the psychological perspective.
The main question you should address is:
The
main focus will be “What are the benefits of political participation from both
Political Science and Psychological perspectives?” For the political science perspective you
might consider the role of individuals,
political parties and candidates in the political process. For the psychological perspective you might
consider how participation is beneficial to the individuals involved and to the
community in general.
PS 110/Psy 112 (Prof’s Moran & Conway):
Community Project Contract
Student name: _______________________ Student telephone #:
__________________
Semester:
________________________ Student
e-mail: _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Which party do you want to work with? (Check one)
______ Republican
______ Democratic
_____________________________________________________________________________
Student Learning
Objective(s): ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Read Carefully and Sign Below
By signing below I
acknowledge that I understand that I am committing to attend all scheduled
community work appointments (off campus) during the current semester at Central
Connecticut State University (CCSU); I understand that I will work with an
agency outside of CCSU and that I am acting as a representative of CCSU.
I agree to:
Student
Signature:_____________________________________ Date:______________
Print Name:
__________________________________________
PS 110/Psy 112 (Prof’s Moran & Conway):
Community Project Timesheet
Student name: _________________________________________________
Please record the times you have worked, the activities you worked on and acquire your supervisor’s signature.
|
Date |
Time In |
Time Out |
Activities Performed |
Supervisor Signature |
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Please sign below to indicate that you have completed your community project work conscientiously and with integrity.
Student Signature:______________________________________________________
Date:______________