96727 - Service Learning

Academic Year 2024/2025

  • Teaching Mode: Blended Learning
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Specialized translation (cod. 9174)

    Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Specialized translation (cod. 9174)

Learning outcomes

The student knows the theoretical principles and the methods of service learning; s/he is able to critically reflect on her/his own learning process and her/his role as citizen; s/he is able to collaborate in a team for the provision of language services to the community, fully complying with ethical and professional standards.

Course contents

The course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the theoretical and practical principles of service learning in the field of translation. Through active and reflective engagement, students will learn to critically reflect on their own learning process and their role as citizens. Additionally, they will develop skills for teamwork, providing language services to the community while adhering to professional and ethical standards. The course is designed to integrate curricular objectives, address extra-academic needs, and encourage structured and continuous reflection. Students will have the opportunity to:

  • Enhance their professional skills in socially useful contexts;
  • Develop a sense of community and social responsibility;
  • Enrich their learning experience through concrete and situated experiences;
  • Practice structured and continuous critical reflection.

Under the guidance of the instructor and with the support of tutors, students will manage the activities of IN.TRA, a pro-bono language service provider established within the Department of Interpreting and Translation during the academic year 2020/21. Throughout the course, students will delve into the principles of service learning, exploring objectives, characteristics, quality standards, and evaluation tools. The team will be responsible for all stages of service delivery and will be divided into working groups as needed (project management, translation and revision, terminology and social media management, training).

The course is structured into 5 thematic areas:

  1. Introduction to Service Learning and principles of active citizenship
  2. Reflective writing methods
  3. IN.TRA and community partners
  4. Project implementation
  5. Critical reflection and final evaluation

Readings/Bibliography

To support their learning process, students will be invited to read excerpts from the following texts:

  • Ash, Sarah L. and Clayton, Patti H. (2009). “Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning”. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education 1: 25-48. Online: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1188550.pdf
  • Council of Europe (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture. Vol. 1. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
  • Federici, Federico, O’Hagan, Minako, O’Brien, Sharon, Cadwell, Patrick (2019). “Crisis translation training challenges arising from new contexts of translation”. Cultus 12: 246-279.
  • O’Brien, Sharon and Federici, Federico (2022). Translating crises. London: Bloomsbury.
  • Taibi, Mustapha (ed.) (2018). Translating for the Community. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Further readings will be shared during the course.

Teaching methods

The teaching method combines service learning with experiential, collaborative, and situated learning. Through service learning, students develop active citizenship skills by reflecting on practical experiences of civic engagement within the community. The situated collaborative approach, which focuses on problem analysis and solution as well as group work, promotes active learning and valorises the skills acquired in the individual modules of the programme, applying them in the context of ethical professional experiences.

Assessment methods

Students' learning will be evaluated:

  • Continuously, through reflective journals and self-assessment tests, which will be analyzed and discussed with the instructor;
  • at the end of the course, through a portfolio of completed tasks and a structured report (up to 1000 words) in which students will critically reflect on the skills and abilities they have acquired.

Depending on the activities carried out, project partners may also evaluate the team's work through a satisfaction survey.

The course requires a passing grade based on active participation and the completion of the agreed-upon activities.

Teaching tools

The seminar-style lessons will be held in a lab equipped with PCs and a projector. Specific software will be used for hands-on project work as required. The PDF presentations provided by the instructor will be made available via Moodle/Virtuale.

Given the activities and teaching methods in this course, all students must have attended modules 1 and 2 of the 'safety in the workplace' course upon entering it.

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Bernardini

SDGs

No poverty Reduced inequalities Sustainable cities Partnerships for the goals

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.