UN IVERS I TY of INDIANAPOLIS ⓇPre-Planning for Service-

Learning: Creative Strategies for Expanding Students’

Perspectives

Anne Mejia-Downs PT, MPHAssociate Professor Physical TherapyJulie Gahimer, PT, HSDProfessor of Physical Therapy

International Symposium on Service-Learning (ISSL 2015)Friday, May 29, 2015 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Introduction

Assist Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students develop a deeper appreciation for diverse populations, as many of the clients we serve are financially disadvantaged

Workshop Objectives

Participants of this session will:

Describe pre-service learning strategies designed to broaden students’ personal and societal perspectives

Identify available tools for educating students about low-resourced populations

Explain how students’ perspectives about poverty were changed with pre-service learning strategies

Purpose

To increase the understanding of poverty, we implemented pedagogical techniques

to bring the realities of poverty into our service-learning course.

Session FormatExplanation of 3 Strategies

Pre-Packaged Poverty Simulation

Enlisting community members who have experienced poverty

Using online poverty resources for group activities

POVERTY SIMULATION

Strategy #1

Strategy # 1 The Poverty Simulation

This guided experience exposes participants to realities of poverty, including challenges of navigating the complex world of government services and other essential service providers.During the simulation, participants assume the roles of different family members facing poverty.The task for each family is to provide basic necessities and shelter, while balancing the requirements of various service providers with the realities of daily life.

The Poverty SimulationVolunteer staffers from the Bridges/Circles® Coalition of Greater Indianapolis, an anti-poverty initiative made up of representatives from The Julian Center and Community Action of Greater Indianapolis.

The Poverty SimulationHelps participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month

It is a simulation, not a game.

The objective is to sensitize participants to the realities faced by people who are financially disadvantaged.

The Poverty Simulation50 to 75 participants assume the roles of up to 26 different families facing povertyParticipant’s roles:– Newly unemployed– Recently deserted by the “breadwinner”– Recipients of TANF– Disabled– Senior citizen receiving Social Security

The task of the “families” is to provide for basic necessities and shelter during the course of four 15-minute “weeks”.

The Poverty SimulationTwo to three hours:– Introduction and briefing– Actual simulation exercise– Debriefing period for participants and

volunteer staffers to share reactions and experiences

Several thousands of people have participated in the simulation and found it to be powerful and often enlightening.

Poverty Simulation Video Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fMA6qAQnzU&feature=related

Reactions from Students

• "I had no idea the stress that having only limited resources and money could cause."

• "Thought provoking, I needed this." • "Stressful! Confusing! It helps with understanding [life in

poverty] but you really can only know if you live it day to day."

• "Amazing what empathy and compassion sixty minutes of simulation creates."

• "It was very realistic and gave insight into the constant frustration and choices between bad and worse."

• "[As a result of this experience] I will be more conscious, more empathetic, more of an advocate."

USING COMMUNITY MEMBERSStrategy #2

Strategy #2Using Community Members

Clients from Circles of Support were invited to the classroom

1. Smarties Activity2. Cliff Effect Discussion3. Laundry Basket4. Shared personal stories of bridging out of poverty

1. Smarties Activity

Activity to make choices about how to spend limited amount of money (represented by Smarties candies)

Students work in pairs to distribute their “income” among housing needs, utilities, food, transportation, and other necessities

2. The Cliff Effect

Occurs when a person who is in poverty has an increase in income, and in turn, loses other benefitsIncreased income seems positive, however, increased income can lead to loss of benefits (child care subsidy or medical benefits)There are many such “cliffs”; it may appear that individuals in poverty “just don’t want to work hard and get ahead.”

3. Laundry Basket ActivityStudents were asked to imagine someone who has very few resources: low-paying job, no family nearby, trying to stay off welfare, and no good family role model.– Single mother with 2 children—a daughter in

elementary school and a son who is a toddler– Overwhelmed by all of life’s struggles, having

trouble keeping up with everything.

3. Laundry Basket ActivityTasks she needs to do:– Cook meals for family (pan)– Take daughter to soccer

(soccer ball)– Take Math course to work

on her GED (textbook)– Read to her toddler (book)– Do laundry at Laundromat

(laundry basket)– Clean house (broom)– Home repair (duct tape)– Car repair (motor oil)

• She really does look overwhelmed.

• Now we are going to try to take some of the load off of this single mother, so she can keep working at her job and on her GED. Is there anything you can do for her?

• Take the item that you can help her with. How does she look now?

4. Personal Stories of Poverty• Clients from Circles of Support® shared their

personal stories of “bridging out of poverty” • Many discussed tough choices they made with

limited income• Used examples of the “cliff effect” in their

lives, and how individuals from Circles of Support® helped them

• Students shared how these stories impacted their view of poverty and the working poor

USING ONLINE RESOURCESStrategy #3

Strategy #3Using Online Resources

1. Poverty Quiz

2. Spent Activity

3. Dollar a Day

4. Videos

5. Six Hats Discussion

1. “Poverty Quiz”

10 Minute QUIZ: What do you know about poverty in America?

• Number of Americans on food stamps • Unemployment rate for African-Americans • Income, class, race • Number of people living in poverty • Percentage of that population working full time• Child poverty rate in America

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/quiz-what-do-you-know-about-poverty-america

2. “Spent Activity”Interactive website that places user in poverty situation due to loss of job Challenges user to make important choices across a broad set of contingencies of how to allocate their funds (housing, food, child care, and transportation)Students expressed surprise at how desperate they became, and even engaged in unlawful activity

http://playspent.org/

3. “One Dollar a Day”

2013 Documentary follows the experience of four friends as they live on < $1 a day for two months in rural Guatemala. They battle hunger, parasites and the realization that there are no easy answers.

Public Broadcast Service (PBS) Video

4. Videos: PBS

4. Videos: TED Talks

4. Videos: Why Poverty ?

5. Six Hats Discussion(CJ Bonk)

Students wear hats to classThey are assigned a colored tag to pin to their hats (each color represented in each discussion group).They portray the colors’ attributes during the discussion.

5. Six Hats DiscussionColors:

– Red: feelings, emotions, rage

– Green: new ideas, creativity, growth

– Yellow: positive, optimistic

– White: data, facts, information (neutral)

– Black: logical, negative, gloomy

– Blue: controls group process, organization, summarize

Discussion Points:– Red: “poverty is terrible,

no one cares”– Green: “better ideas for

affordable housing”– Yellow: “some states are

doing a great job”– White: “the poverty stats

are worse this year”– Black: “there’s nothing we

can do about this”– Blue: “so here are the

major points”

ConclusionStudents were able to:

Consider a broad range of perspectives—personal, community, and policy

Recognize biases and stereotypes

Link the service-learning experience to a broader context in society

How To Organize Resources: “Diigo”

Resources1. Poverty Simulation: http://www.communityaction.org/Poverty%20Simulation.aspx2. The Poverty Quiz http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/quiz-what-do-you-know-about-poverty-america3. Spent Simulation http://playspent.org/4. Living on One Dollar http://livingonone.org/5. TED Talk- The Hidden Reason for Poverty the World Needs to Address Now http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_haugen_the_hidden_reason_for_poverty_the_world_needs_to_address_now6. Why Poverty? http://www.whypoverty.net/about-us/project/7. Why Poverty? List of Filmshttp://www.whypoverty.net/films/