Running head: POWER AND PRIVILEGE

Power and Privilege: The Development of Service-Learning Modules

Nikki Jarvis, Hallie Moberg, & Jon Merrill
Loyola University Chicago

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Creating service-learning modules for Marquette University was both a difficult and
exciting process. The concepts of power and privilege are prevalent in all social interactions.
However, these concepts are illusive and can be difficult to grasp. In creating these servicelearning modules for undergraduate students, our group focused on creating highly engaging
learning activities that would help students connect these concepts to their personal experiences
as well as their service-learning program. We utilized several of our course authors in order to
create significant learning experiences. The following reflection will examine how we connected
and used existing literature in order to create these modules.
Pre-Service Modules
There were three overarching goals in developing the pre-service modules. The first goal
was for students to begin to reflect on their current understanding of power and privilege. This
was accomplished by requiring students to connect their current understanding of these concepts
to personal examples. The second goal was for students to examine their understanding in light
of existing literature. Such literature included excerpts from Peggy McIntosh's "Unpacking the
Invisible Knapsack". Ideally, through connecting their current understanding to these works,
they would be able to add depth to their understanding of the concepts of power and privilege.
The final goal was for students to begin to think forward and explore how these concepts might
impact their service-learning experience. Through this activity, students would hopefully begin
their service-learning experience with a solid understanding of power and privilege as well as an
ability to identify when these issues may arise. Each goal was rooted in Fink's (2003) taxonomy
of significant learning. The first goal targets the human dimension of learning which "gives
students a new understanding of themselves" as well as allows them to "...acquire a better
understanding of others" (p. 36). The second goals targets integration which focuses on making

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and understanding connections between different things (Fink, 2003). Specifically, students
were tasked with making connections between the personal examples they previously articulated
to scholarly literature or peer discussions. The final goal connects to Finks taxonomy of
application. Fink described application as learning where students "engage in some new kind
of action which may be intellectual, physical, and social" (p. 36). In these modules, students
learned how to critically examine their surroundings in order to identifying how issues of power
and privilege arise. Finally, Fink theorized that by integrating multiple types of learning
taxonomies, "it be possible to create some interaction effects and synergy that greatly enhance
the achievement of significant learning by students" (p. 38). In other words, through
incorporating more types of learning taxonomies, one will be able to create a more powerful and
significant learning experience.
Mid-Service Modules
In creating the mid-service modules, the use of backward design to achieve an integrated
learning experience was key. In this process, it was particularly important that we first design
learning outcomes for each of the modules. Nilson (2010) stated that, outcomes centered
course design guarantees a high level of student engagement because the process steers you
towards student-active teaching strategies (p. 18). As previously stated, the focus of our
modules was on understanding power and privilege; in order to complete this objective active
learning was key. Due to the online nature of the modules, it is potentially more difficult for
instructors to convey content students. Therefore, student learning relied heavily on students
own initiative reinforcing the need for active and engaging teaching practices. To create these
practices, we followed Finks (2003) advice: creating the assessment activities first, greatly
clarifies and facilitates answers to the question of what the learning activities need to be (p. 71).

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With strong learning outcomes designed for each module, it became possible to then develop
assessment tools in which students and faculty would be able to assess their growth in
understanding power and privilege. Finally, we focused on then creating engaging learning
activities that were connected to these assessment tools.
Post-Service Modules
The Post-Service modules followed the themes of Kolbs (1984) Learning Theory. In
recognizing that concrete experiences form the basis of observation and reflection, the postservice modules focus on creating space for reflection of the concrete learning students have
partaken in over the semester. All questions relate to the transformative learning that will
change ones frame of reference triggered by disorienting dilemma (Mezirow, 1997). In
the Post-Service essay, students are asked to unpack the definition of power through a specific
moment experience where they held the power or were subjected to it. This allowed students to
take that moment in its frame of reference and reorient it in terms of power. The service
learning experience can create high intensity dissonance which causes emotions and
confusion for students that lead to new learning (Kiely, 2005). In order to work through the
dissonance, the Post Service blog brings an image to the students to reflect on. This brings both
an abstract definition to power and privilege combined with the concrete experience.
Conclusion
Overall, the pre-, mid-, and post-service modules create a space to thread together the
concepts of power and privilege with the social and personal outcomes of the learning
experience. When developing these modules, knowing what the desired learning outcome is and
how assessments of this learning would be implemented facilitated creativity and intentionality

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throughout the process. Designing relevant, creative, and thought provoking learning activities
for each module was the most challenging part of this process and having strong learning
outcomes and readily designed assessment tools made the process of designing the activities less
of a guessing game, and more of a puzzle to be solved. Hopefully, in responding to the learning
activities for each module, students will experience significant learning.

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6
References

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kiely, Richard. A Transformative Learning Model for Service-Learning: A Longitudinal Case
Study. University Press, 20015. Michigan Journal of Service Learning, Volume 12, Issue
1.
Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Mezirow, Jack. Transformative Learning: Theory To Practice. Transformative Learning in
Action. Wiley, 1997.
Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (Ch. 1 3)