Photography and Reflection
by Ann Abbott
Writing, I've always known, is not the only way to reflect. In Comunidades there is a picture of a young woman writing in a blank book (p. 128). The caption I wrote says,
"¿Es la escritura la única manera de reflexionar? ¿Hay otras maneras de expresar las ideas que surgen cuando reflexionas? ¿Qué piensas de estas otras maneras de concretizar tus ideas? Por ejemplo: dibujar, filmar, sacar fotos, charlar, crear música."
Yet in my Spanish community service learning (CSL) courses I tend to emphasize reflective writing. On the one hand, we're used to reading students' writing and we know exactly how to grade it. I used to have students do five-minute oral reflective videos with a webcamera and post them to YouTube, but many students simply couldn't handle the assignment and flooded my TAs with technical questions. Unfortunately, I had to stop using that assignment.
On the other hand, new formats can bring out new insights. So it's important that we experiment and at least try to overcome the obstacles that may arise. Many people and organizations are already doing that:
Writing, I've always known, is not the only way to reflect. In Comunidades there is a picture of a young woman writing in a blank book (p. 128). The caption I wrote says,
"¿Es la escritura la única manera de reflexionar? ¿Hay otras maneras de expresar las ideas que surgen cuando reflexionas? ¿Qué piensas de estas otras maneras de concretizar tus ideas? Por ejemplo: dibujar, filmar, sacar fotos, charlar, crear música."
Yet in my Spanish community service learning (CSL) courses I tend to emphasize reflective writing. On the one hand, we're used to reading students' writing and we know exactly how to grade it. I used to have students do five-minute oral reflective videos with a webcamera and post them to YouTube, but many students simply couldn't handle the assignment and flooded my TAs with technical questions. Unfortunately, I had to stop using that assignment.
On the other hand, new formats can bring out new insights. So it's important that we experiment and at least try to overcome the obstacles that may arise. Many people and organizations are already doing that:
- Adobe Youth Voices held a photo contest asking youth to submit photos that represented challenges as well as hope.
- The Entertainment Industry Foundation committed to using film to encourage service. (See my sample lesson plan inspired by this effort.)
- Some CSL students and/or instructors have tagged their pictures Flickr to market service learning or provide evidence of its impact.
- Professor Susan Wehling used photography in a Spanish CSL course (based on the Duke University Literacy Through Pohotography program), giving disposable cameras to the Latina/o children with whom her students worked and documenting aspects their lives. You can find more information about this project in the April 2009 issue of The Language Educator.
This semester, I plan to offer my Spanish CSL students a prize for best reflective photograph and caption. I'll announce it here in a few weeks.
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