International Service Learning in Belize: Creating Multimodal Conversations on Importance

• In Event: Exploring Possibilities of Alternative Study Abroad Programming: International Project Design and Implementation for Educational Equity

Abstract

Objectives/Purposes
This paper offers a perspective on international experiences that centers on service learning, contributing to the communities we visit in required academic programming. Specifically, I describe a Literacy Through Photography (Ewald, Hyde, & Lord, 2012) project offered as a free educational camp during spring break in a rural Maya village in Belize in Central America. Our service learning project was designed to help our young participants, elementary school age students in San Jose Succotz near the Guatemala border, see themselves and their roles in their communities. This activity also created opportunities for our US undergraduate students to challenge preconceived ideas about our indigenous hosts, their cultures, and ways of living as well as create an opportunity to “see the United States from a different perspective” (University Website).

Theoretical Framework
Our US team engaged our education campers and their village community in a multimodal curriculum loosely based on the frameworks introduced by Ewald, Hyde, and Lord (2012) in their text Literacy & Justice Through Photography. We intentionally included photography as a tool for expression “where language does not limit cognition” (Eisner, 2002, p. 12), especially important in a setting where not everyone communicated using the same languages: English, Spanish, and Mopan. In addition, research show how multimodal methods create safe environments for academic risk taking (Author & Colleague, 2016; Franco & Unrath, 2014; Landorf, 2006) and “link cultural practices from home and community” (Franquiz & Brochin-Ceballos, 2006, p. 7). Bintz (1997), Kaplan & Howes (2004), and others provided students cameras to capture their perceptions about their school sites. We followed this model and provided cameras to our campers who used photography to document their perceptions of what was important in their Maya village, Succotz.

Methods
Together, our Belizean campers and US university students engaged in a five-phase service learning experience that included workshops on photography and writing. Objectives articulated in the education camp’s recruitment materials included “to develop children’s sense and pride of place – connect them with their natural and cultural heritage.” As a result of their efforts, campers created multimodal compositions that included their photographs printed on stickers. The images were projected and shared with the village community as a way to engage families in our service learning during our final night in Succotz.

The multimodal compositions along with the university students’ reflections were analyzed as dialogues across cultures. Indeed, Albers (2007) portrays the interaction among the creator, multimodal content, and the viewer as conversations. This tripartite relationship framed my analysis of the campers’ 24 multimodal compositions. This process was also adapted to interpret student reflections.

Findings/Scholarly Significance
The multimodal compositions communicated ideas of importance that provided a glimpse into camper’s perceptions of their community. They did indeed create dialogues that helped our university students transcend global boundaries. In addition, university students’ reflections validated the service learning experience as being one of the most significant aspects of our time in Belize despite visiting Maya ruins and snorkeling at the reef among other adventures.

Author

• Marva Cappello, San Diego State University