COMMUNITY OBSERVATION PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Students will take an active part in a community outreach activity of their choosing; this will enable students to connect with the needs of the community (e.g., working at a homeless or battered-women’s shelter, a Christian youth camp, a local recreation center, volunteer tutoring at a public school, etc.).

Instructions

Students should contact their instructor if they are unsure if an outreach activity qualifies for this assignment. This activity can be purely voluntary, or it can be an activity related directly to students’ employment. Typically, the observation will last between 2–4 hours. However, the observation may take longer, and enough observation must be done in order to complete all aspects of this assignment.

Upon completion of the observation, students will write a 3-page paper explaining the experience and its sociological significance from the Christian worldview. Using the information about sociology gained from the course and the textbook (outside scholarly sources are also allowed), students will answer the following 4 questions in detail (Note: these questions must be the subheadings when writing the paper):

1.     What was observed during the experience?

2.     How did the experience affect you?

3.     What are the needs of the population that you interacted with for this assignment?

4.     How can you help make a difference with this group?

The finished project must include 3 full pages of content as well as a cover page in current APA format. The paper must be written in first person.