Chapter 3-Community Research
“Every city has some testimony to perception, intelligence and art, there are oases of concern and creation.”
Ian L. McHarg Design with Nature
The third chapter of the NewComm Literacy Science framework focuses on community research, where students go beyond literary analysis of societal issues and explore real-world organizations that aim to solve community concerns. In this phase, students learn that the world operates and is informed by narrative, and since literary instruction is at the core of what we do, they are equipped with the tools to identify and examine the narrative architecture of communities. Specifically, through community research, students identify how asset stocks are utilized to promote social impact and identify potential barriers and restrictions that limit their effectiveness. In sum, this process allows learners to gain a deeper understanding of how these concepts shape the world around them.
To illustrate the process of community research, let’s look at the relationship between Gloria Naylor's novel The Women of Brewster Place and the work of the non-profit organization Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC). Located in the Bronx, KHCC provides a range of programs and services to promote social, economic, and racial equity. Their services include after-school programs, workforce development, mental health counseling, and community organizing.
Students can connect their reading of Brewster Place to KHCC by exploring how the novel's themes and characters relate to the work of the community center. For example, the struggles of the women in Brewster Place to find adequate housing, gain employment, and organize their community are issues that KHCC addresses in their programs.
By examining the strategies employed by KHCC to leverage asset stocks for social impact, students can better understand how real-world organizations are addressing societal pain points. They can also investigate the barriers and restrictions faced by KHCC and explore potential interventions to overcome these challenges.
As preparation for the field trip, students should examine the organization’s website to build connections between the literary text and the organization. With this knowledge, they can brainstorm questions that help them understand the organization's impact. For example, they might ask KHCC:
How does KHCC's work address the issue of affordable housing, and what strategies have been most effective?
How does KHCC's work help community members find employment, and what resources and training are provided?
How does KHCC's mental health counseling services support the community, and what unique challenges do they face in addressing mental health concerns?
How does KHCC engage with community members to identify and address their needs?
How does KHCC measure the impact of their programs, and what successes have they achieved?
During the debrief, I often ask students to list the ways the organizations provides better access to asset stocks, the asset stocks they employ for results, and the potential restrictions they face. When students get stuck, I refer them back to specific scenes in the novel to remind them of the complexity of these issues. For instance, in Brewster Place, many women have faced traumatic experiences, but not all would immediately sign up for counseling or even consider themselves in need of counseling. By "calling in" these scenes, students avoid oversimplifying complex challenges while critically analyzing the organization's efforts.
Following this exercise, I often introduce a creative activity for students to connect the field trip and our literary text. For example, I may ask learners to imagine KHCC's presence within Brewster Place and consider how the story and characters' lives might change if they had access to KHCC's resources and support networks. This exercise fosters critical thinking and empathy, deepening students' appreciation for the role of community organizations in addressing societal issues.
Lastly, another tool I often use while debriefing is revisiting the concept of the productivity frontier, but this time, I adapt it to focus on social impact by introducing the "Social Impact Productivity Frontier." In this framework, the measurement considers the balance between organizations that prioritize justice and those that concentrate on addressing justice-related concerns. Typically, non-profit organizations lean towards justice, B-corps occupy a middle ground, and for-profit companies tend towards the lower end of the spectrum. I ask students to place the organization we researched on this frontier based on their findings and have them explain their reasoning. This is an excellent opportunity to "call in" the literature to support their choices.
As a follow-up, I invite practitioners from the different social impact positions - non-profit, B-corp, and for-profit - to share their perspectives and discuss where they would place themselves on the Social Impact Productivity Frontier. Through this exercise, we explore the trade-offs organizations face in achieving their goals while balancing their mission, values, and resources to address pressing societal issues. This provides students with a broader understanding of the various approaches to social impact and the challenges organizations encounter.
By the end of the Community Research module, learners will be able to identify and evaluate the most effective strategies for promoting social justice and equity within their community. They will also develop their own strategies for leveraging collective capital to address systemic restrictions of asset stocks. Through this multifaceted approach, students enhance their understanding of literature and gain valuable insights into the potential of community organizations to foster positive change and address pressing societal challenges.
Sample Lesson
Lesson Topic: Investigating Asset Stocks and Pain Points within the School Community
Grade Level: High School
Duration: 90 minutes
Objective:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
Identify asset stocks and pain points within their school community.
Analyze the strategies and effectiveness of school programs and policies in addressing these pain points and managing asset stocks.
Apply the concepts of asset stocks and strategy analysis to their own school environment.
Special Materials:
Handout with a list of school programs, clubs, and policies
Introduction (10 minutes):
Begin by reviewing the concepts of asset stocks, pain points, and strategy analysis from Chapters 1 and 2.
Introduce the concept of community research, explaining how it connects literary analysis to the investigation of their own school community.
Direct Instruction (15 minutes):
Discuss the importance of understanding the school's strategies and effectiveness in addressing community pain points and managing asset stocks.
Provide examples of school programs, clubs, and policies that address various issues such as academic support, mental health, and inclusivity.
Group Activity (30 minutes):
Divide students into small groups and assign each group a specific school program, club, or policy.
Instruct each group to investigate their assigned topic by interviewing staff members, reviewing school documents, or conducting surveys among fellow students.
Ask each group to identify the asset stocks and pain points related to their topic and analyze the strategies and effectiveness of the program, club, or policy in addressing these issues.
Group Presentations (25 minutes):
Have each group present their findings to the class, focusing on the asset stocks, pain points, and strategies related to their topic.
Encourage students to ask questions and engage in a discussion about the presentations.
Conclusion (10 minutes):
Summarize the key findings from the group presentations, highlighting the connections between the school's programs, clubs, and policies and the concepts of asset stocks, pain points, and strategy analysis.
Encourage students to think about how they can apply this knowledge to improve their school community and address existing pain points or inequities.
Assign a reflection prompt for homework, asking students to write about their experience investigating their school and any ideas they have for improving the school community in relation to asset stocks and pain points.
Discussion Questions
1. How can investigating our own school as an organization reveal the distribution and flow of asset stocks within our community?
2. What strategies might be employed within our school to ensure more equitable access to asset stocks such as educational resources and social connections?
3. Can you identify any bottlenecks in the flow of assets within our school? How might these bottlenecks impact the experiences and opportunities of students?
4. What underlying structures and mental models in our school may contribute to the distribution of asset stocks? How can we work to challenge and change these structures and models?
5. How can we apply the knowledge gained from studying literature to identify and address real-world challenges related to asset stocks within our own school community?