Learning through Doing: Reflections on the use of Photovoice in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Classroom
Publication Date
6-1-2019
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Photovoice is becoming an increasingly popular research method in the field of Community Psychology (CP). This is, in part, because it reflects some of the values of CP, including respect for diversity and participation and collaboration. More recently, photovoice has also been used in undergraduate classrooms as a way to actively engage students in their learning, to enable students to investigate and address social problems of importance to them, and to help students develop self-efficacy skills. There are few extant studies in the CP literature, however, that describe how this has been done in undergraduate CP classrooms specifically, and in what ways it has influenced students, from students’ perspectives. Accordingly, in this article, an Assistant Professor of Community Psychology and six of her former undergraduate students reflect on their experiences of the Community Psychology, Research, and Action course she taught at an urban-serving university in Washington in spring 2016, which was centered around the learning and implementation of a student-directed photovoice project about their campus. The instructor describes her objectives in centering her course around photovoice, including that students would learn this method well and add it to their toolbox, while also developing a stronger sense of community. Students then reflect on the aspects of their learning that most significantly influenced their development as students and people more broadly. Reflections suggest that participating in photovoice throughout a CP course has the potential to help students learn about CP- including its core values and principles- and experience some long-term empowerment-related outcomes on campus and in their communities. Implications for educators at similar universities, who may also want to experiment with photovoice in their undergraduate classrooms, are discussed.
Publication Title
Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice
Volume
2
Issue
2
Publisher Policy
no SHERPA/RoMEO policy available
Open Access Status
Publicly Available
Recommended Citation
Hershberg, Rachel M.; Andringa, Olivia; Camm, Katheryn; Hill, Halimatu; Little, Joshua; Smith, Rebecca; Wilkinson, Sarah; and Wilkinson, Sarah, "Learning through Doing: Reflections on the use of Photovoice in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Classroom" (2019). SIAS Faculty Publications. 1075.
https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/ias_pub/1075
