The University of Texas at Arlington

Dr. Nancy Price

Senior Lecturer
Department of English
College of Liberal Arts

UT Arlington Faculty

Dr. Price received her PhD from TCU, an M Ed from Lincoln University, an MA from Southern Illinois, and a BA from Texas Tech. At the University of Texas at Arlington, Dr. Price has taught 23 different courses including a sonnets course, a 21st century literature course, an African-American drama course, and a course in theory and practice for future English teachers. She has also served as a department head at both public and private high schools and a teacher of ESL for adult learners. She has integrated service learning in the following courses: ENGL 4370: Theory and Practice; ENGL330: Sonnets; ENGL 2300: Poetry; and ENGL 3371: Advanced Exposition. Nancy received the Dorothy Henson Volunteer of the Year Award for 2007-2008, an award given for community volunteer efforts by Girls, Inc.

Service Learning Class

ENGL 3371: Advanced Exposition is an advanced writing course emphasizing writing that explains, demonstrates, or explores a subject with attention given to audience, invention, style (coherence, unity, and clarity), and to the revision process.

Academic Outcomes

• Analyze various developmental issues of young adolescents.
• Identify successful tutoring activities.
• Assess student academic abilities during tutoring.
• Apply common problem-solving approaches.
• Read and analyze contemporary works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction through different lenses.
• Demonstrate clear and effective rhetorical précis.

Service Learning Project

The selected non-profit agency, Girls, Inc. provided experiences, interactions, and a context for students to engage in active learning of course content as they also addressed the needs of the agency and the clients. Students took part in twenty hours of on-site interactions with agency staff and the clients of Girls, Inc. During the course of the semester, students in Dr. Price’s English 3371 class served as mentors. Additionally, the students worked at the Fall Festival and served Thanksgiving Dinner.

Initially, students produced a plan of action regarding the needs that would be addressed, course content aligned with their experiences, and a time line to record progress. Each student engaged in weekly journals of challenges and successes, as well as, continually reflected on their engagement with the girls at Girls, Inc. and on the course content. The students created a service-learning project which included a reflection of what they had learned through working in this experiential context.

Students developed exposition skills as they created a vision for the future in regards to education, career, family and friends, service to the community, and personal growth. This vision included their plans for the next five years. Included in this project, a summative reflection synthesized their civic engagement experiences and academic goals achieved throughout the semester. This project of at least fifteen pages, not the service, earns them 20% of their semester grade. Reflection is the cornerstone of service learning and is a part of the total academic experience at University of Texas at Arlington.