College Writing

Shelby Myers Verhage and Paul Hauser

(319) 398-4998 ex.5834 and 319-398-5899 x5841

sverhag@kirkwood.edu and phauser@kirkwood.edu

The Life Stories project is a writing and research project which pairs Kirkwood students in College Writing classes with area senior citizens. Students conduct a series of interviews and write about those experiences and also research topics related to those interviews. The culminating project involves a multimedia presentation, including digital audio recordings, that students create about their senior partner and present to them on CD. The seniors can then share their "Life Stories" with friends and families as they wish. Students will be assigned a senior citizen in area assisted-living and/or independent living centers and visit them there on site. Students will be required to complete a minimum of 5 hours that will count toward their service learning hours for the course.