When Jodie Smith enrolled in the School of Social Work's Social Change: Social Movements and Advocacy class, she thought she had a pretty good idea of what she was getting into - but she ended up learning much more than she expected.

The class is intended to teach students about social justice and its advocates by connecting them with mentors working in community organizations such as the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction, the Sexual Assault Centre, Interval House, Environment Hamilton or in Smith's case, the McMaster Anti-violence Network. But in Social Movements and Advocacy, students are anything but passive learners: they end up taking part in real-life social justice projects, furthering their understanding of the process.

Smith, who worked on the campus remembrance of the Montreal Massacre, said she enjoys the unique, hands-on model of learning.

"Working with an organization that's involved in social justice gives you a good sense of the real-world challenges they face every day," she said. "It really teaches you to be inventive and helps you develop a number of transferable skills."

Smith's project included working with a group on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women to teach people on campus about violence in Canada. With an information table set up in the Student Centre, Smith and her classmates displayed data and statistics and asked passersby to sign a petition. What the group found shocked them, though taught a valuable lesson.

"Most people had no idea that violence against women still happens to the extent that it does," said Smith. "We really had to connect events and make the facts real for people."

Sandra Preston, the course's instructor, says that this kind of hands-on learning process helps students to understand that they can be an active part of a changing world.

"Young people are often frustrated by what they see as problems in the world, but they aren't really sure how to address them," she said. "This class gives them the tools for being active citizens, rather than bystanders."

Students constantly tell Preston that they are amazed at the amount they are able to accomplish in the class' short period of time.

"They learn that if they can't change the world, they can at least change their small corner."

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