Service Learning December 9, 2004

1. Service LearningDecember 9, 2004 Dr. Edward Zlotkowski Senior Fellow, Campus Compact ezlotkowski@yahoo.com

2. THE SCHOLARSHIP OF ENGAGEMENT I am convinced that…the academy must become a more vigorous partner in the search for answers to our most pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems, and must reaffirm its historic commitment to what I call the scholarship of engagement. The scholarship of engagement means connecting the rich resources of the university to our most pressing social, civic, and ethical problems…Campuses would be viewed by both students and professors not as isolated islands, but as staging grounds for action. The scholarship of engagement also means creating a special climate in which the academic and civic cultures communicate more continuously and creatively with each other. Ernest Boyer (1996), The Journal of Public Service and Outreach

3. Circle of Higher Education Civic Engagement Initiatives Economic Development Extension Services Shared Resources FacultyOutreach Student Volunteerism Civic Awareness & Deliberative Dialogue Internships & Practice Service-Learning

4. Service-Learning Characteristics • Meets academic learning objectives • Involves experience with a community-based organization or group • Involves structured reflection or analysis • Is based upon principles of academy-community partnership and reciprocity

8. The Four Quadrants of Service-Learning Program Design Student-Centered Structured Learning Community/ Common Good Focus Academic/ Expertise Focus Service-Learning Community-Centered Unstructured Learning

9. Four Quad Typology • A alone: Standard curriculum • B alone: Student life • C alone: Academic culture • D alone: Work of community organizations A B C D

10. Possible Combinations • A + B: Course with civic awareness • C + D: Faculty community work • A + C: Course with field work • B + D: Community service B A C D

11. Possible Combinations II • A + B + D: Service-learning course • A + B + C + D: Faculty documented and evaluated service-learning course • A + D: No reflection or documentation • A + C + D: Documentation and assessment but no reflection B A C D

12. Public Engagement Personal Contact & Direct Service Problem-solving Projects Research About (Inclusion of Community) For (Commissioned by Community) With (Participatory Action Research)

14. In-class introduction of projects/ student preparation and pre-service reflection Faculty and partner(s) discuss/design projects Possible projects identified On-site Orientation (possible project contract) Project implementation and ongoing reflection Project completion (product delivery)/ presentations and post-service reflection Project portfolio created and filed Faculty-partner debriefing and project assessment

15. Accounting Biology Communication Studies Composition Engineering Environmental Studies History Hospitality Management Management Medical Education Nursing Peace Studies Philosophy Political Science Psychology Religious Studies Sociology Spanish Teacher Education Women’s Studies AAHE Service-Learning in the Disciplines Series * Related Volumes: Economics, Mathematics

16. NSEE Engagement “Categories” • Active Learning • Academic Challenge • Faculty-Student Relationships

17. Peter Ewell’s 3 Categories • What We Know About Learning • What We Know About Promoting Learning • What We Know About Institutional Change

18. What We Know About Learning • The learner creates his or her learning actively & uniquely • Learning is about making meaning for each individual by establishing and reworking patterns & connections • Every student learns all the time, both with us & despite us • Direct experience decisively shapes individual understanding for each learner • Learning occurs best when people are confronted with a compelling and identifiable problem • Beyond stimulation, learning requires reflection • Effective learning is social and interactive • Source: Peter Ewell, “Organizing for Learning,” AAHE Bulletin, Dec. 1997

19. What We Know About Promoting LearningEffective Approaches: • Emphasize application and experience • Involve faculty who constructively model the learning process • Emphasize linkages between established concepts and new situations • Emphasize interpersonal collaboration • Involve curricula that develop a clear set of cross-disciplinary skills publicly held to be important • Emphasize rich and frequent feedback • Source: Peter Ewell, “Organizing for Learning,” AAHE Bulletin, Dec. 1997

20. What We Know About Institutional Change Change requires: • A fundamental shift of perspective • A systemic approach • A relearning of roles • Conscious and consistent leadership • Systemic ways to measure progress and guide improvement • A visible “triggering” opportunity • Source: Peter Ewell, “Organizing for Learning,” AAHE Bulletin, Dec. 1997

21. Key Factors Affecting Service-Learning Institutionalization Specific Link to Mission Individual “Driver” Location in Structure Visibility in Documents

22. The man who embraces a new paradigm at an early stage must often do so in defiance of the evidence provided by problem-solving. He must, that is, have faith that the new paradigm will succeed with the many large problems that confront it, knowing only that the old paradigm has failed with a few. A decision of that kind can only be made on faith. Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions