Service-Learning: Engaging Students Through Community-Based Learning

1. Service-Learning: Engaging Students Through Community-Based Learning Lance Arney, Ph.D. Associate Director and Director of Service-Learning Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships larney@usf.edu www.usf.edu/engagement

2. Service-learning workshop This workshop provides an overview of service-learning, which integrates community service into course curricula through explicit learning objectives, preparation, and critical reflection. Participants will learn how to design a service-learning course that can provide students with structured opportunities to apply what they are learning in the classroom to community-identified concerns in real-world contexts.

3. What is service-learning? reflection Service-learning* is a structured learning experience that combines community service with explicit learning objectives, preparation, and reflection. * Composite definition from Jacoby, B. and Associates. (1996). Service-Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Seifer, S.D. (1998). Service-learning: community-campus partnerships for health professions education. Academic Medicine; 73:2. In Seifer, S.D. & Connors, K., Eds. Community Campus Partnerships for Health. Faculty Toolkit for Service-Learning in Higher Education. Scotts Valley, CA: National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2007.

4. What is service-learning? • Students involved in service-learning are expected not only to provide direct community service, but also to learn about: • the context in which the service is provided, • the connection between the service and their academic coursework, • and their roles as citizens.

5. Service-learning is a form of experiential education that: • is developed, implemented, and evaluated in collaboration with the community; • responds to community-identified concerns; • attempts to balance the service that is provided and the learning that takes place; • enhances the curriculum by extending learning beyond the classroom and allowing students to apply what they’ve learned to real-world situations; and • provides opportunities for critical reflection.

6. Service-learning is significantly different from other forms of experiential education in that it: • offers a balance between service and learning objectives; • places an emphasis on reciprocal learning; • increases an understanding of the context in which clinical and/or service work occurs; • focuses on the development of civic skills; • addresses community identified concerns; and • involves community in the service-learning design and implementation.

7. How do I convert a traditional course into a service-learning course? Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Faculty Toolkit for Service-Learning in Higher Education contains a list of tips for getting started.

8. What are some generally accepted pedagogical principles service-learning? The Service-Learning Course Design Workbook contains a set of principles of good practice for service-learning pedagogy.

9. What elements should a service-learning syllabus contain? Exemplary service-learning syllabi: • include service as an expressed goal; • clearly describe how the service experience will be measured and what will measured; • describe the nature of the service placement and/or project; • specify the roles and responsibilities of students in the placement and/or service project, (e.g., transportation, time requirements, community contacts, etc.); • define the need(s) the service placement meets; • specify how students will be expected to demonstrate what they have learned in the placement/project (journal, papers, presentations); • present course assignments that link the service placement and the course content; • include a description of the reflective process; • and include a description of the expectations for the public dissemination of students’ work. * From Heffernan, K. (2001). Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction. Providence, RI: Campus Compact.

10. What are some service-learning objectives for civic education and engagement? Examples of purposeful civic education objectives can be found in the Service-Learning Course Design Workbook.  The American Association of Community Colleges has also assembled a Practical Guide for Integrating Civic Responsibility into the Curriculum. California State University Monterey Bay has also identified desirable outcomes of service-learning courses.

11. What are examples of reflection activities that can be used in service-learning? Check out the reflection activities compiled by Miami Dade College. Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse has a fact sheet on reflection in higher education service-learning. See also Northwest Service Academy's Service Reflection Toolkit, as well as the Reflection Template from Learning through Critical Reflection: A Tutorial for Service-Learning Students by Ash, Clayton, & Moses (2009).

12. Key characteristics of high-quality reflection • Reflection activities are implemented continuously throughout the course. • Multiple opportunities for reflection before, during, and after community experiences prepare students to engage effectively in community work and invite them to explore the questions, challenges, and insights that arise over time. • Reflection activities are connected to course goals and objectives. • Reflection is deliberately integrative, designed to meet desired outcomes such as deep understanding and application of course material and development of particular skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, problem-solving) or attitudes and dispositions (e.g., sense of efficacy, ongoing commitment to civic engagement). • Reflection activities are challenging, requiring students to think critically. • Effective reflection creates a safe space without being so comfortable that assumptions or opinions go unexamined; it is essential to foster open inquiry, encouraging students to express and consider multiple perspectives in an environment, and stressing the values of civil discourse, reasoned analysis, and reflective judgment. • Reflection activities are contextualized. • Meaningful reflection addresses the course content and immediate community experience in ways appropriate to the larger curricular and community contexts, as well as students’ knowledge, learning styles, and backgrounds. * From Practitioner’s Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning by Janet Eyler, Dwight E. Giles Jr., and Angela Schmiede

13. How do I evaluate the impact of service-learning on my students? Download the pre-survey and post-survey our office has prepared for evaluating the effects of service-learning on students.

14. How should students conduct themselves during at their service-learning site? General expectations regarding good student conduct are presented in an orientation to the Dos and Don’ts of Service-Learning. This presentation is designed for students who are new to service-learning. Let us know if you’d like to have a member of our staff come to your class to lead this presentation.

15. How do I minimize and manage the risks involved in service-learning? California State University has published a very thorough Best Practices for Managing Risk in Service Learning, which contains materials that can be adapted and modified. Examples of guiding principles of risk reduction are also explained.

16. What are some guiding principles for building successful partnerships? Community-Campus Partnerships for Health has established a list of Principles for a Good Community-Campus Partnership.

17. What should I consider while developing an agreement with a community partner? Guidelines along with sample agreement forms and a worksheet for writing a partnership agreement or memorandum are available here.

18. How might I measure the strengths and challenges of a partnership? The Faculty Toolkit for Service-Learning in Higher Education contains a partnership assessment tool that can be used to measure the success of your partnership.

19. How can I find community partners or let potential community partners know about my service-learning course? USF’s Service Learning Pro database helps USF faculty inform the campus and surrounding community of their community engaged research initiatives and/or of community engaged learning courses they offer. Through use of an online database management system and an easy to use interface faculty can enter information about their service learning course and identify community organizations that are seeking to partner with USF.

20. Is there a “toolkit” for faculty who would like to learn more about service-learning pedagogy and how to develop service-learning courses? Yes, Community Campus Partnerships for Health and Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse have published a Faculty Toolkit for Service-Learning in Higher Education.

21. What are some examples of toolkits or handbooks that other colleges and universities have put together for their faculty, students, and community partners? • Service Learning Curriculum Development Resource Guide for Faculty, California State University, Long Beach • Faculty Guide to Service-Learning, Miami-Dade Community College • Community-Based Learning Toolkit for Faculty and Staff, Weber State University • Service-Learning Community Partner Workshop, Miami Dade College

22. What are some examples of service-learning courses at USF? Across fields and disciplines, faculty at USF have developed a variety of innovative service-learning courses with real-world impact. Service-learning for English language learners (English Language Program) Introduction to Urban Studies: Five years of service-learning (Geography, Environment and Planning) 211 Hotline Service-Learning Course (Aging Studies) Community development in Lealman, Pinellas County (Geography, Environment, and Planning) GPS/GIS technology with community mapping (Geography; Urban and Regional Studies) New Class Puts USF Students in the Middle of Life and Death Decisions (Aging Studies) Social Psychology of HIV/AIDS (Psychology) Mental Health Assessment of Older Adults (Aging Studies) Visual Anthropology (Anthropology) Ethnicity and Health Care (Anthropology) Anthropology of Childhood (Anthropology) Introduction to Urban Studies (Geography, Environment and Planning) Ending Homelessness (Public Policy & Leadership, USF Sarasota-Manatee) Drama Therapy (Theatre & Dance) Raising Awareness for Homelessness: A College Course with a Conscience (and a Taste for Art) (Public Policy & Leadership, USF Sarasota-Manatee) USF Big Sister and a Little Attention Make a Difference in Sulphur Springs (Geography, Environment and Planning)

23. Service Learning in the Disciplines Environmental Studies Philosophy Nursing History Spanish Medical Education Sociology Political Science Religious Studies Planning and Architecture Tourism Accounting Teacher Education Biology Women’s Studies Engineering Peace Studies Communication Studies Psychology Management Composition Lodging, Foodservice, and Tourism “How-to” guides with theoretical background and practical pedagogical chapters written by specialists in their respective disciplines

24. Campus Compact http://www.compact.org/syllabi/

25. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse http://www.servicelearning.org/

26. Other ocep resources

27. Fostering engagement across campus Our compilation of Service-Learning Resources and FAQs: http://www.usf.edu/engagement/resources/index.aspx OCEP website

28. Promoting community-based learning Workshops on developing service-learning syllabi and effective partnerships

29. Promoting community-based learning Orientation materials and partnership protocols

30. Fostering engagement across campus Community Quarterly Newsletter