Service Learning
Faculty had the class work with not-for-profit agencies, either directly or using their data.
About
Service Learning, or its second cousin Civic Engagement, is considered one of the activities that has the greatest impacts on students. And those impacts are in areas that colleges and universities claim to want to influence their students the most: intellectual engagement, appreciation of diversity, and critical thinking. Therefore, there have been increased efforts by administrations to create Offices of Civic Engagement, or Centers for Service Learning, and to engage more people in their activities. However, there has not been a matching increase in numbers of faculty and students adding this to their toolbox. Faculty seems clear that there are three big reasons for that: it is time consuming, the partners can be difficult to work with, and it can overwhelm the other learning goals of the course. Compared to the many other teaching activities, which can be used to help deliver existing course goals, these three things make the activity almost to big to incorporate into a class without taking it over. One possible adjustment, therefore, would to create new courses that have service learning as the primary focus. If administrations and trustees continue to support it, then the types of significant curricular adjustments are possible.
The original study's data and analysis for "Service Learning" can be found on this link.
What Faculty Have To Say
Strengths (5)
- Helps students bring their academic and real-world perspectives together
- Good for connecting students with real people with real needs
- Highly engaging
- A different and more meaningful kind of learning
- Good for bringing course material to life, literally
Weaknesses (5)
- Investment in time is the greatest weakness
- Emotionally challenging for students
- Challenging to arrange for travel to offsite locations
- Distracts focus from their other learning objectives
- Can be difficult to work with stakeholders and partners
Pedagogy Usage
Bucknell faculty was asked their best estimate for how often in the semester they used Service Learning and the average class time it took.
Average Duration: 50 min (mode=90)
Remote Suggestions
Practical work on real social issues is still highly valuable, though traditional internships or visits to local NGOs is more challenging. Consider having students select an NGO and interview them remotely, asking them if there is a particular area io research that would be helpful to them. Most non-profits need help with fund-raising, so having students improve the online presence, or simplify a process for donations, would be welcome.
Resources for Additional Learning
Articles & Books
- Civic Engagement and the Copernican Moment by David Scobey
- Where's the Learning in Service-Learning? by Janet Eyler & Dwight E. Giles, Jr.
- Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education, by Robert G. Bringle & Julie A. Hatcher
Websites
- Imagining America - Artists and Scholars in Public Life
- Bucknell University - Office of Civic Engagement