Service-Learning: Why Bother? Jeffrey Howard - Director of Faculty Development Marisol Morales - Associate Director Chad Williams - Assistant Director for Community Development Steans Center for Community-based Service- Learning DePaul University April 16, 2010
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Service-Learning: Why Bother? Jeffrey Howard - Director of Faculty Development Marisol Morales - Associate Director Chad Williams - Assistant Director.
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Service-Learning: Why Bother?
Jeffrey Howard - Director of Faculty DevelopmentMarisol Morales - Associate Director
Chad Williams - Assistant Director for Community Development
Steans Center for Community-based Service-LearningDePaul University
April 16, 2010
Workshop GoalsWorkshop Goals1. Introduce the Steans Center and its
purposes
2. Clarify the conceptualization for service-learning (aka, community-based learning)
3. Discuss service-learning’s benefits and challenges for the three primary constituencies: students, community organizations, and faculty
4. Identify the Steans Center’s challenge/impediment reduction strategies
5. Identify faculty interest for follow-up 1:1 meeting
About the Steans About the Steans CenterCenter
Support for service-learning courses at all DePaul schools and colleges
Community service studies minor
Programs such as JumpStart
Student community service fellowships
Egan Urban Center
Case Study #1
Two weeks into a new quarter you bump into one of your campus’ new faculty members. She excitedly tells you that she is using
service-learning in her Intro to Psychology courses by (1) asking students to do 20 hours of community service, and (2) asking them to write a one-page summary of their experiences at the end of the semester. She tells you students can earn up to 10 points toward
their final grade by satisfying these two assignments.
Other Student Community Involvement Other Student Community Involvement
(p. 13)(p. 13)Relevant and
Meaningful Service with the
Community
Enhanced Academic Learning
Purposeful Civic
Learning
Volunteering or Community Service Yes No No
Co-Curricular Service-Learning
Yes No Yes
Internships Yes YesNo
(instead, socialization into the profession)
Academic Service-Learning Yes Yes Yes
Service-Learning is Service-Learning is Different…Different…
For students relative to traditional courses
For faculty relative to traditional courses
For community organizations relative to traditional volunteers
Challenges for Challenges for StudentsStudents
Unfamiliar way of learning (integrating classroom and community learning)
Unfamiliar communities (many grew up in middle class, homogeneous communities)
Unfamiliar with how to enter another’s community respectfully and sensitively
Benefits for StudentsBenefits for Students New way of learning – integrating theory and
practice, academic and experiential learning
Potential for a transformative learning experience
Development of civic/social justice knowledge, competencies, skills, values
Growth of self (more likely in the real world than in a classroom)
Learn about a community, population, etc.
Opportunity to challenge stereotypes about those in unfamiliar communities
Challenges for Challenges for Community OrganizationsCommunity Organizations
Often unfamiliar with volunteers who have a learning agenda in addition to a service agenda
Determining how best to utilize college students on behalf of the community organization’s goals/needs
College students can present a lack of professionalism
Quarter system limits volunteer time (e.g., 20 hours/quarter)
Training and supervision takes time away from other staff responsibilities
Benefits for Community Benefits for Community OrganizationsOrganizations
Peoplepower (for usually understaffed community organizations)
Can undertake projects previously unable to get to
Opportunity to “educate” college students
Undertake research to support, for example, grant-seeking
Develop a mutually beneficial relationship with a University
Build student investment in the organization
Expand potential volunteer/donor base
Potential future staff hires
Challenges for FacultyChallenges for Faculty• Unfamiliar pedagogy
• Determining and realizing both academic and civic learning outcomes for students
• Integrating academic and real-world learning
• Identifying appropriate community partners for one’s academic course
• Developing relationships with community partners
• Facilitating reflection about students’ real-world experiences/learning
• Determining how to address difficult issues such as stereotyping, isms, etc.
Benefits for FacultyBenefits for Faculty Students more engaged in their learning
Academic learning enriched
Student learning beyond academic learning
Contribute to the development of the next generation of active community members
Add to one’s pedagogical repertoire
Offers a platform for research and publication
Enhances positive university relationships with communities
Provides opportunities for faculty to use skills and knowledge for the benefit of communities
Contributes to the Vincentian mission of DePaul University
Address students’ stereotypes, isms, etc.
Challenges and Challenges and BenefitsBenefits
For each of the three constituencies there are important benefits and challenges.
Research indicates that the additional effort necessary to teach a service-learning course relative to a traditional method often discourages faculty use of service-learning
(Research also indicates that teaching a service-learning course enhances student academic learning)
But what if many of the challenges previously identified could be addressed?
To minimize challenges and maximize benefits, the Steans Center
offers:
• Faculty development (e.g., course development workshops, course implementation workshops, individual faculty consultations, syllabus review, etc.)
• Grant funding (www.steans.depaul.edu)
• Custom-tailored community partner identification and development for each course
• Reflection sessions led by trained undergraduate facilitators
• Orientation for students to community-based learning and respectful community entry and exit
• All communication with community organizations, including tracking students’ community service fulfillment (quality and quantity)
Asset-Based Asset-Based Community Community
DevelopmentDevelopment
Service-Learning: Service-Learning: Should You Bother?Should You Bother?
Do the benefits outweigh the challenges?
Does the Steans Center offer sufficient services to address the challenges?
Would you consider meeting 1:1 with a Steans Center staff member to discuss the possibility of integrating service-learning into one of your academic courses?
National Service-Learning National Service-Learning
ResourcesResources
(pp. 61-62)(pp. 61-62)
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
Published and unpublished material related to service-learning
www.servicelearning.org
Campus Compact
Many syllabi, conference announcements, publications
www.compact.org
Service-Learning in the Disciplines
24 discipline-specific monographs
International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement – annual conference (October 2010 in Indianapolis)