Service Learning

Service Learning

How did a departmental faculty generated 12,000 hours of student community service in one semester? The following is a qualitative analysis of conversations with faculty members in a department that recently instituted a service learning requirement for all student majors. The campus is a large urban comprehensive university with a multi-ethnic student body. Approximately fifteen faculty members were interviewed for this study. While most of those interviewed included service learning components in their courses, interviews with faculty members who resisted or refused to incorporate service learning were conducted as well in order to understand varying faculty attitudes towards service learning.

BACKGROUND

Following participation in an Engaged Department Institute sponsored by Campus Compact, a service-learning requirement was instituted for all majors in the department studied beginning Fall 2002. All faculty were encouraged to incorporate service-learning in their courses. A training session on service-learning was the centerpiece of a departmental retreat in January 2002. In order to develop closer relationships with community agencies, the department hosted a faculty-partnership luncheon the following fall semester. Potential community partners were invited to meet with faculty in an effort to forge new relationships with the University. In order to institutionalize service-learning, all recruitment advertisements specifically mention service-learning and all new hires are expected to include service-learning components in their courses. As a consequence of these efforts, this department has gone from teaching only a few courses with service-learning components to offering twenty five different classes (thirteen courses) by Fall 2002.

A number of facilitators helped this department achieve these accomplishments. Mini-grants available on campus funded the faculty-partnership luncheon. In addition, four faculty members were awarded mini-grants to develop service-learning components in their courses. Departmental leadership has been a very strong advocate for service-learning. Recognition from discipline enhanced the image of this department on campus when the discipline newsletter highlighted the advances in service-learning in the department. The Office of Community Service-learning was helpful in training and assisting faculty interested in developing service-learning components in their courses. The campus generally recognizes service-learning and provides awards for those involved in service-learning. Two such campus awards have been given to members of the department studied.

Challenges have been encountered while implementing this requirement. For example, many faculty members do not live in the area and have no knowledge of the local community and its resources and thus have had difficulty developing community partnerships.