Alternative Service Learning Approaches: Two Techniques That Accommodate Faculty Schedules

Abstract

A primary barrier to the usage of the well-documented pedagogical technique of service learning is time. Successful experiences require faculty to devote significant time to facilitating the community partnership. Another challenge is student readiness for experiences, both in terms of knowledge and motivation. In this article, 2 adaptations are discussed that expand the opportunities for service learning while preserving faculty time. The first strategy identifies internal community members, such as campus offices and organizations, as potential partners. A second strategy is to collaborate on an end product. This strategy preserves the benefits of indirect service learning. This article discusses the pragmatics, trade-offs, and lessons learned from using each of these strategies in class projects.

Educating Undergraduate Students to Work With Children of Abused Women

“…It is salient to note that this innovative university-community partnership addressed two significant limitations associated with college service-learning experiences in community agencies. First, college students often lack the requisite skills or confidence to be effective volunteers (Heckert, 2010;Lowery et al, 2006). By providing a semester-long, in-depth course focused on the societal issue prior to the service-learning experience, students are more prepared for the experience and can make a greater contribution.…”

“…It is also important to note that university-community partnerships necessitate a significant expenditure of time and effort by professors (Heckert, 2010). To lessen the work required for overseeing a service-learning course beyond that of a typical course, the professor applied for small course development grants and involved graduates of the course sequence as teaching assistants in the first semester and team leaders in the second semester.…”

“…This pairing of community agencies and college students does not come without challenges. Researchers have noted that college students often lack the requisite skills or confidence to be effective volunteers (Heckert, 2010;Lowery et al, 2006). Also, some universities require volunteer service, which can result in less positive outcomes (e.g., low intrinsic motivation for volunteer work and reduced satisfaction with the university; Beehr, LeGro, Porter, Bowling, & Swader, 2010).…”

Overcoming Resistance to Service-Learning’s Use in the Preparation of Teachers for Secondary Agricultural Education: A Reframing of the Method’s Diffusion Challenges

“…Due to its diffusion in higher education, researchers have had opportunities to demonstrate that SL can be used to improve students' academic learning, civic responsibility, personal development, and attitudes toward working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints (Conway, Amal, & Gerwein, 2009;Warren, 2012;Yorio & Ye, 2012). Such findings as well as increasing demands on universities to provide students with experiences to apply their learning in realworld settings appear to have further catalyzed SL's adoption as an instructional method (Bulot & Johnson, 2006;Butin, 2006;Heckert, 2009). However, disagreements about the role of the university and faculty regarding public service continue to intersect with the use of SL as a method to facilitate student learning (Hou & Wilder, 2015;Stanton et al, 1999).…”

How Ready Is Higher Education Faculty for Engaged Student Learning? Applying Transtheoretical Model to Measure Service-Learning Beliefs and Adoption

“…Existing studies also point to some common challenges and barriers toward utilizing SL. These include time constraints, co-ordination of the service components, challenges of community partnerships and in assessment of student work, as well as lack of institutional recognition of these efforts (Abes et al, 2002;Driscoll, 2000;Hammond, 1994;Heckert, 2010;Holland, 1999;Hou, 2009). The recent national survey among faculty members, the "Faculty Survey of Student Engagement" (FSSE; 2011), has also tried to examine faculty member's expectations of student engagement and assessed aspects of educational practice including effective components of courses, teaching styles, and service experiences (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2012).…”