The Transformative Potential of Learning Through Service While “Doing” Classroom-Based Research

Abstract

Experiential education and service-learning are “buzz words” within many educational circles. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ (N=18) and professor experiences with/in a student-directed experiential education elective course, with a particular focus on a service-learning initiative. Stephen Brookfield’s critical incident questionnaire (1995) and transformative phenomenology served as the guiding frameworks for this study. The results yielded four themes, including: 1) Sense of accomplishment, 2) Feelings of frustration, 3) Questioning student-directed course experience, and 4) Experiences from self-study participation. This study serves to further confirm that engaging in service-learning projects within a student-directed course can lead to a strong sense of accomplishment despite feelings of frustration and resistance. L’apprentissage par l’expérience et l’apprentissage par le service sont des expressions au goût du jour dans de nombreux milieux éducatifs. L’objectif de cette étude était d’explorer les expériences des professeurs et des étudiants dans un cours facultatif axé sur l’apprentissage par l’expérience dirigé par les étudiants, dont l’accent portait sur les initiatives d’apprentissage par le service. Le questionnaire de Stephen Brookfield sur les incidents critiques (1995) ainsi que la phénoménologie transformatrice ont servi de cadres conceptuels pour cette étude. Les résultats ont mené aux quatre thèmes suivants : 1) sens d’accomplissement, 2) sens de frustration, 3) questionnement sur l’expérience d’un cours dirigé par les étudiants, et 4) expérience dérivée de la participation à l’auto-formation. Cette étude confirme de nouveau que le fait de s’engager dans des projets d’auto-formation dans un cours dirigé par les étudiants peut aboutir à un sens profond d’accomplissement, malgré certains sentiments de frustration et de résistance.

Integrated Experiential Education: Definitions and a Conceptual Model

“…Several scholars and educators have previously outlined the difficulty of defining experiential education as a practice and, due to this ambiguity, the myriad and problematic ways in which theory related to experiential education is interpreted and put into use (Breunig, 2014;Moon, 2004;Roberts, 2008). Crosby (1981) outlined that ensuring the active engagement of students is the most controversial issue in experiential education.…”

“…This retraining includes helping faculty develop new teaching roles and beliefs, moving away from didactic and traditional techniques (e.g., relying on lecture based formats) and developing their abilities as constructivist facilitators of group experiences as well as co-learners alongside students (Anderson, 2013;Breunig, 2014). This can require extensive professional development for faculty members on how to become great facilitators rather than great lecturers (Loepp, 1999;Petersen et al, 2005).…”

“…However, while there has been longstanding research and dialogue on the use of experiential theories and practices in university environments, there is currently little research that explores the practice of integrated experiential education (e.g., see the Special issue of Schole, 2013, volume 28, issue 1), although there has been much written on the theory (Breunig, 2005(Breunig, , 2014Katz, 2013;Loepp, 1999;Shoemaker, 1989). Integrated experiential education is closely related to experiential education, where first hand experiences are paramount; however, "integration" is explicit about (a) the interdisciplinary nature of coursework (e.g., through block courses) which emphasizes relationships among subjects, rather than independent courses that focus on a single subject area (Anderson, 2013), and (b) meaningful student engagement in the surrounding community as a part of the learning process (Paisley, Spencer, Wells, & Schwab, 2013).…”

‘Lift off!’: Employing an integrated curriculum design to increase student, faculty, and community engagement

“…However, as noted in previous research (Anderson, 2013;Breunig, 2014;Fenton & Gallant, 2016), we realized that to gain community and industry participation, additional efforts must be dedicated toward cultivating and nurturing partnerships. This can spread a professor's time thin.…”

“…Furthermore, the process of implementing such interdisciplinary programming comes with its challenges, deterring institutional investment and commitment. For instance, moving away from didactic and traditional teaching techniques requires a level of "retraining" and professional development for faculty members, while additional time and energy is necessary to develop and maintain connections with community organizations (Anderson, 2013;Breunig, 2014;Fenton & Gallant, 2016;Katz, 2013). This has a compounding effect on the already existing pressures faced by many scholars, who are trying to achieve excellence not only in teaching, but in research and service as well (Fenton & Gallant, 2016;Katz, 2013).…”