designing an effective service-learning course and meaningful syllabus

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Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus Maureen Rubin California State University, Northridge Innovative Educators Webinar October 24, 2009

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Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus. Maureen Rubin California State University, Northridge Innovative Educators Webinar October 24, 2009. Program Outline. Is service-learning right for you? What do you want to accomplish? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful

Syllabus

Maureen RubinCalifornia State University, Northridge

Innovative Educators WebinarOctober 24, 2009

Page 2: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Program Outline

• Is service-learning right for you?• What do you want to accomplish? • Plan weekly learning and service activities.• Put them together in syllabus.• Unique service-learning assignments

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Page 3: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Is Service-Learning Right for You?

It's not for every instructor and it's not for every course

Consider:Advantages and disadvantages, challenges

and opportunities of the pedagogy, where it fits in student’s academic plan.

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Page 4: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

What Do You Want to Accomplish?

• Be very specific in identifying 1-3 student-learning outcomes you want your students to accomplish by participating in the service-learning portion of the class.

• Make sure the service enhances the learning and is not extraneous to your student learning objectives.

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Page 5: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Some things to consider

• Developmental appropriateness• Group or individual work?• Who selects community partner?• What skills do students need/have?• Everyone at same site at same time?• Students choose from several options?

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Page 6: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

10 Sample Student Learning Outcomes

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Page 7: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

1. Help students understand course content

• Assist students in learning course content through the practical application of concepts learned in class – Tax preparation

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Page 8: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

2. Promote social responsibility and civic learning

• Help students understand concepts such as power differentials or privilege – Electrical engineering (Lumens)

• Encourage students to probe problems for their symptoms or causes – Environmental Health (Healthy Homes)

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Page 9: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

3. Increase understanding of the importance of your discipline to society

• Transmit understanding that your discipline connects with life in the real world – Interior Design (Design jury room)

• Help students to see practitioners in your discipline as activists and contributors to the public good –Finance (Campus auxiliary investment)

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Page 10: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

4. Increase awareness of community

• Increase student’s knowledge of community issues, needs, strengths, problems and resources – Sociology (gang prevention)

• Identify community-based public and private programs that provide assistance and advocacy – Sociology (Yellow pages project)

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Page 11: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

5. Enhance commitment to service

• Improve students’ attitude to service – Genetics (Special Olympics)

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Page 12: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

6. Promote Career Development

• Expose students to career opportunities to help them make career decisions --Freshman seminar

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Page 13: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

7. Develop self-awareness

• Expose them to options and points of view other than their own – Journalism (Public relations practicum)

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Page 14: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

8. Increase sensitivity to diversity

• Help students understand the wealth of diversity in their community – Art or computer programs

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Page 15: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

9. Develop communication skills

• Learn to collaborate and negotiate to resolve conflict – JusticeCorps

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Page 16: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

10. Increase critical thinking

• Improve ability to think, apply information to problem solving and analyze information data and concepts – Kinesiology

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Page 17: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Plan Weekly Learning and Service Activities

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Page 19: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Plan Community Collaboration

• All at the same site at the same time• Students choose from limited, pre-screened

list. Community partners invited to come to first class to recruit and answer questions.

• Students select own site and write proposal.

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Page 20: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Successful Courses

• Blend service and academic content• Do not treat service-learning as an add-on, but

as an integral part of each class• Cross-fertilize assignments

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Page 21: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

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Student LearningObjectives

Service Objective What is Due Today?

Week#1

Increase awareness of community

Assist population with genetic diseases

Content LectureTopic

Chromosomes Special Needs Populations Paperwork

Service Learning Lecture Link

Why service-learning?

Reading Chapter 1 textbook Profiles of community sites Complete reading

AssignmentSelect partner Paperwork explaining

partner selection

AdditionalAssignment

ReflectionWrite Journal Entry 1 and

post on webWhy did you pick this

partner?Web journal posted and

comments made

Exam

Assignment and Outcomes Planner – 300-level Genetics course

Outcomes

AssIgnments

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Do the same outline for every week

• Content Lecture• Service-Learning Link Lecture• Readings

– Content– Service-Learning

• Assignment(s)– At site– For class

• Reflection

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Page 23: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Syllabus Elements

Course Information (Units, location, class number, meeting days and times)

Instructor information (Office, phone, office hours, email, website, emergency information)

Course Description – include definition of service-learning

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Page 24: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

More Syllabus Elements

• Student learning objectives– At the conclusion of this course, you will be able

to …– Course content – basic academic elements– Student Performance Evaluation – explain

elements that will constitute grade

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Page 25: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

And Some More• Grading Scale• Daily plan

– Today’s agenda– What’s due today?- What’s going to be due next week?

- Attendance policy- Legal/ethical statements (Students with

disabilities, plagiarism warning, tentative nature of syllabus).

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Page 26: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Under Course Description…

• The purpose of this course is to…• Match with University mission• Meeting accreditation standards• Build resumes• Departmental curriculum goals• Spell out learning objectives and how they are

critical elements of college education

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Page 27: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Definition of service-Learning

• …A course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service-learning activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Bringle and Hatcher

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Page 28: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Example - Grading• Sample Elements:

– Lecture/discussion exams and quizzes– Attendance in class and at community site– Community partners evaluation– Peer evaluations– Content papers– Service-Learning journals– Deliverable– Oral presentation

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Page 29: Designing an Effective Service-Learning Course and Meaningful Syllabus

Unique service-learning elements - Reflection

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What Is Reflection?

• Planned activities designed to help students process their service experience in a thoughtful manner

• Integrate service into the heart of the course to promote desired learning outcomes

• The “glue” that ties the learning to the service• Dynamic process that involves critical thinking,

analysis, evaluation, problem solving, mediation and reasoning

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What Does Current Research Say about It?

• The instructor’s ability to connect the community-based service experience to classroom activities and other graded assignments is the most important variable for successful service-learning.

• Intentional structured activities that offer students opportunities to examine and analyze their cognitive and affective learning (individually and/or in groups) are key.

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What are the Essential Elements? The 5 C’s

• Connection – feeling and thinking; learning is not compartmentalized into college and community.

• Continuity- must occur before, during and after the service experience.

• Context – should be used to solve problems with the tools, concepts and facts of the particular situation.

• Challenge - current perspectives must be examined and conflicts resolved.

• Coaching – Students need emotional support, need to feel safe; develop alternative explanations for experience and observations and question their original interpretations.

Eyler & Giles (1999)

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How Is It Done?

• Through specific activities designed to assist the student in processing the service-learning experience

• Many, many paths– Journals– Think pieces and creative expression– Role playing– Writing assignments

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Structured Reflection Journals• Journals that pose different questions throughout

the semester (Eyler 2001)

• Journals that pose the same questions after each session

• Journals mixed with mini-analysis papers (Azusa-Pacific University, 1999)

• Three-part journals (observe, feel, connect)

• Journals tied to lecture and reading• Interactive web- based journals with classmates

or community partners

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• Write a play• Write a letter to yourself, seal it, leave it with

instructor. At semester’s end reread it and write about change

• Make a video• Write a poem or song• Compose a travelogue• Write a letter to the editor, government agency,

etc.• Take photos• Draw or paint a scene

Think Pieces and Creative Expression

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Role Play• Bring a community partner to class and

have them create or reenact a typical or challenging service experience

• Divide students into groups and have each one act out a different roles played by various populations involved in service experience (i.e. service-recipients, agency staff, professor, government agency, student, etc.)

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Writing Assignments

• Interpret quotes– “A cynical young person is almost the saddest sight to see

because it means that he or she has gone from knowing nothing to believing in nothing.”

--Maya Angelou

• Community commentary– Describe a scene in the community

• What story does it tell?• What does it say about the community?• What does this scene mean to you and why?• If the scene were a painting, what title would you give it?

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Bibliography

• Seifer, Serene and Connors, Kara, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health for Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Faculty Toolkit for Service-Learning in Higher Education.

• National Service Learning Clearinghouse

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