Breaking Down Barriers to Community Inclusion Through Service-Learning: A Qualitative Exploration

Inclusion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Jones ◽  
Kami L. Gallus ◽  
Amanda S. Cothern
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Community Inclusion ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
Term Papers ◽  
Qualitative Exploration ◽  
Meaningful Interaction

Abstract Lack of meaningful interaction between persons with and without disabilities contributes to prejudice and perpetuates barriers to community inclusion. The current study explored a university-community agency partnership designed to break down barriers to community inclusion by promoting interaction between college students and adults with developmental disabilities. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and describe the experience of undergraduate university students involved in a service-learning project that included visiting the community homes of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving state services. Final course term papers of 156 undergraduate students were analyzed using a team-based approach. Nine salient themes emerged from the term papers and are discussed. Findings from this study have implications for university faculty and community agencies interested in promoting cultural competence and removing barriers to community inclusion.

The Impact of TimeSlips on Undergraduate Students in Service Learning With Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sabine Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Shift ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Journal Entries

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.

Ethnographic Service Learning: An Approach for Transformational Learning

Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie A. Medeiros ◽  
Jennifer Guzmán
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Transformational Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
The United States ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Transformational Experiences ◽  
Learning Projects

Trends in higher education pedagogy increasingly point to the importance of transformational experiences as the capstone of liberal arts education. Practitioners of ethnography, the quintessential transformational experience of the social sciences, are well-positioned to take the lead in designing courses and term projects that afford undergraduate students opportunities to fundamentally reshape their understanding of the social world and their own involvement within it. Furthermore, in the United States, colleges and universities have become proponents of service learning as a critical component of a holistic educational experience. In this article, we describe how service learning can be incorporated into training students in ethnographic field methods as a means to transformational learning and to give them skills they can use beyond the classroom in a longer trajectory of civic participation. We discuss strategies, opportunities, and challenges associated with incorporating service learning into courses and programs training students in ethnographic field methods and propose five key components for successful ethnographic service learning projects. We share student insights about the transformational value of their experiences as well as introduce some ethical concerns that arise in ethnographic service-learning projects.

scholarly journals UTILIZING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TO INFORM COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR OLDER ADULTS: A SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S537-S538
Author(s):  
Amanda E Barnett ◽  
Sara Olinger
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Home Visitor ◽  
Aging Societies ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Engaging undergraduate students with aging-focused community resources is critical for preparing students to work with older adults and make positive contributions to aging societies. During the fall, 2018 semester, undergraduate students in a human development course on middle and late adulthood partnered with a county aging and disability resource center (ADRC) in Wisconsin to evaluate and update several of their existing programs and resources using empirical research. Upon completion of this project, students synthesized course material to meet all course learning objectives such as: (1) critically analyze physical, psychological, and sociological processes of aging across categories of difference (e.g. cultural, ethnic, class); (2) evaluate social policies and their multigenerational implications for midlife and older adults; and (3) construct a personal position on aging that integrates theory, research, and policy to demonstrate a sensitive and competent approach to working with midlife and older adults. Students researched, wrote reports, and presented to ADRC staff on the impact of social isolation on older adults, best practices for home visitor and transportation programs serving older adults, cognitive competency tools and best practices for utilizing memory assessments, grief supports and groups for family caregivers, and best practices for supporting veterans as they age. The outcome of these projects are research-based recommendations for any ADRC to consider when developing and implementing related programs. All stakeholders (students, professor, and ADRC staff) were satisfied with the process and outcomes of the project. Strengths and challenges of carrying out such a collaborative project will be reviewed.

Establishing Partnerships for Effective Academic Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna L. Morrissey ◽  
Joseph A. Beckett ◽  
Ross Sherman ◽  
Lisa J. Leininger
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Community Partnerships ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Campus Community ◽  
Specific Service ◽  
Internship Programs

As undergraduate students prepare to enter the workforce and become engaged members in their communities, it is necessary for universities to provide students with opportunities and resources to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to be successful in their professional, personal, and social pursuits. Experiential learning is one approach that may be used to facilitate and strengthen the learning process for undergraduate students. Grounded in experiential learning, Kinesiology-specific service learning and internship programs can help students develop the skillset needed to be successful in their major and future careers. To best facilitate students’ learning, it is imperative that such academic programs build collaborative, sustainable and genuine campus-community partnerships. This paper presents a series of practical and successful partnership-building strategies from three unique institutions.

scholarly journals INSIGHTS ON TEACHING CHESS TO UNDERGRADUATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Bart
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
Correct Usage ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Computer Based

The purpose of this study was to explore how undergraduate university students react to chess instruction. Certain patterns emerged from 10 offerings of a Freshman Seminar entitled “Beginners’ Chess and 21st Century Thinking Skills”. The course enrolled only first-year and second-year undergraduate students at a large public state university in the USA. The students tended to have little or no knowledge of chess prior to the course. The course made extensive use of chess-related websites available on the Internet such as chess.com, lichess.org, and chessgames.com. The instruction involved the projection of a chess-related website projected onto a large classroom screen with the use of an instructor’s computer connected to a projector that projected the computer-based image onto the screen. The course had 10-20 students in each annual offering of the course that lasted 15 weeks. The student evaluations of the course were very positive, indicating that the students enjoyed the course very much. The course involved instruction in chess on topics such as tactics and basic checkmates along with instruction on the cognitive psychological foundations of chess on topics such as problem solving and critical thinking. The primary task in the course was that each student had to prepare a critical evaluation of two of their own chess games that included correct usage of proper algebraic notation for the chess moves. The chess activity that the students enjoyed the most was group competition.

scholarly journals Community Service-Learning: Why Can’t Canada Be More Like Mexico?

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-59
Author(s):  
Victoria Calvert ◽  
Halia Valladares Montemayor
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
National Level ◽  
Community Service Learning ◽  
Community Partners ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Volunteer Programs ◽  
The Government

  In Mexico, the community service strategy and requirements for undergraduate students are both longstanding and mandated by the Mexican Constitution. Students undertake a minimum of 480 hours of service during their undergraduate degrees, which are coordinated through their universities’ Social Service (SS) departments. Many Canadian universities and colleges offer community service through courses and volunteer programs; however, the practice and adoption levels vary widely. Student involvement with community partners, as represented through community service-learning (CSL) and volunteerism in Canada, are sponsored by many post-secondary institutions but are not driven by a national agenda. While, in Mexico, community service is documented at a departmental and institutional level for reporting to stakeholders and the government, in Canada, documentation of community service varies with the institutional mandate and is often sporadic or non-existent; the imperative for systematic student engagement and citizenship development has not been recognized at the national level. This research paper provides an overview of the community engagement practices in both countries, with the national patterns represented through a summative review of selected Canadian and Mexican universities. Suggestions for processes and practices for Canada are proposed based upon the Mexican model.

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