scholarly journals Service Learning: Bringing The Business Classroom To Life

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Lauren Ayers ◽  
Tristan L. Gartin ◽  
Brannan D. Lahoda ◽  
Shannon R. Veyon ◽  
Megan Rushford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Management Level ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

While service-learning may be easily incorporated into medical or legal fields, this type of active learning generally has not been historically integrated into any discipline within the business curriculum. This is unfortunate, as the utilization of business students in not-for-profit environments can provide a triple-win scenario:  the students receive an enriched learning experience, as they likely will confront opportunities at the entry level that are not generally experienced until the middle-management level; the administrators at the not-for-profit have access to business students with skills that are necessary but typically expensive to acquire; and the constituents served by the organization are enriched by having improved delivery or efficiency of service.  Within this paper, we will discuss the service-learning environment and will then detail a project we have worked on in a service-learning-oriented class, with the hope that others may use our experience to facilitate their own service-learning projects as students or within the context of a class.

Measuring Students' Attitudes toward College Education's Role in Addressing Social Issues

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Weber ◽  
Paula S. Weber ◽  
Barney L. Craven
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects ◽  
Standard Techniques

As service-learning projects have spread throughout academia, efforts to assess the service-learning experience have assumed a greater importance. The BERSI scale (Business Education's Role in addressing Social Issues) was developed as a measure of business students' attitudes toward social issues being addressed as part of a business education. As such, it was intended to be useful in assessing attitudinal outcomes of service learning. In order for the BERSI to be useful for nonbusiness students, the scale would need to be reconceptualized and revalidated. This study modified the BERSI items with a focus on college students in general rather than business students, making the resulting scale, College Education's Role in addressing Social Issues (CERSI), potentially helpful to service-learning researchers in a broader setting. The CERSI scale was then validated using standard techniques and normative data were reported.

Community Service Learning Increases Communication Skills Across the Business Curriculum

1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Tucker ◽  
Anne M. McCarthy ◽  
John A. Hoxmeier ◽  
Margarita M. Lenk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Elementary Students ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Community Service Learning ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

Community service learning offers a unique and rewarding way for business students to reinforce communication capabilities while developing lifelong career and social skills. This article defines community service learning, dis cusses its importance to business as well as higher education, and describes three community service learning projects. Students in these projects taught elementary students, designed a computer system for a community nonprofit, and developed accounting systems for university divisions. In doing so, they enhanced their understanding of classroom theories and communication skills through service-learning.

scholarly journals An Alternative Delivery Method for Service-Learning Projects in Construction Management

10.29007/2t87 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Bond
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Delivery Method ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Alternative Delivery ◽  
Learning Projects

The benefits of utilizing service-learning projects to facilitate student professional growth and personal development, in addition to supplementing traditional lecture and activity-based classroom education, has created a variety of new pedagogy. Typically, service-learning in Higher Education has been delivered by a capstone, senior project, or elective course providing a formalized structure for faculty to carry out their version of pedagogy. However, not all learning institutions possess the resources or have the support to offer service-learning in their curriculum. For those institutions, there appears to be a void in the available higher education literature suggesting alternative service-learning delivery systems. The purpose of the study was to determine if an all-volunteer campus-based student club managed construction project, utilizing an informal classroom setting, could be an effective alternative delivery method for providing a successful service-learning experience. A post-project student refection’s survey was conducted with an emphasis on the results of the students’ participation goals and perceived development of critical soft skills. The survey findings indicate positive student experiences with data-supported perceptions of enhanced learning and development in teamwork, communications, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These results suggest that an informal classroom system is a viable methodology for delivering service-learning experiences.

scholarly journals The Use Of Economic Impact Studies As A Service Learning Tool In Undergraduate Business Programs

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Misner
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Business Programs ◽  
Impact Studies ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Economic Impact Studies ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

This paper examines the use of community based economic impact studies as service learning tools for undergraduate business programs.  Economic impact studies are used to measure the economic benefits of a variety of activities such as community redevelopment, tourism, and expansions of existing facilities for both private and public producers.  Economic impact studies when structured as service learning projects provide an experiential learning environment for business students, affording them with the opportunity of applying the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom while at the same time engaging in community service.  Such projects can expose students to the importance of corporate social responsibility and help involved faculty to remain current in their fields of expertise while providing pedagogical and practice oriented avenues for research.  Clients gain access to expertise in a cost effective manner.  When done effectively, service learning projects in undergraduate business programs generate goodwill and favorable publicity while helping academic institutions meet mission statements and address specific accreditation standards.

scholarly journals The Real-World Experience: Students Perspectives on Service-Learning Projects

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Collegiate Level ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

The purpose of this paper is to identify how students gain “real-world” experience via service-learning projects.  This article describes the results of a pilot study conducted with over 75 business graduate students to investigate the effects of service-learning curriculum at the collegiate level.  The following qualitative data was collected:  observations, field notes, interviews, video-taped group meetings, and student reflection journals.  This data was collected to gain insight on the research question, “What are business students’ views of service-learning projects and how they contribute to ‘real-world’ experience?”  In addition, this article briefly discusses literature on the ethnographic qualitative approach and its significance, as well as the service-learning literature that continues to evolve as the instigation of such projects continues to draw the attention of researchers and educators.  

scholarly journals Redefining the Pedagogy: Service-Learning in Libraries and Archives

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M Scott
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Learning Partnerships ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

Service-learning has become an established pedagogy in higher education classrooms. With a push in recent years to offer classroom experiences that offer more than static lectures, service-learning incorporates three main elements into its model; experiential learning, contribution to the community, and reflection which merges theory with practice for a unique learning experience. Service-learning can also be found in early models of library science education. This article will highlight service-learning projects in both libraries and archives that used innovative methods to create partnerships in the community. It will also argue that both libraries and archives should not be overlooked when considering these projects and can be valuable resources for successful service-learning partnerships.

Sowing the Seeds of Social Justice through Service-Learning with American Indian Tribal Partners

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Angela A. Gonzales
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
American Indian ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Community Partners ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

As a form of community engagement pedagogy, service-learning aims to bridge theory with practice by combining learning goals and community service in ways that are mutually beneficial to students and community partners. However, if not done well, service-learning can have the opposite effect of reinforcing stereotypes, perpetuating social inequalities, and placing more of a burden on communities and organizations than providing a service. Based on the author's service-learning experience with community partners on the Hopi Reservation, this article considers some of the challenges and opportunities for developing meaningful and mutually beneficial service-learning projects with American Indian tribal partners.

scholarly journals Service Learning And Business Education: Distinctions Between Undergraduate And Graduate Business Students

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Cleamon Moorer, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Graduate Business Students ◽  
Learning Projects ◽  
Undergraduate Business Students

Research on service learning in business education often enumerates its efficacy and overall value. The focus on business students attitudes toward service learning offers insight into program design and implementation of service learning into business curricula. This study investigates the distinctions between undergraduate and graduate business students attitudes related to service learning in the business college of a Midwestern liberal arts university. A survey was distributed to a total of 210 students in three of the colleges undergraduate and graduate business courses respectively. Students assessed their motivation, preparation, and skills to meet and fulfill service learning projects. Results of this study reflected that graduate business students possessed greater levels of commitment and skill sets to perform service learning projects. These data support an ideology that undergraduate business students may need more social development and academic preparation to gain the maximum benefit from service- learning projects. Traditional-age undergraduate business students were surveyed; thus responses to survey questions could have differed greatly if the undergraduate business students surveyed were non-traditional-aged or returning adult students.

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.

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