Ethnographic Service Learning: An Approach for Transformational Learning

Transformational Experiences ◽

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.

Handbook of Research on Blended Learning Pedagogies and Professional Development in Higher Education - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

Unconventional Delivery

10.4018/978-1-5225-5557-5.ch014 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 259-273 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T. J. Hendrix

Keyword(s):

Distance Learning ◽

Service Learning ◽

Online Education ◽

Online Courses ◽

The United States ◽

The Public ◽

Learning Options ◽

Learning Projects ◽

Very High

As university programs compete to retain and increase enrollment, online courses are being created to meet the demands of a rising population of students with preferences for self-paced learning. The 2015 Babson Survey Research Group report tracking online education in the United States shows 70.7% of active degree-granting institutions open to the public have some distance-learning options. In the same report, two- and four-year public institutions offering distance learning course were reported to have “very high” rates of offerings for distance learning, with both showing over 90% of enrolled students taking at least one online course. This chapter examines the need to gap between content and application in online learning through service-learning and outlines a process for implementing service-learning projects with emphasis on e-service-learning. As distance learning continues to grow, the need for innovative pedagogical methods will also grow, which makes service-learning an attractive strategy.

Reimagining Service-Learning: Deepening the Impact of This High-Impact Practice

Journal of Experiential Education ◽

10.1177/1053825919837735 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 229-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karen L. Anderson ◽

Margaret Boyd ◽

Katherine Ariemma Marin ◽

Kathleen McNamara

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

High Impact ◽

Credit Hours ◽

Science Major ◽

High Impact Practice ◽

The Impact ◽

Background: Service-learning has historically been seen as a high-impact practice that empowers undergraduates to develop essential learning outcomes. Most service-learning discussed within the literature occurs as a required element of a credit-bearing academic course. Purpose: This study explored what happens when service-learning is reimagined to be disconnected from a specific course and credit hours, and available via application to all undergraduates regardless of the liberal arts/science major or year in the college. Methodology/Approach: HyperRESEARCH was used to identify themes and categories from 45 sets of weekly reflections submitted by 36 participants engaged in reimagined service-learning projects across five semesters. Findings/Conclusions: Key findings reveal that not only do undergraduates develop essential learning outcomes as delineated in the existing literature, but in many cases, their understandings, and abilities to execute these skills, are deepened when service-learning is reimagined. Findings also reveal that undergraduates may experience service-learning differently depending upon year in college. Implications: Results from this study suggest that practitioners should investigate ways to reimagine service-learning, with specific emphasis placed on the differential ways college students at various stages in their undergraduate career experience, and learn from, service-learning.

International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship ◽

Integrating Service Learning Projects into Civil Engineering Courses

10.24908/ijsle.v2i1.2091 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang ◽

Nathan Gartner ◽

Oguz Gunes ◽

John M. Ting

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Traffic Signal Control ◽

Program Outcomes ◽

Heritage Foundation ◽

Course Structure ◽

Course Objectives ◽

The City ◽

Three service-learning projects of various content, workload, and community partnering were identified and implemented in two core and one elective undergraduate courses in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2005. This paper presents how these service learning projects were seamlessly integrated into existing courses without removing pertinent course materials and without a significant increase in time commitment. Details on the course contents, course structure, projects implemented, and how each project was used to address certain course objectives were presented as well. The selected projects were as follows: (1) Davidson Street Parking Lot Redesign for the City of Lowell; (2) Intersection Analysis – Traffic Signal Control for the City of Lowell; and (3) Preliminary Building Structural Evaluation for the Architectural Heritage Foundation in Lowell, MA. Over 80 undergraduate students ranging from freshmen to seniors participated in these community-based projects. Course objectives and ABET program outcomes were evaluated by a course-specific survey questionnaire. Students’ experience on the S-L project was assessed by a newly developed survey instrument. The survey demonstrated that service learning had several positive impacts on the students.

International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship ◽

International Service Learning Design Projects: Educating Tomorrow's Engineers, Serving the Global Community, and Helping to Meet ABET Criterion

10.24908/ijsle.v6i2.3548 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 98-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dan Budny ◽

Robert Thomas Gradoville

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Pilot Project ◽

International Service Learning ◽

International Service ◽

Local Chapter ◽

Humanitarian Engineering ◽

Transformational Experiences ◽

The University ◽

International service-learning projects are an effective educational tool for universities striving to meet the ABET engineering criterion, while also providing transformational experiences to their students and a service to needy populations in the world. This paper discusses the benefits of international service-learning projects for students, the international community, and the university. The year-long process of development and piloting of the first international humanitarian engineering service-learning project within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh is presented. Also, the ABET engineering criterion are then discussed, with specific attention to the criterion that are harder to address with traditional engineering education. This pilot project was a collaboration between the senior design course, a local chapter of Engineers Without Borders, and various domestic and international entities. The benefits of international service learning projects are discussed, in the hopes of catalyzing development of similar projects in the future.

Undergraduate Students Solving Transportation and Energy Problems through Service Learning Projects in Cameroon

10.13031/2013.38119 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

John H Lumkes Jr. ◽

David D Wilson ◽

Anne E Dare

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

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

American Journal of Business Education (AJBE) ◽

10.19030/ajbe.v2i3.4050 ◽

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 ◽

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.

Service-learning: A survey of experiences in Spain

Education Citizenship and Social Justice ◽

10.1177/1746197918803857 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 162-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pilar Folgueiras ◽

Pilar Aramburuzabala ◽

Hector Opazo ◽

Aitziber Mugarra ◽

Antonio Ruiz

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Community Service ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Education Level ◽

Survey Study ◽

Teaching Methodology ◽

Positive Perception ◽

Ethical Commitment ◽

Service-learning is a teaching methodology that promotes students’ learning through active participation in experiences of community service. This methodology allows students to engage directly with those to whom it offers a needs- and context-adapted service, very often outside the classroom. While there are numerous projects that follow the service-learning methodology, surveys of experiences carried out at higher education level remain scarce. We performed a survey study with 424 undergraduate students participating in service-learning projects in order to identify the type and level of student participation, the skills and competences acquired; the characteristics of services provided; and the levels of satisfaction of students taking part. We found that the students had a positive perception of the effects of their participation; that the skills and competences developed were primarily teamwork, ethical commitment, adapting to new situations and problem-solving; and that the usefulness of the service was mainly in moral development and commitment.

Finding the Right Fit: Helping Students Apply Theory to Service-Learning Contexts

Journal of Experiential Education ◽

10.1177/1053825917750407 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 8-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Audrey Ricke

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Learning Experiences ◽

Central Component ◽

Pedagogical Model ◽

The Social ◽

Theory Application ◽

The Right ◽

Match Theory

Background: Although past studies of service-learning focus on assessing student growth, few studies address how to support students in applying theory to their service-learning experiences. Yet, the task of applying theory is a central component of critical reflections within the social sciences in higher education and often causes anxiety among undergraduate students. Purpose: This article identifies a pedagogical model that helps students navigate the selection and application of theory to their service-learning experiences. Methodology/Approach: The pedagogical model is based on a case study of an upper-division anthropology service-learning course, which included survey and interview data to assess the model’s effectiveness. Findings/Conclusions: The findings indicate that a familiar framing analogy, combined with a specific set of scaffolded in-class activities that takes into consideration Perry’s scheme of learning, is useful for bridging the gap between understanding theory and selecting and applying a particular theory to service-learning projects. Such an approach helped relieve student anxiety and confusion surrounding theory application and service-learning. Implications: To grow as scholars, students must be able to match theory to real-world situations on their own. By combining a framing analogy with scaffolded activities, instructors can help students transition from memorizing theories to applying them to their service-learning.