scholarly journals Universities without Walls: A Blended Delivery Approach to Training the Next Generation of HIV Researchers in Canada

Author(s):  
Francisco Ibáñez-Carrasco ◽  
Catherine Worthington ◽  
Sean Rourke ◽  
Colin Hastings

(1) Background: Although HIV has not diminished in importance in Canada, the field of HIV research remains small, and the graduate students who decide to pursue careers within it feel isolated and uncertain about their professional skills and opportunities. Universities Without Walls (UWW) was created in 2009 to help redress these shortcomings. This paper presents a case study of UWW, a non-credit training program for emerging HIV researchers in Canada. In particular, we focus on the possibilities of experiential learning via online and blended delivery. UWW uses both online and in-person teaching modalities to teach engaged scholarship, interdisciplinarity, community-based research (CBR), intervention research, and ethics. (2) Methods: Using a case study, we elucidated the research question: “What are the factors that make Universities Without Walls a viable training environment in the contemporary HIV/AIDS field?” Focus groups were conducted with 13 UWW key stakeholders in 2012 during a program mid-point evaluation; in 2014, telephone or in-person interviews with the three directors were conducted by a UWW fellow (the 4th author of this paper), and in 2019 the authors analyzed the information and anecdotal evidence, which had been incorporated as thick description. In addition, fellows’ self-assessments via portfolio and results from formal learning assessments were included. We also thematically analyzed 65 student self-reports (2009–2015). (3) Results and Discussion: Each UWW cohort lasted 9 months to one year and was comprised of: a) sustained mentorship from the co-directors (e.g., phone conversations, assistance with grant writing, letters of reference, etc.); b) fortnightly online webinars that aim to develop fellows’ knowledge of community-based research (CBR), research ethics, intervention research, and interdisciplinary research; c) community service learning in the form of a “field mentoring placement”; d) face-to-face engagement with fellows and mentors, most notably at the week-long culminating learning institute; e) a stipend for fellows to carry out their training activities. The UWW pedagogical framework features experiential learning, critical pedagogy, and heutagogy made manifest in the field mentoring placements (community service learning), mentorship mediated by technologies, and in-person learning institutes. Our analysis showed that experiential learning was imparted by UWW’s a) transparency about its “implicit curriculum”, the attitudes, values, character, and professional identity imparted in the program as well as the overarching programmatic elements, such as commitment to diversity, the inclusion of those with lived experience, the flexible admissions policies and procedures, interdisciplinary faculty, flexible team, administrative structure, and valuing of technology in conducting research, learning, and teaching; b) curriculum co-designing and co-teaching, and c) sustaining a community of practice. The main results reported in our case study included significant “soft outcomes” for UWW fellows, such as developing a “social presence” as a precursor to lasting professional connections; learning to experience community-based research, intersectionality, and interdisciplinarity by interacting online with persons living with HIV, leaders in the field, and a variety of stakeholders (including nonprofit staff and policymakers). (4) Limitations: While fellows’ self-evaluation data were collected by an independent assessor and anonymized to the extent this was possible, the co-authors inevitably bring their preconceptions and positive biases to UWW’s assessment. As UWW was developed to function outside of traditional academic structures, it is unlikely that the UWW program could be transferred to a post-secondary environment in its entirety. UWW was also built for the socio-political environment of HIV health research. (5) Conclusions: The experiences of those involved with UWW demonstrate that explicit curricular components—such as interdisciplinarity, community-based research, intervention research, and applied ethics—can be learned through a blended delivery when combined with opportunities to apply the knowledge in ways, such as a field mentoring placement and a learning institute. Related to this outcome, our case study describes that implicit curricular components in the formation of a professional—the sense of self in the field as a researcher, student, and community member—can also be delivered through a blended model. However, the tools and activities need to be tailored to each student for their context, while pushing their disciplinarian and professional boundaries.

2003 ◽  
Vol os-20 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Cunningham ◽  
Kerry E. Vachta

Brulle (2000) has noted the failure of the recent literature in critical theory to reflect the commitment of its founders to applying their philosophical and theoretical scholarship to create concrete social change. The authors have taken up the challenge to recover critical theory's “forgotten materialist component” and simultaneously responded to the call to reinvigorate the civic mission of the public university through efforts to integrate critical theory with community service learning and community-based research. The paper discusses historical, philosophical and theoretical issues in this effort and some reflections on our attempt to apply them in practice through the revitalization of the Center for Community Action and Research at Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg.


2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Anne Parker ◽  
Natasha Myers ◽  
Helen Christine Higgins ◽  
Thorun Oddsson ◽  
Meegan Price ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Karen Ho ◽  
Boris S. Svidinskiy ◽  
Sahara R. Smith ◽  
Christopher C. Lovallo ◽  
Douglas B. Clark

Community Service Learning (CSL) is an experiential learning approach that integrates community service into student projects and provides diverse learning opportunities to reduce interdisciplinary barriers. A semester-long chemistry curriculum with an integrated CSL intervention was implemented in a Canadian university to analyze the potential for engagement and positive attitudes toward chemistry as a meaningful undertaking for 14 post-secondary students in the laboratory as well as for their 400 K-12 student partners in the community. Traditionally, introductory science experiments typically involve repeating a cookbook recipe from a lab book, but this CSL project allowed the post-secondary and K-12 students to work collaboratively to determine the physical and chemical properties and total dissolved solids in the water fountains from the K-12 students' schools. Post-instructional surveys were completed by all learners and were analyzed using a mixed methodological approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods. The expected audience that may be interested in this study are those involved in teaching chemistry in higher education and at the K-12 level as well as those interested in service learning, community and civic engagement, experiential learning, and development of transferable skills in chemistry. The results demonstrate that both groups of students report favorable engagement and attitudes towards learning chemistry and higher self-confidence levels on performing lab skills after the activity. Furthermore, both groups of students expressed interest in exploring future projects, which is indicative of the positive impact of CSL and the mutual benefits of the partnership.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-314
Author(s):  
Jennifer Leeman ◽  
Lisa Rabin ◽  
Esperanza Román-Mendoza

This article describes a critical service-learning initiative in which college students of Spanish taught in an after-school Spanish class for young heritage language (HL) speakers at a local elementary school. We contextualize the program within broad curricular revisions made to the undergraduate Spanish program in recent years, explaining how critical pedagogy and our students’ experiences motivated the design of the program. After describing the program, we analyze reflections from participants that show how the experience helped them take their critical language agency beyond the classroom walls and integrate university, school and community knowledges, as both the college students and the children they taught came to view their cultural and linguistic heritages to be of educational and public importance.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Nandan

This article describes a service learning project implemented jointly by undergraduate and high school students during summer.  The service learning project was designed through a Summer Research Institute hosted at a Midwestern University; the institute encouraged faculty to recruit undergraduate students who would partner with area high school students to conduct a community-based research project in their field of interest.  The article describes the partnership between students, as well as the experiential learning that occurred during: research topic identification, literature analysis, planning and implementing a mixed-methodology community-based research project, and during the qualitative and quantitative data analysis, by students.  Using a mosaic theory, the students inferred relationships between three apparently unrelated spheres of their research: challenges faced by youth in the community, financial health of social services for youth, and corporate philanthropy for youth services.  Recommendations for designing creative academic, experiential and service learning projects are offered for all educators. 


2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
T. Barone ◽  
Beth Ritter

Community Service-Learning (CSL) in higher education is a pedagogical approach embraced by many disciplines as a form of experiential learning that is rewarding for students, faculty and community partners. Although applied anthropology and CSL seem natural partners, applied anthropologists have published very little on CSL experiences. In this presentation of our experience, we argue that applied anthropologists should consider participating and publishing on CSL. We believe with a little preparation applied anthropologists are ready to jump into CSL, and that this will benefit their communities, their students, their careers and the discipline.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Ellenbogen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze experiences embedding community service learning into an assignment for a bachelor of social work course. The author used these experiences and their connections with early conceptions of progressive education and community work principles to present a pragmatic and supple community service learning (SCSL) model. Design/methodology/approach In total, 15 students and four community organizations participated in SCSL. Data consisted of focus groups, participatory observation, evaluations, e-mails, and documents. Naturalistic case study methodology was employed to retrospectively describe a noteworthy teaching and learning experience. Findings The SCSL model was judged useful for weaving current local realities into course lectures, promoting professional development, and providing community organizations with timely research syntheses. It seemed no more demanding than other teaching experiences. Six features of the model were deemed beneficial: multi-course scaffolding, bottom-up management, asymmetrical student roles, integration of academic and experiential learning, and student involvement in course delivery. Relevant contextual factors included: small class size, maturity of students, and cohesion within cohort. Research limitations/implications A single teaching experience and a small sample of participants informed this case study. Further research is needed to draw firm conclusions about SCSL’s usefulness and generalizability. Practical implications Acknowledging that it is based on limited evidence, SCSL appears to be a promising model for encouraging knowledge mobilization between universities and community organizations, and providing future professionals with experience in such activities. Originality/value This paper describes and analyzes the pedagogic value of SCSL, a manageable and adaptable teaching model for busy faculty.


Author(s):  
Lisa Meyer ◽  
Helen Triantafellou ◽  
Kim Davis

In our Engineering Communication Skills classrooms we aim to provide a meaningful setting in which students move from the classroom sphere to the professional sphere of writing. In this paper, we report on how we can use community service learning (CSL) to bridge these two spheres of writing. We show how the necessity of effective communication with community-based clients leads to audience awareness and subsequent acquisition of professional Engineering communication skills.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Hanhan Maulana ◽  
Irawan Afrianto ◽  
Angga Setiyadi ◽  
Richi Dwi Agustia ◽  
Dedeng Hirawan

ABSTRACT The purpose of this community service is to improve the quality of the teaching staff by conducting training for making learning media and learning applications to calculate student scores. This activity used 2 methods, first was the provision of basic knowledge then continued by the direct practice carried out by the participants. This training was divided into 4 sessions, the first session was an introduction to the basic components of the Windows operating system, the second session was learning Microsoft Word, the third session was learning processing scores with Microsoft Excel and the last session was making learning media using Microsoft Power point. Training material was given by the instructor, assisted by a mentor who accompanied the participants in following the material presented. Evaluation was done by giving questions in the form of case study. The trainees completed the case study with the timeframe given by each instructor. Based on the results of the evaluation and observation of the enthusiasm of the participants, it can be concluded that the training was in accordance with the expected objectives. By participating in this training, teachers had the ability to use computers to support their work in carrying out education and teaching in schools. Keywords: Community Service, Learning Media, Student Score Calculations, Microsoft Office Application, Teaching and Education   ABSTRAK Tujuan dari pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini adalah Meningkatkan kualitas tenaga kependidikan dengan mengadakan pelatihan pembuatan media pembelajaran dan mempelajari aplikasi pengolahan nilai. Pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini menggunakan dua metode pertama adalah  pemberian materi kemudian dilanjutkan dengan  praktek langsung yang di lakukan oleh peserta. Pelatihan ini dibagi menjadi 4 sesi, sesi pertama adalah pengenalan terhadap komponen komponen dasar sitem operasi windows, sesi kedua adalah pembelajaran microsoft word, sesi ketiga adalah pembelajaran pengolahan nilai dengan microsoft excel dan sesi terakhir adalah pembuatan media pembelajaran menggunakan microsoft powerpoint. Materi pelatihan diberikan oleh pemateri dibantu dengan pendamping yang akan mendampingi peserta dalam mengikuti materi yang disampaikan. Evaluasi dilakukan dengan memberikan contoh soal berupa studi kasus. Peserta pelatihan  menyelesaikan soal dengan rentan waktu yang di berikan oleh masing masing pemateri. Berdasarkan hasil evaluasi dan pengamatan terhadap antusiasme peserta dapat disimpulkan bahwa pelatihan ini sudah sesuai dengan tujuan yang diharapkan. Dengan pemberian pelatihan ini guru-guru di lingkungan PGRI Kec. Cisarua memiliki kemampuan dalam menggunakan perangkat komputer dalam mendukung tugasnya dalam melaksanakan pendidikan dan pengajaran di sekolah. Kata kunci: Pengabdian kepada masyarakat, Media pembelajaran, Pengolahan nilai siswa,  Pelatihan penggunaan aplikasi Microsoft, Pendidikan dan Pengajaran


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