Service Learning in the Sciences: Student Perception Before and After Working with a Community Partner

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Berger
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Before And After

scholarly journals SUCCESSFUL SERVICE-LEARNING FOR STATISTICS STUDENTS STUDYING SURVEY SAMPLING

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-103
Author(s):  
KIRSTEN DOEHLER
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Survey Sampling ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Sampling Statistics

This paper explores the implementation of service-learning projects in a survey sampling statistics course. In these projects, students worked with a community partner to develop and administer a survey, analyze the data collected, and present the results. A study with 23 participants was  conducted to investigate whether students’ attitudes towards community service changed after involvement in a statistical consulting-based service-learning project with a local non-profit organization. Results from  administering the Community Service Attitudes Scale (Shiarella, McCarthy, & Tucker, 2000) before and after the project indicated significant changes in several aspects of attitudes towards service. Qualitative information is also provided on themes from student reflection assignments. Project details and recommendations for instructors administering this type of service-learning project are discussed. First published November 2018 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

The impacts and success factors of a work-from-home service-learning internship during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
May Mei Ling Wong ◽  
Ka Hing Lau ◽  
Chad Wing Fung Chan
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Student Interns

PurposeCOVID-19 has changed the way we teach and learn, including service-learning (S-L). This study examines the impacts of the work-from-home (WFH) mode on the work performance and learning outcomes of student interns on an eight-week S-L internship programme, and the key factors in terms of its success.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research methodology is adopted by interviewing nine student interns and four supervisors from three community partner organisations (CPOs) to understand their experiences of how the WFH mode has impacted intern work performance and learning outcomes. Thematic analysis is used for the data analysis.FindingsThe interns uncover a number of negative WFH impacts on the S-L internship, including ineffective communication and management practice, low work efficiency and quality, a lack of task variety and learning opportunities and distractions in the home environment. Furthermore, five critical factors for WFH success are also identified, including prior preparation, effective communication systems, personal motivators at work, the nature of the job in relation to it being suited to the WFH mode, and organisational support.Originality/valueThe study examines impacts on student work performance and learning outcomes in an S-L summer internship programme operating under the WFH mode as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key success factors and practical recommendations have been developed for enhancing the future success of S-L internships operating under the WFH mode.

College Students Training Law Enforcement Officers: The Officer Charlie Get Fit Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Judge ◽  
Tonya Skalon ◽  
Makenzie Schoeff ◽  
Shannon Powers ◽  
James Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Project Officer

While most law enforcement agencies recognize the importance of physical fitness for their officers and encourage them to maintain an adequate level of fitness, many find it difficult to implement a fitness program successfully. Prior studies and literature support the implementation of community-centered fitness initiatives. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe participant outcomes from the service- learning project Officer Charlie Get Fit Project and (2) delineate Kolb’s experiential learning model implemented by undergraduate kinesiology majors when applied in an exercise setting. Students were charged with working directly with police officers over an 8-week program with the goal of lowering health-risk factors for the participants. Additionally, the project provided an opportunity for students to assess their own learning style and infuse it in a real-world professional application. Participants included 16 police officers (M = 44.6, SD = 10.7 years of age) and one elected city administrative official. Paired sample t tests revealed nonsignificant differences between the pretest and posttest scores on the 10 fitness measures. Descriptive statistics revealed improvements in categories of body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, sum of skinfolds, and overall body fat percentage. Participant exit interviews indicated positive qualitative results. The student reflection piece indicated that the frequent writing helped with (1) the myriad of planning and preparation issues, (2) selecting a community partner and recruiting participants, and (3) data collection and analysis. This study was an important assessment of immersive learning opportunities provided through classroom lecture and development of community partnerships.

scholarly journals Conceptual Framework for Assessing Process Variables Salient for Service-Learning Experience

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka Hing Lau ◽  
Robin Snell
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Past ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Effective Integration

Service-learning is an established pedagogy which integrates experiential learning with community service. It has been widely adopted in higher education around the world including in Hong Kong, yet the key ingredients that determine its successful impacts for its stakeholders have not been fully assessed. This study reviewed the past literature, which indicates the key ingredients that may be found in successful service-learning programmes. We identify six key ingredients: students provide meaningful service; the community partner representative plays a positive role; effective preparation and support for students; effective reflection by students; effective integration of service-learning within the course design; and stakeholder synergy in terms of collaboration, communication and co-ownership. In order to obtain an inter-subjectively fair and trustworthy data set, reflecting the extent to which those key ingredients are perceived to have been achieved, we propose a multi-stakeholder approach for data collection, involving students, instructors and community partner representatives.

Writing Partners

2018 ◽  
pp. 202-222
Author(s):  
Sarah Blomeley ◽  
Amy Hodges Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
College Level ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Community Members ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Writing Assignment

This chapter describes and analyzes a writing assignment, an oral history project, developed for a college-level service-learning composition class. In bridging the writer with a single community partner and inviting the pair to jointly compose a memoir, this assignment can create a successful service-learning experience by engaging students and community members in projects that are beneficial and hold important personal, social, and political implications. The chapter also considers how the project, up to this point used successfully in local service communities, might fare in international service learning contexts.

scholarly journals The Energy Conversion Playground (ECP) Design Task: Assessing how Students Think About Technical and Non-Technical Considerations in Sustainable Community Development

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Mazzurco ◽  
James L Huff ◽  
Brent K Jesiek
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Global Engineering ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Project Failures ◽  
Technical Considerations

Students in global service-learning and similar programs frequently encounter substantial social, cultural, political, and ethical differences when working with project partners in different countries and regions. Neglecting such differences can lead to project failures and/or disempowered communities. In response to these challenges, educational resources have been developed to teach students to think about how the people, social structures, and other contextual factors associated with projects can affect, and be affected by, students’ designs. Yet, there remains a scarcity of valid and reliable instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions. The purpose of this study is create a theoretically and empirically grounded instrument, the Energy Conversion Playground (ECP) design task, that is able to provide a meaningful and robust assessment of an individual’s ability to identify salient technical and non-technical considerations when approaching an engineering design task situated in a developing country context. We present the scenario and an accompanying rubric that was first developed inductively from student responses to the scenario (specifically 449 discrete items from 93 ECP design tasks submitted by students who attended a Global Engineering Design Symposium). Further development of the rubric involved deductive grounding in relevant literature. To demonstrate the sensitivity of ECP design task to changes in students’ thinking, we also performed comparative analysis of responses from a subset of the students (n=37) who completed the same instrument both before and after participating in the GEDS.

scholarly journals Construction Management Service Learning: A “How To” Process for Success

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-92
Author(s):  
R. Casey Cline ◽  
Ken Robson ◽  
Michael Kroth
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Practical Standpoint

To ensure that students are prepared for positions in the construction industry, construction management education programs expose students to industry relevant construction management (CM) theory and practice. Traditional transmission teaching methodologies, while arguably effective for teaching management theory and practice, are not as effective for the transfer of practical leadership skills and knowledge of construction specific processes. As an alternative teaching strategy, many CM programs incorporate service-learning (S-L) into curricula; providing students practical experience, focusing on the acquisition of knowledge through goal setting, thinking, planning, experimentation, observation, and reflection.        However, from a practical standpoint, the development of a service-learning project can be a daunting task for the educator. Beyond determining a suitable project, a great deal of work must be undertaken to ensure a successful learning experience for the learner, as well as a successful project for the project owner or community partner. Processes must be put in place to ensure that the project is well developed, the student is practicing relevant CM skills, the project is completed in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the owner, and that the student learns through active reflection.        Thus, this paper is presented not as a project specific case study, but an attempt to simplify for CM educators the development of CM S-L projects and to provide a step-by-step process to facilitate a successful learning experience. 

scholarly journals Students Mentoring Students in a Service-Learning Clinical Supervision Experience: An Educational Case Report

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (10) ◽  
pp. 1513-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Black Lattanzi ◽  
Sandra L. Campbell ◽  
Robin L. Dole ◽  
Kerstin M. Palombaro
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Physical Therapy ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Skill ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Peer Mentorship

Background and Purpose Service-learning projects present the opportunity to combine academic skill practice and peer mentorship with meaningful community service. Implicit learning outcomes include an enhanced understanding of social responsibility and professional development—concepts difficult to teach in the classroom. The purpose of this educational case report is to describe the development, application, and outcomes of a service-learning project designed to facilitate peer mentorship and the development of social responsibility. Development of the Process Widener University mandated that all programs offer student community service opportunities on Martin Luther King Day. In response, the physical therapy program developed a plan to clean and screen assistive and mobility devices and provide blood pressure screening at designated community sites. Application of the Process All faculty and all members of the first-year and third-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) classes participated. The students and a faculty member traveled to designated community sites in teams. First-year students were able to practice newly acquired skills under the supervision and peer mentorship of third-year students. Outcomes Outcomes of the service-learning project were assessed through a tally of services rendered, measurement of curricular goal achievement, a survey of the community partners' satisfaction with the event, and consideration of both first-year and third-year DPT student reflection papers. Discussion The service-learning project was effective in meeting a community need, enhancing community partner relationships, fostering student understandings of social responsibility, and creating a valuable peer mentorship experience.

scholarly journals Improving the Long-Term Sustainability of Service-Learning Projects: Six Lessons Learned from Early MIT IDEAS Competition Winners

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Diana Jue
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
History Of ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects ◽  
Ongoing Concern

An ongoing concern of service-learning projects is whether they can benefit target populations in the long-term. Too often, service-learning projects end before a real deliverable is presented to the community. At MIT, a short history of service-learning projects can be documented through the IDEAS Competition, an annual competition that awards small monetary prizes to student teams that have designed and implemented innovative projects to positively impact underserved communities. This article analyzes how winning projects of the first five IDEAS Competitions evolved or dissolved. From the experiences and wisdom of these early winners, this article offers six pieces of advice to students and academic institutions seeking to implement service-learning projects: 1) Seriously consider implementation from the beginning, 2) Be concrete and realistic in the short term, 3) Be flexible in the long-term, 4) Build a multidisciplinary team, 5) Collaborate with a solid community partner, and 6) Prepare for continuity.

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