Deepening of Critical Thinking Skills through the Use of Civic Engagement

Critical thinking is an underlying goal of modern education. It is also a needed skill for effectively navigating life in modern society. It is frequently however, not taught in school systems. Students are therefore left at a disadvantage. Civil engagement is the process by which people work together for the betterment of society. A pertinent skill of civic engagement is critical thinking. This chapter proposes a model for bringing civic engagement and critical thinking together to meet both educational and societal needs. This model provides effective strategies for teaching civic engagement outside of the classroom.

Challenges of Practicing and Honing Leadership Skills through Cross-Cultural Service Learning

This chapter provides insight into the unexpected cross-cultural challenges faced by service learning project coordinators in an overseas setting. The chapter focuses on a service learning project geared towards undergraduate U.S. leadership students on a 5-week summer study abroad trip to Austria. The instructor sought to utilize the abroad experience to highlight the value of service learning as a medium to benefit the local Austrian community, while furthering the U.S. students' understanding of cross-cultural leadership. Like other individuals in a new host culture (i.e. expatriates), the service learning project coordinator (US instructor) faced a variety of unexpected cross-cultural challenges upon arrival in the host culture (Austria). This chapter highlights some universal cross-cultural challenges (lack of cultural and organizational familiarity, culture shock), why they can be expected, and why they are often difficult to resolve. Potential solutions addressing these challenges in the context of cross-cultural service learning projects are also explored.

Community Service Learning

Poverty and low-socioeconomic status can have negative effects on the academic and social outcomes of children and youth. However, despite the growing number of children and families from low-income communities, the American Psychological Association reports that the field of psychology has not contributed significantly to research, education, and advocacy initiatives for low-income families. The purpose of the START model was to recruit and train psychology majors to work in low-income communities by engaging them in service, research, and teaching activities in a middle school located in a high-poverty community. For one semester, psychology undergraduate and graduate students collaborated on a literacy and classroom management project with a local middle school in a low-income community. Results showed an increase in the number of psychology students interested in working with low-income populations and high rates of satisfaction for the teacher who participated. Barriers and facilitators to implementation are discussed.

E-Service-Learning in Virtual Teamwork

Service learning opportunities need not be limited to the traditional classroom. Electronic service learning (e-service learning), also known as online service learning, breaks free from geographic restrictions and can take place anywhere students have Internet access. With over 6.7 million students enrolled in online courses through American universities, integrating e-service learning into the online environment can enrich the education of this growing number of online students. Coupled with virtual teamwork, e-service learning provides students with unique leadership opportunities that transcend the traditional classroom. Along with benefits there are also challenges associated with both e-service and virtual teamwork. This chapter focuses on the benefits and challenges of e-service learning in virtual teamwork, sources for e-service opportunities, and instructional design strategies to equip instructors with the tools for implementing this valuable learning experience.

Experiential Learning, Service Learning, and Engagement in a University ESL Setting

This chapter examines experiential and service learning in the context of an intensive English program for international graduate students, the goal of which is to foster engagement and cultural integration. The service learning project brings together skills in using English in authentic situations, researching, working as a team, communicating with members of the community they would not otherwise have contact with, presenting their project to their peers, and writing a reflection. Evidence is presented in the form of a description and analysis of the program and project, together with interviews with graduate mentors and excerpts from students' reflective writing. It is shown that the project has positive outcomes in terms of increased engagement and development of skills required for successful graduate study in a North American setting.

Service Learning Online

Using service learning as a form of experiential learning and application of learning objectives has matured to the extent that it has a demonstrated value. There is learning value for the student, and tangible and intangible values for the partnership agency or organization. Those organizations take and apply the work of academia beyond its walls. Online learning has resulted in the development of educational tools of technology to expand the scope of education to diverse and distributed learners beyond the walls of academia. As service learning continues into the millennium, it will apply the expanded scope available through technology tools and the online learning environment to a global context. This chapter describes the expansion of service learning into online learning, presenting two service learning projects that prepared distance learners to work in global and cultural contexts through the technological tools that have become available to distance learners. Moreover, the chapter identifies best practices for the integration of service learning and online learning technological tools available to the experiential learner. This new global learning context will address experiential learning objectives involving cultural awareness and globalization now relevant in the 21st century.

Service-Learning in Action

This case study explores a unique service-learning program from inception to evaluation through the in-depth examination of community relationships, outcomes students have attained and the ongoing community benefits. The case study demonstrates specific service-learning implementation techniques and reflection processes that challenge students to apply their experiences to their own educational goals and experiences. At Ripon College the Center for Social Responsibility supervises a successful and innovative service-learning program; the Storybook program. In collaboration with the Green Lake County Correctional Facility (GLCCF) this program has college students meet with inmates to select and practice reading children's books on video. The book and recording are sent to the inmate's child(ren) to maintain familial relationships during incarceration. Based firmly in adult literacy pedagogy this service-learning experience has multiple simultaneous psycho-social outcomes for all involved.

“It Depends on the Type of Program”

Effects of the organization on TESOL candidates' experience of service-learning were studied. Participants were 11 students enrolled in a graduate TESOL program. Students completed a 20-hour service-learning experience in a community-based organization that serves English learners and their families. Students filled out questionnaires, kept a journal, and participated in a class discussion. Analysis of the questionnaires indicated that students learned a lot about their organization, including its mission or purpose, curriculum, staffing, and training of volunteers. Journals revealed that students had a variety of experiences, that they learned a lot about their organizations, and that they learned valuable lessons about teaching in these organizations. Class discussion highlighted the variation in how organizations are organized and managed. These findings suggest that: 1) The organizations in which they serve affect candidates' experience of service-learning and 2) Teacher preparation programs should prepare candidates for the realities of this experience.

Impact of Community Engagement in Higher Education

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of community engagement on college students. It is an exploratory study investigating the attitudes and perceived impact of college students having participated in CE, measuring how effective CE is and how well these goals are met on a college campus. Mainly examined is the relationship between impact and student participation in CE. The amount of connectivity a student feels to the community will play a role in their continued college career. General civic engagement attitudes of respondents are assessed. Online surveys with demographic, Likert scale and open-ended questions are administered to give students the opportunity to put their experiences into their own words. Based on previous research in the area, researchers expect that students will gain employable attributes from their participation in CE during college as well as will report high impact and connectivity to the university and the community.

Supporting Graduate Students to Implement Community-Engaged Research

Community engagement is a growing field and engaged research is vital to the field. Community-engaged research has the defining features and principles of community, participation, and action, each of which are described in this chapter. Conducted with and for communities, community-engaged research exists on a continuum with varying degrees of engagement. There are many challenges to developing and implementing community-engaged research and graduate students in non-profit and community-based work require relevant training and experiences to do this work effectively. Key challenges include the timeframe required for community-engaged research, the Institutional Review Board process and ethical responsibilities to the community, students' basic research knowledge and experience, and students' comfort and confidence with community-engaged research. This chapter describes one program's approach to facilitating graduate students' acquisition of community-engaged research skills and offers recommendations to faculty involved in such work.