Education Commons^™

Urban Partnerships Promoting Academic Excellence, Amy L. Cook, Laura A. Hayden, Robert A. Gracia

Laura A Hayden

Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the University preparation programs have developed a collaborative partnership that shares a vision for charting bright futures for all students. This program aims that incorporating service learning in curricula will prepare school counseling students to promote educational excellence and equity among urban youth, and Co-creating school counseling interventions between UMass Boston faculty and BPS personnel will foster communication and meet student needs.

Thinking And Action: Preparing Students To Engage Complexity Within Themselves And In The World, Julia Van Der Ryn

Julia van der Ryn

This essay explores the dynamic tension between the human need to cultivate an autonomous identity and the desire to be part of a larger reality, suggesting that authentic morality emerges from a person’s struggle with the ever-shifting overlap between these two drives. Creating an intersection between thinking and action, service-learning pedagogy draws us into a creative confrontation with these drives, preparing students to engage complexity within themselves and in the world.

Education In Action: Service-Learning Celebrating 10 Years, Julia Van Der Ryn

Julia van der Ryn

The mission of the Service-Learning (SL) Program is to centralize resources and support for faculty, students, partner organizations and the diverse communities they serve to advance education and social justice through shared learning and collaborative action. The SL Program seeks to manifest the Dominican ideals and mission to educate ethical leaders and socially responsible global citizens through the creation of intentional, collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships and relevant teaching/learning practices. Service-Learning integrates meaningful community engagement with academic curriculum, enriching learning through experience and intentional reflection on the interface between theory and practice.

A Decade Of Self-Discovery Through Service Learning, Donna Dufner, Judith Monarrez Diaz-Kelsey

Presentations

• Introduction
• Best Practices
• Link to Curriculum
• College Student Voices/ Reflections
• Duration and Intensity
• Diversity
• Partnerships
• Monitoring/Debriefing
• Meaningful Service
• Video
• Review of Artifacts
• Q&A

Service Learning At Community Colleges: Synthesis, Critique, And Recommendations For Future Research, Amanda Taggart, Gloria Crisp

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to review and critique empirical work done, to date, specific to service learning experiences at the community college level. A review of the literature was conducted in order to examine the empirical work that has been developed regarding service learning, a form of experiential learning, at community colleges. The narrative defines service learning, describes types of service learning taking place on community college campuses, and synthesizes and critiques the service learning empirical work done to date. The review closes with specific recommendations for both researchers and practitioners regarding future research.

Becoming An Altruistic Learner, Aaron W. Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

This master’s thesis is a qualitative research project that explored the transformation of multiple individuals who initially learned for self-interested purposes, but later had a shift in their desire to learn so as to benefit others. The author collected rich narratives that described this phenomenon and provided insight into the following question: what is the experience of a learner who transitions from learning out of self-interest to learning out of altruistic purposes? The author found the following five major themes across six participants as they transitioned to more altruistic learning: humility, self-efficacy, resources, success and agency. These themes give insight …

Building Civic Participation Of Undergraduates: Umass Boston’S Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (Cesi), Rajini Srikanth, Aminah Pilgrim, Office Of Faculty Development, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Office Of Community Partnerships, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (CESI) is a professional development program that supports faculty and community partners to effectively engage undergraduate students in service-learning and community-based research activities. CESI aims to reinforce classroom learning, foster civic habits and skills, and address community-identified needs.

Community University Project For Literacy (Cupl), Carol Chandler-Rourke

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Community-University Project for Literacy (CUPL), now in its third decade of service, provides an academic structure for UMB students to provide 40 hours of service each semester as tutors at community-based learning centers while attending a credit-bearing seminar at UMass/Boston.

Study Of Fifth Grade Service Learning, Phyllis Van Gelder

Master of Education Program Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of the service learning implemented within the fifth grade curriculum of a small private school in the Midwestern United States with the goal of fostering civic responsibility and altruism within the fifth grade students. Data was collected from sixth grade students within two private schools; one group was the experimental group that had been involved in weekly service learning throughout their fifth grade year and the other group was the control group that had not been involved in service learning the previous year. Nominal-polytomous questionnaires, qualitative scenario-response questionnaires, and personal interviews were used to collect …

Student Success And Service-Learning: Exploring The Relationship At A Two-Year Public Institution, Leah Renee Kicinski

Masters Theses

This exploratory study examines the relationship between service-learning and student success at a two-year community college in the urban Midwest. Students who participated in service-learning during the 2010-2011 academic year were identified by institutional research and planning (n=788); additionally, students completed a survey regarding service experiences and learning outcomes (n=280). The data suggest that student success appears to be related to service-learning; 76% of subjects who participated in service-learning met a success indicator compared to 62% of students who were enrolled 2011-2012. Additionally, students reported learning communication, critical thinking, diversity, interpersonal, and personal skills as a result of their participation.

Impacts Of Service Learning On Undergraduate Teaching Assistants In An After-School Program: A Qualitative Approach To Discovery, Jennifer Goff, Jaime Bower, Eddie Hill

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

This qualitative study took a phenomenological approach to examine undergraduate teaching assistants’ experiences with CARE Now, a service learning after-school program. The purpose of this study was to identify impacts of the service learning program on the teaching assistants through semi-structured interviews. This study expands on prevalent service learning research by exploring the experiences of students’ leading their peers in a service learning project. Findings suggest that internal motivations, personal challenges and support, resiliency, contextual challenges, transformational experience, growth, and advocacy are all perceived impacts teaching assistants encounter. Suggestions for future research are provided.

Engaging Non-Scientists In Stem Through Problem-Based Learning And Service Learning, Andrew Tawfik, Rebecca J. Trueman, Matthew M. Lorz

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

This study follows the evolution of a single biology course designed for non-science majors. In its original design, the course used only traditional pedagogical techniques, such as lecture and textbook homework assignments. Over several iterations of the course, the class combined problem-based learning (PBL) and service learning to better support student knowledge. For this study, our goal was for students to learn biology concepts as they engaged in a lake cleanup project within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Data sources consisted of pretest, posttest, and final exam scores to assess learning. The results suggest the combination of PBL and service …

The Changing Role Of Higher Education: Learning To Deal With Wicked Problems, Judith A. Ramaley

Higher Education

The role of higher education is changing in today’s world because the world itself is changing, and complex problems confront us daily. This essay will explore the role of an emerging group of individuals who can serve as a bridge between the academic community and the world at large. These administrators, faculty members, staff, students, and community members can help create new opportunities for different disciplines to work together and for all parts of a campus community and members of the broader society to form new working relationships to address the complex problems of today’s world. What role will these …

Developing Servant-Leaders Through Service-Learning At A Southwest Christian University: A Quasi-Experimental Study., D. B. Meinecke

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"this study investigated the effectiveness of service-learning as pedagogy for developing servant-leaders. Participants included 97 students at a faith-based southwest christian university. Fifty-seven of the participants were enrolled in a 15-week servicelearning course (experimental group) and 40 participants were enrolled in similar non-service-learning courses (comparison group). all participants completed the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) as a pretest and posttest during the semester. Demographic information was collected in order to determine the participants’ age, gender, grade level, major, previous leadership training, and previous number of service-learning courses. Findings indicated that a student’s major or group (experimental or comparison) made no significant …

Service Learning In Counselor Education: Learning Outside The Classroom, Brandie M. Oliver, Nick R. Abel, Thomas Keller, Molly Myers, Andrew Mcaulay

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Learning session co-conducted at the annual conference of the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, St. Louis, MO. 2014, October.

Education In Action: Service-Learning Celebrating 10 Years, Julia Van Der Ryn

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The mission of the Service-Learning (SL) Program is to centralize resources and support for faculty, students, partner organizations and the diverse communities they serve to advance education and social justice through shared learning and collaborative action. The SL Program seeks to manifest the Dominican ideals and mission to educate ethical leaders and socially responsible global citizens through the creation of intentional, collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships and relevant teaching/learning practices. Service-Learning integrates meaningful community engagement with academic curriculum, enriching learning through experience and intentional reflection on the interface between theory and practice.

Circle Center Adult Day Services, Lindsey Naylor

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation produced by Lindsay Naylor, student at Virginia Commonwealth University, reflects on her experience in a service-learning course.

"People Are People": Benefits Of Inclusive Service, Sarah Mueller

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

College institutions often emphasize the importance of service learning for their students. After research revealed a lack of volunteer opportunities for college aged individuals with disabilities, a pilot program was developed to examine the benefits of service for this population, as well as their peers without disabilities. The project involved college undergraduates and young adults with an intellectual or developmental disability. After a weeklong service trip together, benefits were discussed and evaluated. Benefits to the participants with disabilities included pride, skill development and generalization, empowerment, and increases in social interaction. Benefits to the participants without disabilities included positive attitude change, …

The Evaluation Of An Environmental Leadership And Service Program's Effectiveness, Roberta Harlow Mcfarland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to a recent report from the National Center for Educational Statistics, approximately 20% of the United States' high-school aged population is at risk of dropping out of high school, an outcome that strongly limits participation in economic and educational opportunities. The importance of earning a high school diploma has increased many local districts' efforts to close graduation gaps across the student population. Accordingly, this study evaluated a recuperative environmental leadership and service (EL&S) program in a northwestern local district to ascertain its effectiveness in providing at-risk students the personal and academic support required for high school graduation. Following the …