Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Millennial Generation Faculty: Why They Engage In Service Learning, James Morgan Lewing, Paul Eugene York

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the experiences, motivations, and perceptions of millennial generation faculty members who utilize service learning. Eight faculty members were interviewed, and the three themes evident in the findings were: (a) the role of the undergraduate experience, (b) an alignment with intrinsic motivations, and (c) the perception of organizational fit.

Service Learning In Adapted Physical Education: Connecting The Classroom To The Community, Matthew R. Martin, Amy Gagnon

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) undergraduate students’ perceptions about working with individuals with disabilities while performing Service Learning (SL) at two community-based sites. Using a grounded theory research design, data from field notes, supervisor evaluations, and focus groups were coded and analyzed to identify five themes of perceptions and level of competence: social emotional climate, prior preparation, delivery of instruction, career readiness, and developing leadership.

Social And Cognitive Outcomes Of Service Learning: Results From A Pre-Post And Control Group Comparison, Rebecca G. Ryan

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Students in an undergraduate course opted to either complete a service-learning project or write article summary papers over the course of a semester. Analyses revealed a significant increase in aspects of empathy, social responsibility, and community and personal involvement in the service-learning group, but not in the control group. The findings are discussed in terms of the social and cognitive benefits of service learning and considerations for incorporating service learning into a gerontology-related course.

Equal Status: Shifting Scholarship Paradigms To Fully Include Community-Based Research Into Undergraduate Research Programs, Susan B. Harden, Kim Buch, Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Undergraduate research (UR) experiences continue to proliferate across all higher education settings. Yet community-based research (CBR) experiences account for a small percentage of UR opportunities. This paper describes the pilot study results of a summer program that is intentionally expanding the paradigm for UR at a public research university to include CBR as an equally valued form of scholarship. Results indicate that CBR opportunities expand participation by underrepresented students in UR. Dedicated program administration by CBR faculty and unique recruitment, design, and programs contributed to program success.

Film As Engaged Learning: A Study On Teaching Civics Through Spanish Culture, Kajsa C. Larson

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

University professors use film as a medium to examine social issues, although little is known about the tangible effects that socially minded films have on viewers. This study examined how combining film studies with a philanthropy project was beneficial to students’ understanding of global social concerns. Survey data showed that with this teaching approach, students increased their awareness of local social needs and nonprofits and had a greater personal interest in community involvement and helping others.

Community-Based Participatory Research, Catherine Stemmans Paterson

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This article investigates community-based participatory research (CBPR) within the framework of service learning and community engagement initiatives within contemporary higher education. It identifies the characteristics of high-quality CBPR, delves into two criticisms of these efforts, and provides ideas for addressing these criticisms.

Community‐Based Participatory Research On Urban Parks And Health Dispariɵes: Perspecɵves From An Urban Planning Researcher, Yingling Fan

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

As part of the University of Minnesota Community-engaged Scholars Program, I undertook a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project evaluating the potential of urban parks to improve health outcomes in disadvantaged communities. This paper describes my CBPR rookie experiences and discusses challenges in the CBPR process. By reflecting on my missteps, I offer critical insights and recommendations. Urban Planning researchers interested in applying the CBPR approach are recommended to commit to the “muddling through” process, seek institutional support, engage both government agencies and community advocates, and acquire long-range and flexible funding.

The Translation Of Inclusion/Acceptance, Accessibility, And Empathy With Online Community Engagement, Jessie C. Feng

VA Engage Journal

Service-learning at Virginia Commonwealth University traditionally involves students performing community service to address community needs, coupled with guided reflection for holistic growth. In the spring of 2020 in-person courses were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, necessitating a transition to online classes. This study aimed to determine if online service-learning provided the same benefits as in-person experiences, focusing on students' perceptions of inclusion/acceptance, empathy, and accessibility. Online surveys were administered to students enrolled in service-learning courses during the semester. Results showed reduced levels of support compared to Fall 2019, but increased social activism and awareness. The study noted that remote …

Towards An Ecosystem Of Youth Leadership Development, Trisha Swed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is aimed at understanding how youth leadership development programs can be more inclusive and promote a broader range of leadership values, qualities, and behaviors by focusing on young people who have been disaffected by leadership development programs. The study design was intended to provide a creative space for youth to engage in meaningful conversations about their evolving concepts and expectations of leadership. Using critical youth participatory action research to engage a group of youth, cohort members co-created a new youth leadership development program while addressing their identified challenges and needs. Findings from this study highlight the importance of …

Staying Engaged While Staying Home?: Service-Learning, Writing, And Covid-19, Christopher Iverson

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

As an approach to writing instruction that has traditionally required students to engage in in-person community projects, service-learning has also traditionally involved risks. For example, students engaging in service-learning without proper support often do not approach community partners with the appropriate respect, and when university stakeholders fail to make clear what their side can offer in a partnership, they can leave community partners in the lurch when the semester ends and students finish their community-engaged coursework. These risks can be mitigated through education and reflection for instructors and students alike. The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing social distancing orders, however, left …

Hmong Parent Day/Hnub Txhawb Nqa Niam Txiv: Implementing Psychosociocultural Educational Programming To Honor Rau Siab, Pa Her, Alberta M. Gloria, Shee Yee Chang, Pahoua Thao

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This paper describes the interrelated conceptual activities that took a Psychosociocultural (PSC) approach to direct best practices, interactions, and processes to implement HMong Parent Days effectively. The purpose of HMong Parent Day/ Hnub Txhawb Nqa Niam Txiv, a culturally-centered community-focused intervention, was to bring HMong parents onto a midwestern predominantly White university campus for a day of college knowledge. The day honored HMong parents' support of their children into and through higher education via the cultural value of rau siab (hard work). Three levels of learning that emergent as new knowledge for HMong parents were highlighted and discussed relative to …

Where’S My Money? Using Experiential Learning To Increase Financial Capability, Edwin L. Blanton Iii

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This paper looks at how experiential learning is being implemented at Texas A&M University-San Antonio to expand the financial capability of students; and how the project engages students and parents at local school districts. Presented below is the purpose, structure, funding, learning, and assessment of the program that can serve as insight into other campuses that may want to implement something similar.

Remote Community Engagement In The Time Of Covid-19, A Surging Racial Justice Movement, Wildfires, And An Election Year, Merith Weisman

Higher Learning Research Communications

Due to wildfires in fall of 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, Sonoma State University lost 50 service-learning courses, and as a result, almost 900 fewer students completed a service-learning course than the previous year. During the summer of 2020, the Center for Community Engagement began developing service-learning projects that were designed to be done remotely and address either COVID-19 or engage students with involvement in the fall 2020 election. Later, opportunities to address racial injustice and the wildfires were integrated. The opportunities described require active participation but remotely within the community; however, it is possible that …

Community Engagement In The Liberal Arts: How Service Hours And Reflections Influence Course Value, David Painter

Faculty Publications

Background: In response to critics’ charges that the liberal arts lack practical value, most colleges have incorporated service-learning in their curricula. Ideally, these service-learning activities not only benefit the community but also enhance the course’s (a) pedagogical effectiveness as well as the students’ (b) civic engagement and (c) professional development.

Purpose:This investigation uses a survey to measure the extent to which service-learning in community engagement courses at a liberal arts college achieved these three outcomes.

Methodology/Approach:Specifically, we parsed the influence of service hours and reflection activities on 740 students’ ratings of pedagogical effectiveness, civic engagement, and professional development. …

Community Engagement Through Interactive Field-Based Activities, Carolyn Casale, C. Adrainne Thomas

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This qualitative case study consisted of social justice interactive field-based experiential learning activities designed to understand community partnerships between a university and local public school. The research question was: How can interactive field-based activities build closer community ties? The theoretical foundation incorporated Ken Zeichner’s “hybrid spaces” with the premise of field-based interactive experiences. The findings indicated the need for further activities that create partnerships between teacher education programs and neighboring public schools.

Envisioning Critical Social Entrepreneurship Education: Possibilities, Questions, And Guiding Commitments, Mark Congdon Jr., Liliana Herakova

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions continue to be increasingly interested in examining how social entrepreneurship and community engaged approaches to education can work together. In light of the recent growth and interest in such programs, scholars and educators have called for attention to specific considerations when developing SE and community-based education, which can be summed up in three areas - pedagogy, relationships, and impact. The present essay builds on such propositions, and calls for a critically-orientated approach to SE, grounded in community engagement, collaborative dialogue among diverse voices, and a commitment to transforming oppressive structures

Social Justice And The Future Of Higher Education Kinesiology, Brian Culp

Faculty Articles

This article presents a rationale for the infusion of social justice into kinesiology programs for the purpose of reducing inequities in society. Specifically, the current climate for social justice is considered and discussed using examples from an university-inspired service-learning initiative, law, and politics. Of note are the following areas of discussion: (a) differentiation between social diversity and social justice, (b) public pedagogy as a means by which to inspire service action, (c) the creation of climates for speech and application of social justice, (d) modeling and socialization for equity, and (e) the neoliberal threat to inclusiveness. The article concludes with …

Achieving Teaching, Scholarship, And Service Through Community Engagement, Carole K. Ivey, Jodi L. Teitelman, Kelli W. Gary, Dianne F. Simons, Jayne T. Shepherd, Albert E. Copolillo

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy faculty currently face enormous challenges in meeting teaching load expectations, while also under pressure to participate in scholarly projects and to make administrative and service contributions. Community engagement projects may provide opportunities for faculty to effectively and efficiently meet the goals in each of these areas while imparting benefits to students and community partners as well. Faculty at the Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) embraced this idea as consistent with the university’s mission and strategic plan, and recognized its benefits in assisting faculty to meet workload demands. Four community partnerships reflecting the range …

P-16 Initiative, Uno Service Learning Academy

Newsletters 2015-2016

This newsletter features: Gaining Perspective: Race & Our Juvenile Justice System; Mapping Histories: Learning Across the Ages; College & Career Readiness Characteristics Found in Service Learning; Service Learning Around the World; Student's Collaboration Leads to Environmental Sustainability; Multiple Collaborative Projects Created Diverse Experiences for Students; Students Learn to Speak Mandarin; Infusing Rigor into Service Learning: A K-12 Teacher & UNO Professor's Perspective; A Lesson in Ethics: What Would a Boys Town Middle School Student Do? and Letter from the Program Coordinator.

P-16 Initiative, Uno Service Learning Academy

Newsletters 2015-2016

This issue of P-16 Initiative features Communication & Leadership Skills Learned Through Teaching, From Trash to Treasure, Inclusive Communities Ethnic Potluck, Exploring Culture Through Art, Delicious Food and Good Company, Exploring Native American Culture and Music, Black Votes Matter, Inclusivity in Physical Activity, And Justice for All: Positive Policing, Birth to 5: Promoting Language and Learning, and Letter from the Program Coordinator Julie Dierberger.

Toward An Ethic Of Teaching: Class, Race And The Promise Of Community Engagement, Roberto L. Corrada

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The three articles in this cluster challenge the consumerist, productoriented notion of teaching in American society today. As such, they provide some answers to my dilemma. They suggest that I should follow core ideals of community, caring, teaching and learning. They suggest, especially Darder's article, that the consumerist path fulfills neither the self nor the community ultimately. They all have at their core a notion of teaching more effectively for the challenges of today's society by breaking down artificial classroom walls and barriers and urging a pedagogy of community engagement.