Service Learning

Members

Faculty Co-Chairs:: Lyvier Conss, Campus Compact; Maria Hesse, CGCC
District Support:: Carol Hale

Charge

Service learning combines community service with academic instruction, focusing on critical thinking, values clarification, social development, and civic responsibility. This committee is charged with disseminating information about service learning, supporting those colleges that are developing service learning programs, and investigating the ways in which the District might involve itself in the national service initiatives.

Discussion Highlights

Introduction

This was the first year of existence for the Ocotillo committee on service learning. During the 1993-94 academic year, faculty and staff who were engaged in service learning talked about opportunities for partnerships on national grants. Although the discussions resulted in helping some colleges become more aware of the service learning movement, colleges applied individually, or not at all, to national funding sources. However we recognized that there were benefits in working together to share information and to garner support for service programs within Maricopa.

"Traditionally, service learning is differentiated from volunteerism by its attention to reflection. Service-based study assumes many forms, such as courses with service-related content, community-based research conducted with (not on) communities, and independent majors and projects that build from students' service experience. We refer to the cross product of service and academics interchangeably as service learning, study-service connections, service-based teaching/learning/research, and academically based service." Rethinking Tradition: Integrating Service with Academic Study on College Campuses.

Service Learning within Maricopa

Monthly meetings were generally well-attended with strong representation from five colleges: Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, Gateway, Mesa, and South Mountain. These colleges have service learning programs on their campuses with a faculty or staff person designated to coordinate the placement of students at community sites. The other colleges also have some service learning courses, but their programs are not being coordinated through one office. We agreed that our primary goal was to become more familiar with curriculum development, staff development, funding opportunities, and placement systems.

Programs differ significantly from college-to-college. Some colleges have required service learning components in their general education courses, some colleges use 1-3 credit course modules to offer service learning experiences linked to disciplines, some colleges have made service an optional portion of a required or an elective course, and some colleges have a menu of these options available to students. The number of hours of service required for a course varied, depending on the college, the course, and the portion of the course competencies related to the service. All colleges engagie students in structured reflection activities following service with journals, writing assignments, and/or sharing with other students and staff. Most service learning was taking place in writing and communication courses, as well as in the social sciences. At some colleges, existing student services offices were providing placement support for students; at other colleges a new service learning office was developed to support the program.

Faculty/Staff Development

In October, the committee sponsored a session at the Student Success Conference. In evaluation results, participants asked for continued training and development options in service learning.

Monthly meetings included discussion of one another's programs, grant opportunities, staff development options, and topics of common interest. At some meetings, special guests were present. Dr. Sharon Arkin from the University of Arizona presented a new graduate level course in Psychology in which she has incorporated a service learning component. Marybeth Mason and students from Chandler-Gilbert shared their writings and reflections at a meeting. We realized that more faculty than those attending the meetings needed to hear about some of these programs, therefore, we decided to host a Service Learning Dialogue Day to "spread the word" about service learning.

The Service Learning Dialogue Day program on March 3, 1995, included a condensed videotaped version of Ben Barber's keynote address at the Campus Compact for Community Colleges Conference. Definitions and rationales for service learning were provided. The five campuses with strong programs highlighted some aspect of their program, and some had students share reflections. Collaborative activities were used to solidify the service learning concept. In the afternoon, there were breakout sessions by discipline or department, and then breakout sessions by college. A general wrap-up session at the end of the day, included discussion and modeling of reflection activities. The evaluations of the event were overwhelmingly positive.

What Next?

There are still only a small number of faculty throughout the district engaged in service learning. One of the goals for next year would be to offer additional training and development opportunities for both novice and experienced individuals, with the hope of expanding the numbers of faculty, and therefore students, involved in service learning. In addition, the committee has discussed sponsoring an administrator's forum and providing support for the development of a state association for service learning. Liability issues need to be addressed more fully. Future meetings will continue to include information about funding sources, networking opportunities, and reflection activities.

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