The Community Side of Service Learning

These are the results of a workshop facilitated by Randy Stoecker for the
Morgridge Center's 10th Anniversary Conference, March 9, 2007.

We began by dividing into small groups and asking each group to come up with a
list about:

What's Wrong with Service Learning? :

1. Schedule inconsistency
2. Required SL (Service-Learning) and lack of skills/desire
3. Lack of agreement of SL definition
4. Agency unprepared for service learner
5. Lack of consistency in orientation
6. Lack of consistency in expectations across all
7. Students don't know options for SL
8. Lack of faculty understanding of SL
9. SL not carefully constructed before starting
10. SL may be menial, but students want professional focus
11. Stool legs need to be even, esp. about funding
12. Learning component needs strengthening
13. Students need to know requirements
14. Need better preparation
15. SL can be oversold and compensate for gov't pullbacks
16. Issues are identified before students are involved
17. Community image of SL as student invasion
18. Is service and learning zero-sum?
19. Is it just volunteering or serious scholarship?
20. Unknown why do service learning
21. SL gets out ahead of university support for it
22. Cost-benefits in terms of time don't always add up
23. CBO (Community-Based Organization) staff unclear about what learning is in SL
24. Minority communities feel used
25. Too brief-train and leave
26. Can’t place where much training required
27. Don’t know what students getting out of it
28. CBO hides the ugly parts
29. Student leaving site might hurt feelings
30. Universities undervalue SL and don't support for tenure
31. Lack of evaluation
32. Student and community timing don't fit

Then we asked each group to take one problem and come up with:

Our Best Ideas

1. PROBLEM: short-term issue-creating better linkages with agencies and academic
side. Pre-screening is needed. Disconnect between all parties.
IDEA: 15-18 credit certificate program with intro course, emphasizing students in early
years and diverse students, capstone course at other end, recruiting faculty learning community. Provides early training and long-term relationships with agency. Capstone could include project based in intimate long-term relationship.

2. PROBLEM: agency unprepared for students.
IDEA: communicate to agency what's expected. Foster long-term relationship through faculty. Develop relationship before class begins. Communicate not just with one person but throughout site with consistent message.

3. PROBLEM: student and community timing don't fit.
IDEA: prof brings in CBO representative first day of class and stresses importance of CBO schedule. Play into student's passions. Bridge semester gaps by providing stipends and/or work study funds and/or independent studies. Work with existing student groups to connect them to classes. Recruit students from previous semesters to return in leadership roles with stipends.

4. PROBLEM: consistent definition of service learning.
IDEA: distinguish community service and SL. Start with what community partner sees as its needs, faculty then meets with partner prior to students showing up, and checks in regularly during the course. Experience needs to be part of the course, not an add-on. Reflection component important. So if course doesn't have those things, you can't call it SL.

5. PROBLEM: getting students involved in designing projects.
IDEA: develop a major program. Start with Junior seminar where needs are identified and communication is established with agencies-use this for planning service learning. Senior year
would implement plan. First and second year students could work with these also.
Produce very clear written and discussed expectations between prof and agency and students so everyone is clear on each others' interests, can hold one another accountable, and can evaluate in an ongoing way.

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