Please e-mail Dr. Rosangela Boyd at r.boyd@tcu.edu, she will work with you to tailor a presentation specific to your class or organization’s needs.
ACADEMIC SERVICE-LEARNING
Academic Service-Learning is a pedagogy based on the principles of experiential education, which integrates community service with academic study. Faculty, in collaboration with representatives from community organizations, design service projects that enhance student learning and help meet community needs. Through structured reflection, students consider relationships between the service experience, the academic content of the class, and its impact on their personal values and professional goals.
A growing number of departments and programs currently utilize service-learning, some having sought the assistance of Community Engagement in building community partnerships, while others developed projects independently. Our office works continuously to develop a comprehensive list of service-learning courses based on information by faculty members.
Service-Learning Designation for Course
The effectiveness of Service-Learning as a teaching approach depends largely on the preparation phase. When designing the course, faculty need to consider several factors from preparation to implementation to evaluation. The following steps are recommended to ensure a successful experience to all constituents:
1. Explore how service-learning fits into your teaching philosophy
2. Determine how service-learning experiences may facilitate learning by drawing connections to course objectives and desired outcomes
3. Gather resources on community needs and ideas for potential projects
4. Identify community partners and build a collaborative relationship
5. Integrate information on service-learning into the course syllabus, review logistical details and make necessary arrangements
6. Plan how students will be oriented to service-learning
7. Decide on strategies to connect service to learning through reflection
8. Set-up evaluation procedures
Already teaching a service-learning course? Receive a service-learning designation! This designation will allow students to search for classes with a service-learning focus and also ensure that we can accurately reflect the amount of community engagement at TCU.
Organizations:
Campus Compact: TCU is a member of Campus Compact which is a national coalition of more than a thousand college and university presidents – representing some six million students – dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education.
The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC), a program of Learn and Serve America, operates America’s premier website supporting the service-learning efforts of schools, higher education institutions, communities, and tribal nations. Under resources it is possible to find information on effective practices, hot topics, funding sources, toolkits on responding to national disasters, lesson plans and syllabi, and much more.
More on Engagement and Volunteering Information:
www.americorps.gov
www.communityengagedscholarship.info
www.idealist.org
www.peacecorps.gov
www.serviceleader.org
www.volnow.org
www.volunteermatch.org
www.unitedwaytarrant.org