Faculty
Service Learning is a pedagogy that enables and encourages a faculty member to develop innovative, meaningful learning experiences for students while creating real community solutions with a community partner.
Where to Begin?
How do you create an SL course?
The first step is to consider the following questions:
- What community challenges correspond with courses I teach or want to develop? With research that I do or might want to undertake?
- How might a community partnership benefit from my research and teaching? What shared product might result from such a collaboration—a faculty or student work publication, a community document or study, or a public presentation?
- Which community challenge best fits my chosen course, its time frame, and the students I want to reach? For my students’ skill level?
- What kind of service do I want my students to do, and does that match their skill level? What preparation will they need?
- What skills do I want my students to develop, and how do I align my course objectives and assignments? How do these skills contribute to the more extensive skill set we are building as a faculty through our major?
- Do I have existing relationships with organizations/small businesses/ governmental agencies that work on these community issues? If not, what kind of group do I want to work with, and in what region?