Raina M. Rutti, Joanne LaBonte, Marilyn Michelle Helms, Aref Agahei Hervani and Sy Sarkarat
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the benefits of including a service learning project in college classes and focusses on benefits to all stakeholders, including students…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the benefits of including a service learning project in college classes and focusses on benefits to all stakeholders, including students, community, and faculty.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a snowball approach in academic databases as well as a nominal group technique to poll faculty, key topics for service learning across college disciplines are presented.
Findings
Findings include a wide range of service learning projects across disciplines.
Research limitations/implications
Areas for future research are identified to expand the service learning topic list as well as guide studies on the long-term benefit of service learning for each identified stakeholder.
Practical implications
For new faculty or faculty new to service learning, the list of paper ideas is a good first step to identify projects. While not comprehensive, the list serves to stimulate topic ideas and fills a void in the service learning literature.
Social implications
Service learning exists to provide real-world learning for students, but the projects provide benefits for community groups, agencies, and organizations. Societal benefits from the student effort are numerous and there are little or no costs to the agencies who participate.
Originality/value
The abundance of service learning literature has studied learning across disciplines and has quantitatively and qualitatively presented benefits, but no studies have worked to compile project ideas across major college disciplines. This research addresses this issue and provides the key first step to implement the service learning pedagogy: the topic idea.
Details
Keywords
Jennifer Aranda, Scott Chazdon, Jocelyn I. Hernandez-Swanson, Tobias Spanier and Ellen Wolter
Minnesota’s rural communities are becoming increasingly more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. The state shares territory with 11 Sovereign Nations and one in five…
Abstract
Minnesota’s rural communities are becoming increasingly more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. The state shares territory with 11 Sovereign Nations and one in five Minnesotans identifies as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) today, compared with just 1% in 1960. In collaboration with communities, University of Minnesota’s Extension Department of Community Development works to develop leadership capacity for residents to address inclusiveness, belonging, community climate and culture. The Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Program (WICP) focuses on measurement of community readiness within seven sectors combined with an educational stakeholder cohort experience leading to identification of challenges and best practices happening across a community. Curriculum includes exploring concepts of race and intersectionality and emphasizes the growth of leadership as participants work to promote equity and inclusion. Growing Local, another program in our community toolkit, is an intentional cohort series for BIPOC growth into leadership, more specifically, into decision-making arenas and positions of leadership, like their town/city/county committees, boards, and commissions. From learning the language of the oppressor (e.g., Robert’s Rules of Order) to understanding the dynamics and nuances of power-mapping and social capital, participants address the barriers facing BIPOC. This chapter highlights program design elements, assessments and evaluation, and lessons learned from program implementation to date. Scholars, researchers, practitioners, and leaders will find globally relevant and replicable tools to support the development of leaders who can shape their communities through the lens of inclusive leadership, increase and strengthen capacity to lead, build networks, and facilitate community-owned change.