Carlson Center at the University of Washington Home Page

Faculty & Service-Learning

Overview
Service-learning is a learning experience that combines service with the community with structured preparation and reflection opportunities. Service opportunities are tied to academic coursework and address concerns that are identified and articulated by the community. As students engage in service-learning, they learn about the context in which service is provided, the connection between their service and their academic coursework, and their roles as community members.

Enhancing student learning through service
Service-learning offers opportunities for enhancing student learning in varied ways. In a service-learning course, students:

As an instructor, designing a service-learning course is an opportunity to develop pedagogically. In developing a service-learning course, instructors can:

Integrating service-learning into a course
 A service-learning course works at its best when (1) the course content is clearly and intentionally connected to the service experience, (2) this connection is conveyed to students in introducing the course and in the syllabus, and (3) students have a forum to reflect on their service experience.

A service-learning class is a forum for students to develop deliberative, collaborative and leadership skills as they engage in course material and their service-learning experiences. The opportunities for students to learn and develop these vital skills can take many forms, from in-class debates to online discussion to journals to short reflective papers. These assignments help students focus their experiences at the community organization on issues and topics pertinent to the course material, thus offering an important assessment tool for the service-learning instructor.

The Carlson Center and service-learning
 The Carlson Center intends for each service-learning experience to challenge student assumptions, enlarge their view of the world, and invite them to further engage their intelligence and imagination while learning from and in partnership with the larger community. The Carlson Center develops and sustains opportunities and projects in community-based organizations that fulfill a community articulated need and learning opportunity while advancing student understanding of course goals and learning objectives. The Carlson Center works with faculty and instructors to develop methods for assisting students in thoughtfully integrating their community experiences into course assigments and discussions.

The Carlson Center serves as a liaison between students, faculty and instructors, and various members of the community.

Working with the Carlson Center
 The Carlson Center offers one-on-one consultations with faculty and instructors to develop a well-integrated service-learning course that focuses on student learning.

Contact us to begin planning your course and exploring possible community partner connections that will work with your course!

 

How to integrate service-learning into your course

1. Email Rachel Vaughn, Assistant Director for Community-Based Learning to express your interest in service-learning. Ideally, send a copy of your syllabus--even from prior quarters along with this email. This starts the planning process to develop an excellent service-learning course, and enables the Carlson Center to work with you to make appropriate choices for selecting community-based partners for service-learning opportunities.

2. The Carlson Center will contact you to plan a mutually convenient time to meet and discuss your course and its learning objectives. In this meeting, we will work together to develop an integrated course as well as potential community connections.

3. Carlson Center staff will provide you with a tentative list of suggested community organizations that we plan on contacting to develop service-learning opportunities. The Carlson Center will work with both you and the respective community partners to develop the list of organizations to ensure a good fit between your course objectives and the needs and capacity of the community organization.

4. Develop a one page description of your course to share with community organizations. This description should include the following elements:

  1. A course overview.
  2. Role of Service Learning in course.
  3. Associated course assignment

Expectations of service learning faculty and instructors:
The Carlson Center works to partner with faculty and instructors across numerous disciplines to support the development of service-learning as an integral component of designated courses. The success of service-learning relies on the fit between the academic goals of the course and the community-based service-learning opportunities, and on faculty and instructors integrating service-learning into their course as a central organizing element.

Plan the service-learning course well in advance
For community partners, students, and faculty to have the best experience with a service-learning course, the importance of integration on the part of faculty cannot be underestimated. Integrating service-learning into the course design takes time for us to plan together.

Revise the syllabus to reflect integration of service-learning
Course syllabi are important blueprints for students, the Carlson Center, and interested community partners. We ask each faculty to provide us with a syllabus such that we can best match community partners with your course and your learning objectives for the course.

This is best achieved when the syllabus reflects your consideration of service-learning as part of the course design. A syllabus for a service-learning course should include the following components:

  • What is service-learning?
  • Why service-learning is valuable
  • Why service-learning is a key component of the course
  • How service-learning will work in this particular course
    This section should include an explanation of what the service learning option or requirement for the course will entail, and of course, all assignments, presentations, etc. pertinent for the service-learning option or requirement.

Introduce service-learning to the students in the first week
Service-learning is often a new concept for students. While the relevant information is also documented in the syllabus, a best practice is to introduce and discuss service-learning in the class during the first week to underscore its connection and relevance to the course content and its capacity to offer dynamic experiences to students.

For additional guidance on how to introduce service-learning to the class and how to address service-learning in a syllabus, see the Service-Learning Guide and always, feel free to contact us.

Faculty and Instructor Forms and Information

Service-Learning Overview
This overview provides detailed information regarding how students in your course can get started with service-learning.

Current Service-Learning Courses
A table of service-learning courses currently offered. Included is a link to view service-learning opportunities associated with each class.

Previous Service-Learning Courses
Links to previous tables of service-learning courses offered since Autumn, 2004.

Service-Learning Calendars: Autumn 2007 - Winter 2008 - Spring 2008
Service-learning calendars detail the processes involved in developing and implementing service-learning. Each timeline includes information for community partners, faculty, and students.

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