Get Real!! Higher Education & Civic Engagement Purdue University, Calumet Monday, February 26 th, 2007 Lindsay Doucette Program Director, Indiana Campus Compact

 What is service-learning?  Benefits  Designing a service-learning course  Integrating a service component into your curriculum  Funding and other opportunities provided by Indiana Campus Compact Outline:

What is service-learning?  Course-based educational experience.  Organized service activity that meets community agency goals and contributes to the learning objectives of the course.  Through structured reflection students gain a further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility.  Challenges students to become active agents in both the community and in their own learning.

Eight key elements  Student voice  Meaningful service/ civic engagement  Authentic needs assessment  Academic connections  Collaboration  Reflection  Evaluation  Celebration/ recognition

Benefits of service-learning:  For students Dealing with ambiguity Problem-solving Developing a scope of work Dealing with time constraints Effective communication with varied parties Team work Conflict resolution Confidence Empowerment Greater understanding of real-world context Empathy Connections made within community Desire to remain engaged Non-traditional leaders emerge Resume builder

Benefits of service-learning:  For faculty Work with colleagues within field of expertise Build or strengthen partnerships w/i community Apply expertise toward addressing community issues Long-term impact on students Strengthen dossier and scholarly work Present results

Benefits of service-learning:  For community partners Accomplish agency goals in a cost-effective way Improve community partnership programs with campus Increase likelihood of recruiting future volunteers and staff Increase visibility of mission

Designing a service-learning course  Learning objectives Must be realistic, consider time-constraints  Community partnerships Include community reps in the planning process Listen to community ideas Communicate goals of the course  Consider transportation, training, supervision, lines of communication, issues of liability, evaluation, and end-of-term celebration.

Designing a service-learning course  Reflection Clearly link service experience to course content and learning objectives Be structured in terms of descriptions, expectations, and criteria for assessment Occur regularly during semester Allow for feedback and assessment by instructor Retrospective and prospective Examples: Personal journals, class presentations, entrance/exit cards, directed writings, discussion, experiential research papers, ethical case studies, weekly logs, service-learning portfolios

Ways to integrate a service component  Required within course  Option within a course  Thematic learning communities  Disciplinary capstone projects  Community-based research  Independent 4 th credit option  First-year success seminar

Funding Opportunities  Faculty Scholarship of Engagement Faculty Fellows  Students Community Service Mini-Grant  Staff Listening to Communities

Programs  Conference on Service and Engagement April 19 th at Indiana State University

Purdue Calumet and ICC  PU Calumet: member since  PU Calumet faculty and staff grant recipients: Scholarship of Engagement Grant ’05-06’  Kathleen Tobin  Linda Willer  Cheryl Moredich

Contact Us:  Lindsay Doucette Program Director for Constituent Development 620 Union Drive, Ste. 203 Indianapolis, IN PH: (317) FAX: (317)