1. ANOTHER KIND OF SERVICE Service Learning and Veterans

2. AN OVERVIEW: THE NEW LEARNER The 21 st century online and on-ground student population is unlike all previous generations

3. AN OVERVIEW: THE NEW LEARNER Students are no longer composed entirely of recent high school graduates moving on campus to acquire life skills while studying in a degree program

4. AN OVERVIEW: THE NEW LEARNER The “new normal” is a class composed of individuals returning to study after a career change, or after military service.

5. TWO FACTORS THAT SHAPE OUR CURRENT CLASSES 1.The Iraq/Afghanistan Wars Effect 2.The Wall Street Effect

6. THE IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN WARS EFFECT Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been flooding America’s classrooms in the last 10 years, as a result of the G.I. Bill

7. THE IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN WARS EFFECT These men and women come to the learning experience with military training, certain job skills, and life experience that includes combat, exposure to other cultures, awareness of group dynamics and teamwork, and a desire to use those experiences in a career following their education

8. THE WALL STREET EFFECT The Wall Street “meltdown” of 2008 adversely affected the economy, resulting in a recession and job loss for the general population.

9. THE WALL STREET EFFECT College graduates in 2009 and the years following faced a tougher job market  Many graduates found themselves in the same low-paying employment situations (restaurant, retail, temporary) months or even years after attaining their degrees.

10. THE WALL STREET EFFECT Many students decided to return to college and pursue a graduate degree or another field of study entirely that would seemingly “guarantee” a better-paying job.

11. LIFELONG LEARNERS Both groups returned to higher education as part of the national trend of “lifelong learners”

12. LIFELONG LEARNERS They represent the student who will have multiple jobs in his/her lifetime in an unstable economy, might be juggling multiple part-time jobs with a full-course load, might have been deployed to combat multiple times, and who wants course lecture material and course activities to reflect a “real-world” application

13. WHAT THESE POPULATIONS MEAN TO EDUCATORS Students want the lecture material to reflect their ability to find other information sources in the classroom via technology, and a willingness to apply the material in a meaningful way, such as experiential learning

14. HOW CAN YOU BRING IT ALL TOGETHER? A Service Learning project

15. HOW CAN YOU BRING IT ALL TOGETHER? Formally defined, Service Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teaching civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

16. HOW CAN YOU BRING IT ALL TOGETHER? Service Learning provides “real world” application of theoretical or abstract concepts in a way that students can retain the information while acquiring experience.

17. THE BENEFITS FOR VETERAN STUDENTS According to Rev. Jodi McCullah of Soldiers and Families Embraced, after returning from combat, returning to a “normal” pre-deployment life is impossible—our veterans have seen and done things that have given them a different outlook on life and ways of looking at themselves and others

18. THE BENEFITS FOR VETERAN STUDENTS However, a “new normal” doesn’t need to automatically equate to negative feelings or outcomes.

19. THE BENEFITS FOR VETERAN STUDENTS After months or years with a defined “mission,” veterans may desire another mission, and much of Service Learning is mission-directed, and it requires teamwork and a unified group; the project allows for acquisition of necessary job skills and portfolio material, and students work in teams in a real-world setting with measurable outcomes

20. THE END RESULT Students apply the course information in a meaningful way that increases retention of material, provides insight into the community, and allows for veterans to have a place in shaping their educational experience by using their own skill set.

21. THE END RESULT Many times, their knowledge of procedure, working in groups, and required discipline are crucial for the completion of the project. We expect our soldiers to be involved in “nation building” abroad – why wouldn’t we want trained professionals to assist us with solving “community-building” problems?

22. FINAL COMMENTS Because Service Learning is action- based and rooted in experiential learning, it allows those individuals trained in thinking about communal actions and reactions to service projects to utilize their experience in an educational setting. Any Questions?