Integrating Service-Learning Into The University Classroom

Service-learning is on the rise across campuses, as more and more students and professors are engaging with the communities around them. While this is a rewarding experience for students and the communities served, a tremendous amount of effort is needed to incorporate service-learning into the curriculum. It takes trial-and-error to find the right pedagogical tools and the perfect balance of in-field and in-class learning, as well as considerable time spent fostering relationships with community partners. For many, this can be too daunting.

Integrating Service-Learning into the University Classroom helps simplify the process by providing educators with a series of course portfolios to follow. Written by instructors who have taught service-learning courses across a variety of disciplines, these portfolios model how to effectively design, teach, and evaluate a course. As service-learning courses range in topic, format, learning goals and community commitment, the book highlights both the variety and best practices of service-learning courses in higher education.

Each chapter provides a detailed course description, including the goals of the course and the materials and assignments; a narrative of what has worked and what has not worked in the course; a section citing student feedback; and finally, an instructor reflection on the overall value of the course to the students, department, community partner, and themselves.