For Faculty:

Innovative teaching approach

Student engagement

Opportunities for research and publication

Collaboration with students and community partners in the improvement of local communities

For Community Partners:

Enhanced research and problem-solving capacity through collaboration with faculty and students

Expanded capacity to advance the mission of the community agency

Increased knowledge about program effectiveness through research

Better quality of life in local communities

Resources and Services

Research Assistance

Service Learning Center staff members provide research assistance to both students and faculty who request it. Such assistance is typically in the form of library resources – books, articles, and exemplary syllabi.

Funding Assistance

The Service Learning Center collaborates with other centers and departments of the University to tap sources of monetary and scholarship support for problem-based service learning, community-based research, and participatory action research. In particular, collaboration is designed to identify grant sources, and to prepare and submit proposals to grant-making organizations.

Internships

Service-learning internships provide practical experience in problem-based service learning, community-based research, and participatory action research. Research outcomes might take the form of documentaries, newspaper or magazine articles, oral history segments, feasibility studies, business plans, grant applications, project manuals, or program brochures.

Literature

Copies of various books, journal articles, and conference presentations are available from the Service Learning Center.

Important Books, Articles and Presentations Related to Service Learning

Available from the WCU Center for Service Learning

Blundo, R. (2003). Participatory research and service-learning: A natural match for the community and campus. The Journal for Civic Commitment, Issue 2. Available at http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/other/engagement/Journal/Issue2/Blundo.pdf

The happenstance of a requirement of a grant for interdisciplinary efforts and the nature of the intent to address the health needs of a community in a holistic way all came together to produce a unique opportunity to merge service-learning pedagogy and participatory research methodology. The result was a two-pronged finding. On the one hand, service learning was found to be a significant pedagogical means to teach participatory research as well as other forms of qualitative research methods. On the other, participatory research methodology was found to have commonalities with the process of the service-learning requirements for engaging communities and providing the structure and means for accessing community service for students. This article describes these elements and how each contributed to conceptualizations about the commonalities of participatory research and service learning.

DeBlasis, A. L. (2006). From revolution to evolution: Making the transition from community service learning to community based research. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 18(1), 36-42.

Since 1989, Cabrini College has integrated community service learning (CSL) into its core curriculum. Like many early adopters of CSL, the non-traditional world of service learning has become an institutional tradition. In the past decade, CSL has widely expanded to the secondary and primary levels. However, as the CSL tradition expands, so does the use of the term “service learning.” Community-based research (CBR), once considered a “separate but equal” branch of CSL, is emerging as a more demanding pedagogy, teaching students to empower community members and alter social structures. Colleges with institutionally established CSL programs are well-prepared to take the next step into CBR. They have an institutionalized knowledge of how to do CSL and have established strong community partnerships, elements essential to the success of any community-based program. For Cabrini and other early adopters, the revolution is complete. Now, evolution must take place if programming is to remain fresh, rigorous, and relevant to students and communities.

Gordon, R. (Ed.) (2000). Problem Based Service Learning: A Field guide for Making a Difference in Higher Education (2^nd ed.). Bedford, NH: Campus Compact for New Hampshire.

This monograph is a practical, user-friendly guide for faculty and others interested in problem-based service learning. Various authors in the field address all aspects of integration: an introduction, project design, community partner relations, building community in the classroom, building student capacity, problem statement, project management, assessment of learning, and reflection and connection. Problem Based Service Learning provides clear guidance on how to implement successful learning-focused service in higher education. The college faculty who contributed to this guide describe their real-world experiences using problem-based learning to achieve their course learning outcomes through service to the community. Each chapter in the guide addresses a particular component of PBSL, explaining its importance, offering concrete tools, strategies, and tips for faculty and students, and sharing a case study of this principle in action.

Heffernan K. (2001). Fundamentals of service-learning course construction. Providence, RI: Campus Compact.

The manual contains an overview of six service-learning models, one of which is problem-based service learning. A particularly helpful section is located in Chapter 2, “Implementation,” which lists model syllabi in PBSL courses.

Knapp, E. P., Harbor, D. J., & Ginwalla, Z. F.(2003). Testing the waters: Can you involve community action in your college curriculum? Journal of Geoscience Education, 51(3), 294-298.

The Maury River Alliance (MRA) was developed at Washington and Lee University (W&L) as a cooperative program involving local colleges, high schools, government agencies, and conservation groups. The MRA is a mostly volunteer organization (42 volunteers currently) that samples the Maury River and its tributaries, including the urban stream flowing through campus. Its purpose is both to serve the community and to provide students and faculty with research opportunities. MRA is addressing the connection between land use and water quality with a creative merging of technical, social, and educational aspects of local watershed management. During the first year and a half of the program, MRA has developed a baseline water quality for low flow conditions. MRA has observed that water quality degrades as the river passes through the county, especially with the addition of urban and agricultural tributaries. Nutrients and bacteria are of greatest concern, with storm water high in heavy metal concentrations. In addition to exposing students to a community effort, the ultimate interest for the faculty is to focus on the scientific results. The proximity of the study site to the school and the large numbers of volunteers involved in the project contribute to the success of the project. These numbers facilitate the collection of large data sets, and a plethora of research possibilities yet also present a challenge of organization and management. While professors focus on data analysis, students (and now a recent graduate as director) have acted as managers of the program, thus furthering the educational opportunities.

Marullo, S., Cooke, D., Willis, J., Rollins, A., & Waldref, V. (2003). Community-based research assessments: Some principles and practices. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(3), 57-68.

This article examines the benefits and challenges of undertaking assessments in community-based research (CBR) as compared to more traditional research processes. It presents five principles to guide CBR assessments and develops a three-dimensional conceptual framework for implementing them. Finally, it offers a decision-tree with guiding questions to help practitioners consider the range of assessments they may wish to undertake.

McGoldrick, K. (2007). Service-learning: The application of a non-traditional form of undergraduate research within an existing course. Undergraduate research in economics, chapter 7[case study].http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/ugresearch/72.htm

This case describes the integration of a service-learning project as an undergraduate research project developed for an existing course. Women and Gender Issues in Economics is an elective course requiring both micro- and macro-economic principles. It is designed to point out differences in economic circumstances between men and women. Topics covered in this course are similar to those covered in a traditional labor economics course (although focused on gender differences) including the definition of work, labor force participation, earnings differentials, discrimination, health and housing, poverty and policies. Development of the service-learning research project is described using three critical steps of the student process: identification of issues and organizations in the community; linking economic theory to issues and community activities; presenting research outcomes, and linking across organizations and thus economic theories.

Mettetal, G., & Bryant, D. (1996). Service learning research projects. College Teaching, 44 (1), 24-28.

A model of service learning that can serve as a vehicle for teaching, research, and community service is suggested to college faculty. Two such projects are described: a project providing parent education to young families while researching effectiveness of temperament education, and an intergenerational program to determine whether community theater can enhance self-esteem and life satisfaction. Program design recommendations are made.

Murphy, D., Scammell, M., & Sclove, R. (Eds.) (1997). Doing community-based research: A reader. Amherst, MA: Loka Institute.

This reader includes chapters on community-based research in the United States, researching for democracy and democratizing research, the community research partnership, and a case study of community-based research in relation to neighborhood planning for community revitalization.

Reardon, K. M. (1998). Participatory action research as service learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 73, 57-64.

Participatory action research is a form of service learning. Participatory action research focuses on information and analyzes needs of society’s most economically, politically, socially marginalized groups/communities, and pursues research on issues determined by their leaders. It provides faculty with opportunities to conduct research relevant to community needs while providing service-learning opportunities for students. The author highlights how one community’s needs were resolved through action research; he uses the development of a St. Louis (IL) community-owned farmers’ market to illustrate action research principles and methods.

Renner, R. S., & Juliano, B. A. (2007, March). Integrating service learning with undergraduate robotics research. http://www.cs.hmc.edu/roboteducation/papers2007/c36_renner_chico.pdf

(Also available as a PowerPoint presentation)

Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the authors (at the Institute for Research on Intelligent Systems at California State University, Chico) have forged an interdisciplinary effort to integrate graduate and undergraduate research, curriculum, and outreach projects that promote service learning in robotics and intelligent systems. The authors have founded the Institute for Research in Intelligent Systems (IRIS) and the Intelligent Systems Lab (ISL) as advisory and resource centers, respectively, to support these endeavors. The ISL typically invites four to six students per semester to join the ISL Research Team. As ISL Research Team members, these students are expected to participate in all three focal areas of the IRIS mission. They participate in individual and team research projects, assist in the development and implementation of course workshops, and contribute to multiple outreach activities throughout the year. Hence, the ISL provides its team members with the opportunity to take on many roles, from researcher to educator. It is their role as educators that is the focus of this paper.

Rueda-Riedle, A., & Stockmann, D. (2006, June). Evaluating a community-based research program: Methods, findings & lessons learned (Presentation at the DSA Symposium).

A PowerPoint presentation providing background and structure of the Community Based Research Fellowship Program at University of Michigan (through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program – UROP). Includes literature review, CBRF evaluation design and methodology, key findings; applications of findings (within CBRF and generally), and future evaluation plans.

Schaffer, M. A,, &  Peterson, S. (1998). Service learning as a strategy for teaching undergraduate research. The Journal of Experiential Education, 21(3), 154-161.

Teaching the research process through service-learning projects increased student interest in research at Bethel College (MN). Examples of eight such research projects in nursing education are discussed, including their impact on community partners and students. Guidelines for academic-community research partnerships cover building partnerships, involving students, ensuring quality research, and structuring student reflection on learning.

Strand, K. J., Cutforth, N., Stoecker, R., Marullo, S., & Donohue, P. (2003). Community-based research and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

A guide to how to incorporate a powerful and promising new form of scholarship into academic settings. The book presents a model of community-based research (CBR) that engages community members with students and faculty in the course of their academic work. Unlike traditional academic research, CBR is collaborative and change-oriented and finds its research questions in the needs of communities. This dynamic research model combines classroom learning with social action in ways that can ultimately empower community groups to address their own agendas and shape their own futures. At the same time, it emphasizes the development of knowledge and skills that truly prepare students for active civic engagement.

Strand, K., Marullo, S., Cutforth, N., Stoecker, R., & Donohue, P. (2003). Principles of best practice for community-based research.Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(3), 5-15.

Community-based research (CBR) offers higher education a distinctive form of engaged scholarship and a transformative approach to teaching and learning. In this article, the authors propose a CBR model that is genuinely collaborative and driven by community rather than campus interests, that democratizes the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and that seeks to achieve positive social change. They demonstrate how this model translates into principles that underlie the practice of CBR in four areas: campus-community partnerships, research design and process, teaching and learning, and the institutionalization of centers to support CBR.

Wagner, J. (1990). Beyond curricula: helping students construct knowledge through teaching and research. New Directions for Student Services, 50, 43-53.

Examines different kinds of activities that can provide students with opportunities for integrating community service and curricular concerns, discusses how these service-learning activities are consistent with the academic goals of higher education, and identifies the structural contradictions that are revealed through efforts to promote service-learning activities within colleges and universities. In so doing, the author uses the constructivist model of the relationship between knowledge and learning, which suggests that for students to understand their curricula, they must participate in activities similar to those through which curricula are designed and implemented in the first place.

Other Articles

Polanyi, M., and Cockburn, L. (2003). Opportunities and pitfalls of community-based research: A case study. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(3) 16-25.

Based on a recent community-based research project with injured workers, this article identifies challenges faced when academics engage in community-based research at a university. It includes information on dealing with the constraints and requirements of academic research funding, bridging the goals of academics and community members, and functioning within the university’s institutional structures.

Reardon, K. M. (1994). Undergraduate research in distressed urban communities: An undervalued form of service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 1(1), 44-54.

Increasing rates of urban poverty are stretching the human and capital resources of many community-based organizations. Such groups are finding it increasingly difficult to assist local residents in responding to new community issues or problems. Undergraduate students can assist these organizations in addressing such issues by completing participatory action research (PAR) projects in collaboration with local residents and leaders. This article describes two participatory action research projects completed by undergraduates for community-based organizations in New York City (NY) that dramatically affected municipal economic development and affordable housing policies in two low-income minority communities. The author argues that such projects are valuable in helping students gain understanding of social, economic, and political dynamics of urban poverty and racial discrimination.

Vogelgesang, L. J., & O’Byrne, K. (2003). Undergraduate research as community service. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 7(2), 146-150.

The authors present a model of combining research and service learning at an urban research institution. The Community Based Research Institute is an interdisciplinary summer academic experience in which undergraduate students and community partners collaborate to meet a community-defined research need. The researchers find that students are less likely than faculty to recognize the connections between the discipline-based course and the service-learning experience.