A university service-learning assignment

Abstract

A wide variety of universities are engaged in service-learning activities that create opportunities for K-12 students to interact with university students. Engaging students in their communities and working toward social justice in a variety of settings provides positive outcomes for communities, university students and the K-12 students involved. At Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, college students have been working in K-12 school settings facilitating FAIR, a social justice and diversity curriculum. The FAIR curriculum is outlined and suggestions for how to utilize the curriculum as a service-learning assignment are provided. As a service-learning assignment, FAIR, is beneficial to the K-12 students and schools while engaging university students in social justice action in an experiential and meaningful way. Outcomes are presented from our use of this service-learning curriculum. Finally, we provide instructions and plans for implementation.

Contributions of Service-Learning to more inclusive and less gender-biased Physical Education: the views of Spanish Physical Education Teacher Education students

“…In SL programmes, trainees 1 combine in-class content and volunteer-like services in the community, thus allowing them to learn course content while applying it to real-life situations. Students involved in SL obtain personal and social growth, including a reduction of stereotypes, stronger cultural sensitivity and increased understanding of socio-political phenomena (Chiva-Bartoll, Capella-Peris, & Salvador-García, 2020;Gil-Gómez, Chiva-Bartoll, & Martí-Puig, 2015;Winans-Solis, 2014;Zimmerman, Krafchick, & Aberle, 2009). SL also promotes the development of students' identities (Nelson & Sneller, 2011), reinforcing and intensifying feminist identities (Eyler & Giles, 1999;Kackar-Cam & Schmidt, 2014;Kelly, 2015).…”

Transformative learning through service‐learning: no passport required

“…The positive effects of service-learning for the served community as well as for participants' enhanced sense of social responsibility when they turn their learning to practical application, are well documented. Such benefits are particularly marked where such learning is integrated with course content (Eyler and Giles, 1999;Zimmerman et al, 2009). The programme runs alongside as opposed to within students' degree studies and gives them the opportunity to graduate with recognition for the service work that they have performed.…”

The transformative potential of international service-learning at a university with a Christian foundation in the UK

“…The positive effects of service learning for the served community as well as for participants' enhanced sense of social responsibility when they turn their learning to practical application, are well documented. Such benefits are particularly marked where such learning is integrated with course content (Eyler and Giles, 1999;Zimmerman et al 2009). …”