Written by Chris Drew (PhD)
Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]
| May 29, 2024
➡️ Video Lesson
Poor nutrition and food insecurity in many countries is a situation that can be addressed in a variety of ways. According to a report by the BBC, the UN estimates that approximately 900 million tons of food is wasted every year.
There are a multitude of factors at work which create this catastrophe. However, there are also many solutions. For example, students in a university agriculture course could work with local communities to design and implement urban farms.
These farms could be located on abandoned lots, rooftops, or in smaller areas around households that could fit a vertical garden. There are more places than you can possibly imagine to grow food in urban areas.
It’s one thing to read about how to install a vertical garden, but it is a completely different learning experience to actually put one on a wall and make it work.
➡️ Case Study 2: Put Some Blue in your Green School
High school students in an AP Environmental Science course help schools use their water resources more efficiently. They work to raise awareness regarding the importance of water conservation and demonstrate water management practices.
First, the students analyze the water use practices of their own school. They conduct detailed measurements and create the necessary graphs that will allow a pre- post-program comparison.
Then they enact behavioral and structural changes that allow their school to conserve water more efficiently. Once the program has demonstrated results, it can be applied to other schools in the community or even at the state level.
To learn more about this program, click here.
➡️ Case Study 3: Discarded Books Library
Students in an education course collaborate with local garbage collectors to create a library for the poor. The students learned about this type of project on the news and decided to pursue a similar endeavor.
They find a permanent location in the inner city to create the library. The local government agrees to fund the daily operation of the library, paying for electricity and basic upkeep of the facility.
As part of their course requirements, each student volunteers to work in the library a certain number of hours per month and conduct literacy classes for local children.
The classes are video recorded and then shared in class for analysis and discussion regarding the teaching techniques learned in class.
➡️ Case Study 4: Environmental Service Learning
Undergraduate students in introductory science courses at Indiana University and Purdue University engage in a service-learning program involving environmental stewardship.
What is environmental stewardship? It basically means students do things to help restore land or improve the ecology of a specific area. For example: restoring wetland and floodplain ecosystems, native plant installation, invasive exotic plant species eradication, or hill slope stabilization.
Work days are in partnership with local community members. As the webpage about this program explains, this service-learning:
“…provides the students with an opportunity to directly experience many of the topics discussed in their courses as well as to observe how communities can work together to solve environmental problems.”
It is more than just volunteerism because the work is performed in the context of classroom study and directly connected to 9 learning goals in the course.
To learn more about this program, click here.
➡️ Case Study 5: Growing Voters
We all know what a circle is, but this acronym stands for something wholly more substantial: Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement by Tufts University.
The Growing Voters report presents a research-based framework for how institutions can facilitate the development of the next generation of voters in the U.S.
It provides actionable recommendations for educators, community leaders and policy makers on ways to:
“…close voting gaps, expand the electorate, and support a more equitable and representative American democracy”.
This is a perfect example of how students and higher education can engage in learning-based endeavors that also serve a greater public good.
Service-learning is all about taking students out of the classroom and into the real world to address a need in society. It strives to achieve more than just providing assistance in a community because students must perform the service in the context of their academic studies.
This can involve writing papers that detail the experience in the field and tying those experiences to classroom concepts. Or, students may choose to produce a mini-documentary that can be shared on social media and possibly inspire others to action.
The possibilities are endless, from increasing voter registration numbers to repairing the ecology of nearby wetlands. These types of endeavors are being enacted by universities around the world, instilling a sense of responsibility in students that may impact their way of thinking long into the future. That is of course, the goal.
➡️ ReferencesBringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service learning in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239.
Bringle, R. G., Phillips, M. A., & Hudson, M. (2004). The measure of service learning. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Capella-Peris, C., Gil-Gómez, J., & Chiva-Bartoll, Ò. (2020). Innovative analysis of service-learning effects in physical education: A mixed-methods approach. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 39(1), 102-110.
Furco, A. (2002). Is service-learning really better than community service? A study of high school service. In A. Furco & S. H. Billig (Eds.), Advances in service-learning research: Vol.1. Service-learning: The essence of the pedagogy (pp. 23–50). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishers.
Furco, A. and Billig, S.H., (2002) Service-Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
