Service-Learning Courses

Description
Examples of Service learning Courses
Service Learning Funds for Faculty

Description
Service-learning is defined as "a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts of service-learning."
Jacoby, Service-Learning in Higher Education, 1996, p. 5

The Haas Center defines service-learning broadly to include both co-curricular activities and academic coursework. One of the primary ways that faculty can assist with the expansion of service-learning at Stanford is to teach a service-learning course. In almost all cases these courses can be treated as a normal part of a faculty member’s teaching load.

Service-learning courses may feature service as an integral component of the academic course experience, may focus on public service as subject matter, or offer preparation for public service internships of fieldwork. Courses may be small, intensive seminars or larger lecture courses with service-learning related discussion sections and experiences. The service provides material to be reflected upon and analyzed by participating students, and it may include traditional, hand-on volunteer activity, internships at local organizations, or class projects of policy-related work.

Examples of Stanford service-learning courses include:

History 251 – Poverty and Homelessness in America (Camarillo).
This two-quarter course combines formal academic study on the topic of poverty and homelessness in the United States with an internship experience in a shelter-providing agency in Santa Clara or San Mateo County.

Political Science 104 – Urban Policy: Strategies for Urban Development (Fraga).
This course examines major challenges to sustainable urban development facing cities in contemporary America. Students participate in an internship at a government or non-profit organization in East Palo Alto. The primary course requirement is a policy proposal that is directed at improving the organization being serviced.

Dance 197 – Art and Community:Dance in Prison (Ross).
This participatory seminar for 10-12 students uses hip-hop dance to study how the performing arts affect self-perception, experiences of embodiment, and social development in incarcerated female and male juveniles. The class draws on a variety of resources to address the complex interplay between the arts, embodiment and learning. Students both study and participate in service through weekly dance classes for the inmates of G-4 and B-9 in San Jose Juvenile Hall. In addition to developing a relationship with these inmates, students read and reflect on existing literature and hear testimony from experts in the field of prison studies, juvenile justice, and arts and community development. The class includes 4 hours of service per week during class time as students assist and/or observe the dance classes in Juvenile Hall. In addition to these direct service activities in the prison community, the students will also work to collect, interpret and evaluate what the experience and value of this regular practice in dance means for the Juvenile Hall inmates. They garner this data through participant observation as well as supervised interviews with the inmates. This class fulfills the HumBio and Feminist Studies service requirements. No prior experience in dance is necessary.

Service-learning Funds for Faculty
In partnership with the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Haas Center offers funding (grants range from $1,500 to $5,000) to Stanford faculty interested in designing and developing courses that combine public service with academic study. Special priority is given to proposals that add a significant service component to an existing course or create a new course with a service component. The expectation is that these courses will be offered at least every other year. Haas Center staff is available to consult with faculty members interested in adding a service component to their courses.

For more information:
If you are interested in learning more about service-learning course and course development funds, please contact Karin Cotterman, karinc@stanford.edu.