Faith and Learning in Action: Christian Faith and Service- Learning in a Graduate-Level Blended Classroom

Abstract

Service-learning (SL) is proven to have positive effects on student learning outcomes, critical thinking skills, student empathy, personal and interpersonal development, cultural awareness, and intrinsic motivation to study. Past studies on how SL is implemented have focused on either SL in the traditional classroom or the online classroom with little research on the effectiveness of SL in blended (face-to-face and online) classrooms. The researcher could identify no previous research to date on the application of service-learning taught from a Christian faith perspective in a blended classroom setting. The purpose of this research was to study academic, societal, and spiritual benefits of implementing SL in a Christian university blended graduate classroom. The following questions guided the study:How does a SL experience enable students to understand the course concepts?How does a SL experience enable students to apply course theory to real-world problems?How does a SL experience enable students to apply course theory to their Christian practice?Results of this single-institution case study revealed that students believed service-learning in a blended graduate-level course was effective in connecting theory to practice. The outcomes of this study suggest that SL should be included in more graduate-level courses and that blended environments are favorable to SL activities. Because SL is effective in connecting theory to practice, SL activities should be used to help students better understand how their Christian faith can enable them to serve others at home, in their community, and through their profession.