Community-based Service Learning Research Articles

Teaching Advocacy Through Community-Based Service Learning: A Scoping Review.

Advocacy has been identified as a core element within the practice of medicine and thus a key component to medical education. However, there are challenges regarding teaching and evaluation of advocacy within medical education. Community-based service learning (CBSL) has emerged as a valuable educational tool to foster knowledge and skills related to advocacy. CBSL is particularly relevant to psychiatry, given the extent of engagement with underserved communities and opportunities to advance learning in these environments. A scoping review was conducted to identify current educational strategies and outcomes related to advocacy training among medical learners in the context of CBSL. Between July and October 2019, the authors searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, ERIC, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest for English language literature with no date limits and retrieved 2,813 articles and abstracts; 68 were included in this review. Two reviewers independently screened articles and extracted data. Data were then charted, analyzed, and discussed with the research team. Seven key themes related to approaches to advocacy education were identified: (1) type of community partner; (2) populations served; (3) program participants; (4) program structure; (5) evaluation of learner outcomes; (6) sustainability; and (7) challenges and limitations. This scoping review provides insights into the variety of CBSL-based advocacy program formats and evaluation methods, which is of particular importance to psychiatry. There is heterogeneity in the methodology by which CBSL is implemented and how outcomes are measured. A list of recommendations for future areas of inquiry is provided.

Developing Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Professional Identity as Science Teachers Through Community-Based Service-Learning

As preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) engage with the community, they start to develop their professional identity as educators. This longitudinal, mixed methods study examined how participation in a science-focused, community-based service-learning (CBSL) experience, a Family Energy Fair, influenced the professional identity development of 39 PSETs. Pre- and post- surveys were utilized, incorporating quantitative and qualitative components, including students’ reflections on their experience. Pre- and post-CBSL findings indicate that there was growth in both individual and social aspects of PSETs developing identity. Individually, PSETs identified themselves as more knowledgeable about science content, standards, and the need for personal flexibility in teaching. However, they were only slightly more confident about their abilities as science teachers and less likely to see teachers as content experts. Socially, PSETs were more likely to view themselves as facilitators or helpers as a result of the CBSL experience, assisting students in understanding difficult concepts and seeing connections. Pre- and post-CBSL reflections demonstrate that while 80% initially did not understand what CBSL was, by the end of their multidimensional service-learning experience, they greatly expanded their ideas about the identity of teachers as collaborators with the community. *** A medida que los futuros maestros de primaria (en inglés ‘PSET’) se involucran con la comunidad, comienzan a desarrollar su identidad profesional como educadores. Este estudio longitudinal a corto plazo de métodos mixtos examinó cómo la participación en una experiencia de aprendizaje-servicio comunitario (ASC) centrada en la ciencia, una Feria de Energía Familiar, influyó en el desarrollo de la identidad profesional de treinta y nueve futuros maestros de primaria. Se utilizaron encuestas previas y posteriores, en las que se incorporaron componentes cuantitativos y cualitativos, incluidas las reflexiones de los estudiantes sobre su experiencia. Los hallazgos previos y posteriores a la experiencia de ASC indican que hubo un crecimiento en la identidad de los maestros, tanto en aspectos individuales como en los sociales. Individualmente, los maestros se identificaron a sí mismos como más conocedores del contenido y los estándares científicos, así como de la importancia de la flexibilidad personal en la enseñanza. Adquirieron algo más de confianza en sus habilidades como profesores de ciencias, pero pocos identificaron a los profesores como expertos en contenido. Socialmente, como resultado de la experiencia ASC, los maestros fueron más propensos a verse a sí mismos como facilitadores o asistentes que ayudan a los estudiantes a comprender conceptos difíciles y a hacer conexiones. Las reflexiones previas y posteriores demuestran que si bien el 80% inicialmente no entendía qué era ASC, al final de su experiencia de aprendizaje-servicio multidimensional, los maestros participantes expandieron enormemente sus ideas sobre la identidad de los docentes como colaboradores de la comunidad.

Supporting Older Adults and Caregivers Through Integrative Service Learning During COVID

There is a growing population of older adults who are living longer and acquiring chronic illness and disabilities, making it difficult for them to complete everyday activities and age in place. More than 2 million of these older adults are homebound and 5 million need help leaving their homes. They experience social isolation, food insecurity, and lack of connection to community resources which has intensified since the pandemic. Integrative service learning models can provide home-based support to older adults while offering valuable, hands-on learning experiences for students. This study examined findings for a community-based program which trained university students to provide practical home-based support for older adults and their caregivers. Data was collected for 109 older adults who were connected with student trainees. Students provided services with groceries, companionship, and help accessing needed services. Findings from t-test results using the UCLA Loneliness Scale indicated that older adults reported less loneliness after engagement with students (mean difference = 6.15, t = 3.14, df = 82, p < 0.01). Qualitative process data suggested that older adults benefited from services and a connection to their assigned students prior to and during the pandemic. Student trainees reported that the experience enriched their learning and reaffirmed their commitment to working with older adults. Community-based service learning can address home-based needs of older adults and their caregivers and enhance learning opportunities for students. Policies and practice can support a pipeline of geriatric health professionals through innovative service learning models to benefit older adults, caregivers and students.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Merging Engineering Education with Service-Learning: How Community Based Projects Encourage Socially Conscious Engineers

Engineers provide essential services to society, solving pressing challenges through technological inventiveness. Students new to engineering often cite the lure of creative problem solving as attracting them to the discipline. However, traditional engineering curricula typically focus on a narrow application of fundamentals for solving closed-ended problems. Too often, engineering programs do not encourage inventive expression in problem solving. Not surprisingly, the attrition rate for engineering programs is unusually high. Recently, engineering education has shifted its focus to new, more engaging practices that incorporate hands-on methods, boosting prospects for students to engage in creative problem solving. Because service learning provides opportunities for applied work, incorporating it into engineering education programs in can engage students positively and lower attrition rates. Moreover, since engineers are fundamentally involved with social improvement, then engaging students in activities that expand their understanding of the potential impact their skills may impart to a community is not only prudent but best practices. This paper explores two case studies of community-based service learning engineering projects, highlighting community partnerships, analyses and decision-making that helped drive designs and outcomes. It explores how both the communities and students benefitted, focusing notably on the influence these activities had on student understanding of their work, academic and/or professional direction and social consciousness. These are analyzed via longitudinal reporting of students incorporating lessons learned several years post-project. The service learning projects took place in marginalized communities in Denver and Costa Rica. In the Denver project, engineering students designed, built and installed low cost solar heaters into an area with poor housing stock. In Costa Rica, students built a solar water heater for a local school. Keywords: applied learning, engineering education, experiential learning, service-learning.

Community-Based Service-Learning in Language Education: A Review of the Literature

Community-based service-learning (CBSL) is increasingly utilized in the second language (L2) education field as a strategy for learners to interact with target language communities. Accompanying the growth of CBSL in L2 is the need to examine and critique research and practice. This systematic literature review describes CBSL research in higher education L2 settings to understand program implementation, associated outcomes, and lessons learned. The review represents 69 articles published between 1997 and 2017. Trends in CBSL reveal a variety of CBSL experiences for L2 learners, with most programs representing a U.S. Spanish language context. Students stepped out of university classrooms to tutor children at elementary schools, to interact with immigrant adults at community centers, and to contribute to professional agencies using languages for specific purposes. Thirty-nine of the articles were empirical studies with outcomes that addressed L2 learners’ gains in linguistic proficiency, cultural understanding, motivation and interests related to language learning, and/or civic engagement. Overall, the literature review demonstrated positive associations between CBSL and student outcomes in L2 education. In an era of a growing number of CBSL programs, this review serves as a resource for research-based practices and as a springboard for new research.

University’s Catalytic Effect in Engendering Local Development Drives: Insight into the Instrumentality of Community-Based Service Learning

The context of this paper is Africa, where communities have historically looked up to universities within their locality to maximize their intellectual capital and knowledge creation to foster regional development. How well these universities are actively responding to the demands of economic and social development require attention. This paper reports an instrumental case study involving in-depth interviews and focus groups within a bounded locality in Cameroon to address what universities can do to enhance their contribution to local development. Findings suggest that whilst a university&amp;rsquo;s community-based service learning (CBSL) scheme can be ascertained as an instrument that can engender local development, this requires the fostering of relevant education for informed participation of different stakeholders in the framing but also firming up of CBSL objectives and processes. Furthermore, in order to optimize the prospect for local development instigated by CBSL activities, relevant stakeholders should go beyond short-term planning and adopt futuristic sustainable strategies. There is need to promote deeper dissemination, as well as follow-up on field findings for sustained implementation and outcomes.

From learner to teacher assistant: Community‐based service‐learning in a dual‐language classroom

The growth of Latinx populations in the United States has resulted in an increasing number of community‐based service‐learning (CBSL) opportunities. In particular, the steady growth in Spanish‐English dual‐language schools and the accompanying staff shortages position elementary classrooms as meaningful settings in which to develop relationships between postsecondary L2 Spanish learners and Spanish–speaking children and adults. This qualitative study investigated a CBSL program in which L2 Spanish learners at an urban university served as weekly teaching assistants at a local dual‐language elementary school. Data were collected from 55 reflective blog entries, two focus group sessions, and interviews with four teaching assistants. The L2 Spanish learners reported that the experience supported their language acquisition by (1) providing oral language practice outside of class, (2) facilitating linguistic self‐confidence, (3) fostering metacognitive reflection, and (4) transforming motivation and attitudes. Implications are provided regarding ways that the dual‐language classroom setting holds promise for engaging L2 Spanish learners at various levels in CBSL.

Small Business Website Development: Enhancing the Student Experience Through Community-Based Service Learning

Small-scale retail and service businesses often do not have the knowledge, skills, time or money to develop an online web presence. These small businesses recognize that in order to be competitive they need to use technology and have an online presence in order to attract customers. At the same time, research suggests that students can benefit from projects that provide real world experience. Community-based, experiential service learning offers a way for students to work on realistic and valuable projects while benefitting small-scale retail and service business owners. Therefore, this research uses experiential service learning as a way to meet the web development needs of small businesses while providing students with a real world educational experience. This study presents the findings in terms of impact and lessons learned from a student partnership with small-scale businesses from a small community for experiential service learning website development.

Teaching in context: Integrating community‐based service learning into TESOL education

Interest in service‐learning within TESOL has increased in recent years. Teacher‐scholars have described multiple uses of such pedagogy in programs for students of English as a second language (ESL) and in courses of ESL teacher education. This article employs action research to focus on an introductory TESOL class at a U.S. university for which students volunteered as ESL tutors and teachers at local community‐based organizations. By describing the course design and implementation, and by drawing on a data set comprising both student writing and interviews with community partners, the article highlights an undertheorized value of service‐learning in TESOL: its potential to raise novice teachers' awareness about the sociopolitical contexts of language education and, in turn, to help them recognize the importance of attending to such dynamics in pedagogic decision making. In this way, the course offers a case study that can support TESOL educators who want to help teachers‐in‐training situate second language learners in larger contexts. Two specific recommendations that emerge from the study are the need to move beyond the traditional content areas of TESOL/second language acquisition in designing such courses and the importance of collaborating with community‐based organizations as true partners.

Taking risks with a growth mindset: long-term influence of an elementary pre-service after school science practicum

ABSTRACTIn this study, we present the long-term influence of an after school science practicum associated with an elementary science methods course. The practicum or field experience could be considered a community-based service learning programme as it is situated both within and for the community. Study participants included eight third- and fifth-grade teachers who had participated in elementary science methods courses; four of these teachers participated in the after school teaching practicum while four participants experienced a more traditional observation-based elementary science practicum. All of these teachers were in their second or third year teaching which was 3–4 years after taking the methods course. Investigation methods included questionnaires, field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews. Teachers more regularly utilised reform-based teaching strategies and cited the after school teaching practicum as preparing them to use these strategies in their own classrooms. All teachers exhibited a growth mindset to some degree, but the after school practicum participants did demonstrate a wider use of reformed-based teaching strategies and a higher growth mindset. Elementary teachers perceive risk associated with these key aspects of instruction: (1) managing instruction and classroom management, (2) teaching science through guided inquiry, and (3) overcoming adoptions in other ‘mandated’ curriculum like math and reading.

Developing Leadership Skills and a Commitment to Civic Engagement During an Undergraduate Community-Based Service Learning Class

Civic engagement and service learning opportunities provide students with unique real-world experiences they are unable to acquire in a traditional in-class setting. Students develop a commitment to the community in which they live, exposure to other populations, leadership abilities, skills to work successfully within a team, and a chance to learn from failure. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized the importance of such opportunities and has added the Community Engagement Classification to the restructured Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synthesis of the literature that addresses civic engagement and service learning opportunities and to describe a university class that was designed to provide undergraduate students with a capstone service learning experience promoting wellness for older adults in the community. Data that were collected to evaluate the success of the class are also described.

Community-Based Physical Fitness Service Learning: Student and Volunteer Perspectives

ABSTRACTThis article compares the post-activity perceptions of both the volunteer clients and student service providers in a community-based service learning project. Students served as either personal trainers or nutrition coaches for recruited clients during the final month of their respective classes. The clients were asked to rank different factors based on their relative impact on their motivation to adhere to their programs. The students were asked to rank the same factors based on how they thought their clients were impacted. Mann-Whitney U tests were run to determine if there were statistically significant differences (0.05 level) in the perceptions of students and clients regarding the relative impact of the factors. While the tests revealed no significant differences between the rankings of nutrition coaches and clients, personal trainers and clients differed significantly in the way they ranked certain factors. Implications for undergraduate professional preparation and/or certification of fitness professionals are discussed.

Effect of a Community-Based Service Learning Experience in Geriatrics on Internal Medicine Residents and Community Participants.

Community-based service learning (CBSL) provides an opportunity to teach internal medicine residents the social context of aging and clinical concepts. The objectives of the current study were to demonstrate the feasibility of a CBSL program targeting internal medicine residents and to assess its effect on medical residents and community participants. internal medicine residents participated in a CBSL experience for half a day during ambulatory blocks from 2011 to 2014. Residents attended a senior housing unit or center, delivered a presentation about a geriatric health topic, toured the facility, and received information about local older adult resources. Residents evaluated the experience. Postgraduate Year 3 internal medicine residents (n = 71) delivered 64 sessions. Residents felt that the experience increased their ability to communicate effectively with older adults (mean 3.91 ± 0.73 on a Likert scale with 5 = strongly agree), increased their knowledge of resources (4.09 ± 1.01), expanded their knowledge of a health topic pertinent to aging (3.48 ± 1.09), and contributed to their capacity to evaluate and care for older adults (3.84 ± 0.67). Free-text responses demonstrated that residents thought that this program would change their practice. Of 815 older adults surveyed from 36 discrete teaching sessions, 461 (56%) thought that the medical residents delivered health information clearly (4.55 ± 0.88) and that the health topics were relevant (4.26 ± 0.92). Free-text responses showed that the program helped them understand their health concerns. This CBSL program is a feasible and effective tool for teaching internal medicine residents and older adults.

Appropriate technology and ethical obligations of the university: W.E.B. Du Bois on the Africana university mission

Working on the Encyclopedia Africana under the sponsorship of Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, W.E.B. Du Bois reversed his conviction that only the ‘talented tenth’ could profit from a university education. He proposed that virtually all humans have a right to a university education. He further insisted that Africana (African and African in the Diaspora) universities are ethically obligated and uniquely positioned to spearhead a movement to train students to become professionals who solve problems community members are unable to solve for themselves. Africana universities can, with the aid of appropriate technology and service learning, take the steps necessary to achieve Du Bois’s vision. In this paper, we present a practical account of how universities may work with local communities to determine the questions to research and then deploy appropriate technologies through community-based but student-driven service learning projects. Our hypothesis is that students can become community leaders of tomorrow by partnering with community members to solve theoretical issues and practical problems of their communities. As university graduates inspired by Du Bois’s vision for Africana universities, their mission will be to establish alumni communities of learning that transfer problem-solving skills to community members who do not yet have access to university education.

Supports and Barriers to Establishing and Sustaining Service Learning Partnerships to Facilitate Student Learning

Abstract Date Presented 3/30/2017 This qualitative study investigated the supports and barriers to establishing and sustaining community-based service learning projects. Understanding the factors that affect use of service learning as an educational tool is essential to establishing best practices in occupational therapy education. Primary Author and Speaker: Julie Watson Additional Authors and Speakers: Kayla Collins, Inti Marazita, Prerna Poojary

Community-Based Service-Learning: A Rural Australian Perspective on Student and Academic Outcomes of Participation

This article reports on a community-based service-learning program that aligned occupational therapy and speech pathology student learning with service provision in order to address the unmet developmental needs of children residing in rural New South Wales, Australia. The article describes academy outcomes for participating allied health students and academics. A pragmatic qualitative research study was undertaken and data collected through focus groups with students and individual interviews with academics. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis method. Broad codes were developed and then collapsed into two themes: catalysts for program participation and civic impacts of participation. Based on the study findings, the authors argue for the need to ensure the development of communityliterate health students, academics, and practicing professionals if colleges and universities are to create a rural-ready and responsive health workforce. This community-literate approach must inform how Australian higher education institutions engage with rural communities in community-based service-learning innovation.

Aprendiendo sostenibilidad mediante trabajo comunitario

El aprendizaje de servicio basado en la comunidad se utiliza en los planes de estudio de ingeniería y construcción para involucrar a los estudiantes en problemas interesantes y complejos que benefician a la comunidad, al tiempo que desarrollan competencias esenciales para la práctica profesional. Los proyectos de aprendizaje servicio exponen eficazmente a los estudiantes a cuestiones que de otro modo serían difíciles de enseñar, como las limitaciones críticas de recursos, las tácticas para superarlas, las compensaciones entre las posibles soluciones, la integración de sistemas y los retos organizativos de la implementación. Sin embargo, a menudo se infrautilizan debido a los riesgos y desafíos que supone su integración en las clases y la gestión de la participación de los estudiantes. Este artículo explora las cuestiones que hacen que los proyectos CBSL tengan éxito y los retos a los que se enfrentan tanto el profesorado como los estudiantes que participan en ellos. Las conclusiones se basan en un análisis bibliográfico de los retos y en una revisión de dos proyectos de aprendizaje servicio llevados a cabo por una clase conjunta de nivel superior/grado sobre sistemas de instalaciones sostenibles en Virginia Tech. Las lecciones aprendidas se identifican en tres áreas clave: el diseño como escucha frente al diseño como inspiración, los objetivos conflictivos y tácitos, y las realidades de la construcción. Los proyectos de aprendizaje de servicio ofrecen un entorno seguro en el que aprender sobre los retos de la construcción, donde lo inesperado es una parte esperada y valorada del aprendizaje. A través de estas experiencias, los estudiantes pueden comprender mejor las compensaciones necesarias para perseguir la sostenibilidad en los proyectos de capital y pueden situar mejor los objetivos de sostenibilidad como "minimizar los residuos" y "reutilizar los materiales de construcción" en el contexto de lo que estos objetivos requieren en la práctica. Estos proyectos también benefician a los clientes de la comunidad y brindan la oportunidad de que los estudiantes se comprometan cívicamente, lo que les permitirá continuar con su vida después de graduarse.

An Advocacy and Leadership Curriculum to Train Socially Responsible Medical Learners

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Physician advocacy and leadership is increasingly recognized as an important part of our social responsibility. Frameworks, such as CanMEDS, have set out definitions of health advocacy and leadership for medical education. Despite calls for mandatory advocacy and leadership teaching and potential wellness benefits, presently medical curricula do not usually teach practical advocacy and leadership skills to learners. There is also a demonstrated disconnect between staff and resident perceptions of advocacy. Our group set out to create an innovative Advocacy and Leadership Curriculum (ALC) to fill this gap. A collaboration of over twenty medical students and professors from across Canada and the U.S worked over the past year to survey students, conduct curriculum mapping, examine current literature and practices in order to inform the creation of an ALC. A competency- and milestone-based ALC was created based on this data and reviewed by experts in medical education and/or physician advocacy. This ALC addresses three spheres of advocacy: the Patient level, the Institutional level, and the Population level (which includes the Community). A guiding principle of the ALC is to form positive working partnerships with communities and patients and to collaborate with other health professionals to advocate with, and on behalf of, patients. CanMEDS-based Learning Objectives, divided into theoretical, skills-based, and application-based categories, form the core of the program. The curriculum prepares learners for real-world advocacy through longitudinal projects, interdisciplinary work, and community-based service learning. Novel engagement of other professionals and physician advocates to act as advocacy preceptors is central to the curriculum. Innovative assessment techniques- such as advocacy simulations, longitudinal study of physician advocacy activity, and focus on attitudes and behaviour as well as knowledge and practical advocacy skills- are introduced. The ALC serves as an adaptable model for the training of socially responsible medical learners who are conversant in advocacy techniques and able to advocate with patients, within institutions, and with populations. Projects resulting from the ALC will improve medical school social accountability.

The role of a multidisciplinary student team in the community management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

To determine whether a community-based, multidisciplinary team consisting of home-based caregivers and supervised students could improve the functional status and quality of life of patients living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a low-income, peri-urban setting in South Africa. This was a quasi-experimental study conducted over three months. Attention was paid to health literacy, inhaler technique, respiratory conditioning and nutrition. Health literacy was poor and most patients were not using their inhalers correctly. Five of 12 patients found exercising challenging and withdrew from the study early. In the remaining seven patients, statistically significant improvements in FEV1%, and quality of life scores were seen at three months. Improvements in exercise tolerance and BODE prognostic index did not reach statistical significance. A home-based multidisciplinary student team can improve the functional status and the quality of life in patients living with COPD in a low-income setting. This approach offers a suitable model for community-based service learning.