Community Service Learning Research Articles

A New Interprofessional Community-Service Learning Program, HATS (Health Ambassador Teams for Seniors) to Improve Older Adults Attitudes about Telehealth and Functionality.

Senior population health often is underrepresented in curricula for medical and allied health students. Furthermore, entrenched and dense curricular schedules preclude interprofessional teams from clinical experiences related to senior population health. Community service learning potentially offers the opportunity to engage interprofessional students with a panel of older adults to assess health promotion metrics over time. To test this educational concept, we created Health Ambassador Teams for Seniors, also known as HATS. Utilizing a telehealth platform, interprofessional student teams were tasked with older adult wellness promotion. The annual Medicare wellness exam served as a template for patient encounters which was enhanced with key elements of geriatric assessment such as gait and balance, cognition, and functional evaluations. The objective was to have dyads of interprofessional students conduct telehealth visits and gather healthcare data to be used for serial patient encounters and track functional trajectories over time. As a proof of concept, pilot telehealth encounters with medical, physical therapy, nursing and occupational therapy students revealed that data on older adult functional performances such as gait speed, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and Mini-Cog test could be acquired through telehealth. Equally importantly, trainees received diverse feedback from faculty, peers and volunteer patients. A Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) data repository allows trainees to track patient trends relative to their health promotion recommendations as well as handoff their patient panel to the next set of trainees. The HATS program promises to strengthen the Geriatric Workforce, especially with senior population health.

The Impact of Community Service Experience on the Undergraduate Students’ Learning Curve and Subsequent Changes of the Curriculum- A Quality Improvement Project at a Caribbean Medical University

Background: Community service learning seems to positively impact undergraduate medical students’ practical procedural and communications skills. Events like health fairs also strengthen the bond between healthcare providers and the wider community. Recognizing this mutually beneficial situation, national accreditation agencies and medical boards have recommended incorporating community-based learning in the core undergraduate curriculum. Our university is the first to probe medical students’ perceptions of community service in our region to the best of our knowledge.Objectives: We sought to analyze the experience of our students to improve the practical value of the curriculum.Methods: This was a qualitative survey interviewing medical students volunteering at a health fair in a Caribbean Island aimed to screen gross cardio-vascular and metabolic abnormalities in the native adult population. The focus group interviews were processed, transcribed and coded for thematic analyses by independent observers.Results: Overall, the students perceived CS as an opportunity to improve their clinical procedural and communications skills and to apply theoretical medical knowledge in practice to detect undiagnosed conditions like diabetes mellitus, hypertension and nutritional imbalance.Pedagogical implications: We have increased practical laboratory sessions by 15% in the new semester to improve our students’ practical skills.Conclusions: This is the first study that describes how community service may influence the individual learning curve of undergraduate medical students and may serve as a quality improvement tool to guide amendments to the curriculum. We opine that inter-agency, community-focused service promotes social, peer and active learning amongst undergraduate medical students.

Exploring the nexus between transdisciplinarity, internationalisation and community service-learning at a university of technology in Cape Town

Background: The ability of the South African citizenry to overcome a myriad of challenges (which include the triple challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment) can be called into question. This alleged inability could, in part at least, be linked to the role of higher education, which is at a vantage point of equipping the citizenry with the requisite values, skills and knowledge.Aim: The aim of the article is to discuss attempts that were employed towards imparting transdisciplinary and collaborative skills to students at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).Setting: The article reports on the collaboration between a number of stakeholders, viz. CPUT, University of Michigan, St. Mark’s Church and District Six Museum. The aim of the collaboration was to develop an interactive Web map, which would display the socio-spatial information based on the baptismal records of the former residents of District Six.Methods: The article explores interconnections between transdisciplinary education, internationalisation of higher education and community service-learning. The discussion is based on the authors’ reflective analysis of the deployment of the triad of concepts in the initiative reported on.Results: Intricate interdependencies were discovered between transdisciplinarity, internationalisation of higher education and community service-learning.Conclusion: It is proposed that future teaching and learning initiatives employ a critical lens and the notion of complexity to meticulously explore the aforesaid concepts towards extending the frameworks for higher education.

Community service learning in the teen outreach program in non-metropolitan florida high schools

ABSTRACT Engagement of adolescents with their communities has been associated with lower rates of adolescent pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively analyze Community Service Learning activities in the Teen Outreach Program (TOP) on a variety of dimensions. Data analyzed included CSL records submitted by TOP facilitators during the 2014–2015 school year implementation of TOP in non-metropolitan high schools in a Southeastern US state. CSL records included quantitative components such as type of projects, hours, and student participation. Qualitative data included thematic analysis of open-ended responses to questions regarding stages of CSL. A majority of projects were indirect service, indicating that students did not engage with the community. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing how CSL functions within an implementation of TOP, emphasizing the inclusion of civic participation activities in adolescent pregnancy prevention programs.

Community service learning in complex urban settings: challenges and opportunities for social work education

ABSTRACT Urban diversity poses significant challenges for social work education in Europe’s major cities. These challenges manifest themselves in an accumulation of conflicts, inequalities, and fracture lines between individuals, networks, cultures, but also different groups and their institutional and political environments. This current challenge for the education of the next generation of social workers is also related to the rapidly changing environmental conditions and complexity of the urban diversity. Urban society is increasingly fragmented and diverse requiring new knowledges and tools to support future social work practice. The aim of the paper is to analyze the potential of Community Service Learning (CSL) as an approach that can be effectively applied in complex urban settings. CSL is an experiential learning format that integrates academic and experiential learning within a community service context. The participative training model identifies three basic principles: civic engagement, cooperative and multiple learning, and the importance of critical reflexive learning. This paper builds on existing CSL literature and represents ongoing discussions in an Erasmus+ project, exploring social work education in complex urban settings.

PKM MAHASISWA UNIVERSITAS INDO GLOBAL MANDIRI PENGEMBANGAN BISNIS THRIFTING SHOP SEPATU ONLINE

Shoes play a significant role in today's fashion and style. Consequently, consumers consider various factors such as product quality, price, and promotions when making purchasing decisions. In this regard, we, as students of Indo Global University, conducted independent research and socialization activities at the online shoe retailer "Laroza Second Brand." Utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, online businesses effectively promote and sell shoes. Social media, as an online tool with human users, facilitates live broadcasts for promoting and selling products. With this in mind, we visited the location to observe and assist in understanding how social media technology is utilized to generate revenue. This community service initiative involved collaboration between lecturers and students from Indo Global Mandiri University to support MBKM (Community Service Learning).

「地域の人に出会う活動」による学びを意図した授業プログラムの提案:～コミュニティサービスラーニングにおける活動先インタビューの取り組みから～

「地域の人に出会う活動」による学びを意図した授業プログラムの提案:～コミュニティサービスラーニングにおける活動先インタビューの取り組みから～

Exploring the Meaning of Therapeutic Horticulture for Anishinabek Youth in a Brief Residential Treatment Unit: A Community Engagement CSL Case Study

This paper explored community-university engagement that integrated a short-term treatment facility for Indigenous youth, a social enterprise organization that focused on healing through horticulture therapy experiences and an interdisciplinary academic team. The focus was to discover whether a horticulture therapy (HT) approach held promise in terms of an appropriate way to expand community service-learning (CSL) with Indigenous peoples and to encourage more diversity of voices in community service-learning experiences. Youth participants took part in a photovoice study and further semi-structured interviews to document their perspectives on the meaning of their horticultural experiences. Findings revealed that youth valued the overall HT experience itself; being connected to the gardens and nature and the social interactions exploring spirituality and the self were significant and meaningful for them. Further, findings demonstrated that a collaborative partnership that engaged multiple service agencies to explore novel ways for engaging youth in healing activities with a university team that guided the research approach holds promise as a CSL with Indigenous youth. We conclude with recommendations on the significance of community-university engagement in delivering therapeutic horticulture programs for Indigenous youth as a community service-learning initiative. 

A Thematic Approach to Realize Multidisciplinary Community Service-Learning Education to Address Complex Societal Problems: A-Win-Win-Win Situation?

Universities are under increasing pressure to become more and better involved in society as part of their third mission, to which Community Service learning (CSL) can contribute. To date, most CSL projects are mono-disciplinary, single courses, often of a short-term nature. In order to address the increasingly complex problems facing society, there is a need to adopt multi–and interdisciplinary CSL approaches that allow for a range of perspectives. The article describes and analyzes how a thematic CSL approach was initiated at the VU Amsterdam starting from the needs of a local community. Once loneliness was identified as an important and relevant issue, the approach evolved in order to include multiple courses and internships from different programs offered by two faculties and various stakeholders and community organizations. Taking an action–research approach, the CSL team evaluated the process of its development, outcomes and contributions, as well as possible benefits and considerations. In addition to more tangible outcomes arising from many student projects, the approach assists in building new community networks, supports project continuity, deepens knowledge, encourages new collaborations, reduces CSL-created workload and finally increases student development, motivation and sense of ownership. Overall, it can be concluded that the thematic approach can contribute to addressing complex problems as it allows for multidisciplinary collaborations while not imposing too great a burden on the established curriculum. This makes the thematic CSL approach a valuable stepping stone in advancing CSL in universities, and so contribute to fulfilling their third mission.

Unmasking Corporate-Military Infrastructure: Four Theses

At our workshop at the inaugural Conference on Community Writing on the rhetoric of the corporate university, participants noted that the values espoused by community literacy “in the community” are being eroded at the university. Furthermore, they noted the underlying rhetorics of missionary zeal, whiteness, and privatization in community literacy and service learning work. The authors build on these critiques by examining two successive administrations at Syracuse University. The first presented a model of “engaged infrastructure” with progressive rhetoric but oppressive outcomes; the second shed the façade of community partnership for an explicitly corporate and militaristic vision of higher education. Through this comparison, the authors interrogate foundations that community literacy has been built on with the hope of opening new possibilities.

The integration of a community service learning water project in a post-secondary chemistry lab

Community Service Learning (CSL) is an experiential learning approach that integrates community service into student projects and provides diverse learning opportunities to reduce interdisciplinary barriers. A semester-long chemistry curriculum with an integrated CSL intervention was implemented in a Canadian university to analyze the potential for engagement and positive attitudes toward chemistry as a meaningful undertaking for 14 post-secondary students in the laboratory as well as for their 400 K-12 student partners in the community. Traditionally, introductory science experiments typically involve repeating a cookbook recipe from a lab book, but this CSL project allowed the post-secondary and K-12 students to work collaboratively to determine the physical and chemical properties and total dissolved solids in the water fountains from the K-12 students' schools. Post-instructional surveys were completed by all learners and were analyzed using a mixed methodological approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods. The expected audience that may be interested in this study are those involved in teaching chemistry in higher education and at the K-12 level as well as those interested in service learning, community and civic engagement, experiential learning, and development of transferable skills in chemistry. The results demonstrate that both groups of students report favorable engagement and attitudes towards learning chemistry and higher self-confidence levels on performing lab skills after the activity. Furthermore, both groups of students expressed interest in exploring future projects, which is indicative of the positive impact of CSL and the mutual benefits of the partnership.

Case study analysis of reflective essays by chemistry post-secondary students within a lab-based community service learning water project

Intentional reflection is a key component of Community Service Learning (CSL) as it guides students to integrate knowledge of theory with experience in practice. A semester-long chemistry curriculum with an integrated CSL intervention was implemented in a Canadian university to investigate how reflection in the laboratory setting enhances post-secondary students’ (n = 14) conscious awareness of their learning and their attitudes toward having reflection as part of a course. In typical chemistry laboratories, students follow cookbook recipes from the lab manual and are assessed through written lab reports. These lab reports are similar to a technical report with scientific writing where the design aims to communicate scientific information to other scientists. A case study was conducted with reflective essays, focus group interviews, and student observation to analyze qualitatively how students' attitudes changed in their learning over the course of the CSL activity and how they engaged in this type of reflection. The expected audience that may be interested in this study are those involved in teaching chemistry in higher education and those that are interested in Community Service Learning and experiential learning. The results demonstrate that science students are able to articulate their academic growth, civic engagement, and personal growth through reflective pieces. Furthermore, the reflective pieces support self-regulated learning with a positive engagement and attitude over time. The results support the integration of reflective pieces in laboratory settings.

Research and Community Services Policies on SDGs at Universitas Diponegoro

The vision of Diponegoro University is to become an excellent research university. So that many university policies lead to achieving this vision, both in developing human resources, procuring laboratory facilities and providing research funds for lecturers. With the development of sustainability issues internationally through the Sustainable Development Goals, Diponegoro University provides special policies for research and community services related to the SDGs. The policy is to encourage lecturers and students to submit research proposals with the theme of SDGs. As for community service, in the last few years the main theme of Community Service Learning (KKN) activities for students who are accompanied by lecturers is SDGs. Considering that Diponegoro University is a comprehensive university consisting of various faculties and study programs, currently most of the research is related to the 17 goals of the SDGs. Likewise, the students had no difficulty in developing SDGs-themed programs in the villages where KKN activities were held.

Experiencing service learning partnership: A human development perspective of community members

Service–learning has, arguably, gained significant currency as a pedagogical and engagement mechanism within the broader discourse of universities and their role in community development. However, less emphasis has been placed on the human development dimensions of service–learning for community members, with the focus largely being on students’ experiential learning and other academic outcomes for the university. Though usually conceived as an integral part in university–community partnerships, community members’ role in the conception and implementation of service–learning initiatives is from a peripheral position. In this paper, we interrogate this lacuna by applying core tenets of the human development approach to document the experiences and perceptions of community members within a university–community service learning partnerships. From the analysis of qualitative data n = 22, we demonstrate that while service–learning enhances agency, it continues to operate within a historical context and contemporary political economy of South Africa, which obscure community members’ active participation and empowerment towards inclusive and sustainable valued outcomes.

Community Service-Learning Improves Learning Outcomes, Content Knowledge, and Perceived Value of Health Services Education: A Multiyear Comparison to Lecture

Lecture is a frequently employed method of instruction in institutions of higher education, despite evidence that this method may not be effective in achieving student learning (Stains et al., 2018). “Real-world” experiences are needed to bring classroom concepts to life and foster interconnectedness to enhance students’ interpersonal competence (Remington-Doucette et al., 2013). Community service-learning (CSL) projects achieve these objectives and extend student learning opportunities in ways that cannot be accomplished solely within a classroom (Bettencort, 2015). Although health services and quality management routinely use community-based internships and team-based learning (TBL) as educational methods, there are few quantitative studies of student perceptions and subject matter content mastery in our discipline that have evaluated outcomes. A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted to test the hypothesis that CSL, coupled with the TBL employed in Quality Management and Performance Improvement (QM) and health services practice, is an effective intervention to improve student outcomes. The results of this study suggest that CSL, coupled with TBL, facilitates improved QM and teamwork subject matter content knowledge, effort, engagement, and perception of skill acquisition. Las lecciones representan un método de instrucción frecuentemente utilizadas en la educación superior, a pesar de la evidencia indicando que dicho método tal vez no sea efectivo con respecto al aprendizaje estudiantil (Stains et al., 2018). Experiencias del “mundo real” son necesarias para hacer reales los conceptos educativos y para fomentar una interconexión que sirve para enriquecer la competencia interpersonal de los estudiantes (Remington-Doucette et al., 2013). Los proyectos de aprendizaje basado en la comunidad (ABC) cumplen con dichos objetivos y extienden las oportunidades de aprendizaje de los estudiantes a través de experiencias que no pueden ser realizadas dentro del aula (Bettencort, 2015). Aunque los servicios de salud y el manejo de la calidad usan con frecuencia las pasantías basadas en la comunidad y el aprendizaje basado en equipos o team-based learning (TBL) como métodos educativos, hay muy pocos estudios cuantitativos de las percepciones estudiantiles y de la maestría de la materia de estudio en nuestra disciplina que tienen resultados evaluados. Un estudio potencial y transversal fue llevado a cabo para probar la hipótesis que el ABC, junto con el TBL implementado en el Sistema de Gestión de Calidad (SGC) y la práctica de los servicios de salud, es una intervención efectiva para mejorar los resultados estudiantiles. Las conclusiones de este estudio sugieren que el ABC, junto con el TBL, faciliten una mejora del SGC y de la maestría de la materia del trabajo en equipos, el esfuerzo, el compromiso, y la percepción de la adquisición de una habilidad.

Current Landscape of Teaching Diversity in Occupational Therapy Education: A Scoping Review.

Critical research in health professions education makes clear the role of educational institutions in perpetuating problematic discourses related to diversity, as well as their potential role in dismantling and rebuilding those discourses to reflect the realities of power relations that create systemic injustice. To provide a comprehensive overview of current pedagogical practices and educational paradigms used by occupational therapy educators to teach concepts of, and skills for, equity and diversity. Seven education and health care databases were searched for articles published between 2007 and 2018. Consensually developed criteria were refined until an agreement rate of >80% was achieved among the authors. Inclusion criteria focused on entry-level occupational therapy education across the world and explicitly examined approaches to teaching diversity. All articles meeting the criteria were kept for full-text review (N = 87). Diversity in professional occupational therapy education programs is taught within five main underlying educational paradigms and theories: competency-based (44%), social justice (29%), critical (11%), social accountability (10%), and constructivism (6%). Within these paradigms, 14 key pedagogical practices were applied, with community service learning (37%), international service learning (25%), and didactic or course-based practices (23%) making up the majority of pedagogical practices. Although current occupational therapy research demonstrates a trend toward critical paradigms and practices, problematic cultural competency theories and uncritical international service learning practices continue to dominate occupational therapy education for diversity. Educators should implement pedagogies and approaches within critical educational paradigms. This article highlights the importance to occupational therapy education of attending to coherence across educational ethics, paradigms, and learning outcomes in teaching for diversity and health equity.

Integrating Community Service Learning into University Curriculum: Perspectives from EFL Teachers and Students

Integrating Community Service Learning into University Curriculum: Perspectives from EFL Teachers and Students

Book Review. Community Service-Learning for Spanish Heritage Learners: Making Connections and Building Identities (2018). Kelly Lowther Pereira. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Book Review. Community Service-Learning for Spanish Heritage Learners: Making Connections and Building Identities (2018). Kelly Lowther Pereira. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Queen's University Faculty of Health Sciences.

Queen's University Faculty of Health Sciences.

Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, Austin.

Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, Austin.