Service-Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences Proceedings of a Workshop (2017) / Chapter Skim
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3 Service-Learning Benefits for Students and Institutions
3 Service-Learning Benefits for Students and Institutions
Pages 17-32
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Suzanne O'Connell of Wesleyan University discussed the available research on diversity in geoscience fields. Antony Berthelote of Salish Kootenai College and Ben Cuker of Hampton University offered their perspectives based on their experiences teaching at institutions that have long service-learning traditions.
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Figure 3-1 shows the numbers of students who are members of population subgroups (American Indian/Alaskan native, black, Asian/ Pacific Islander, and Hispanic) who earned geoscience bachelor's degrees from 2002 to 2012.
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A fourth issue is that prospective students may not readily see the ways in which the geosciences are relevant to their own lives, O'Connell explained. Service-learning projects can help them experience directly how these disciplines contribute to such vital issues as climate change, sea-level rise, challenges to the water and energy supply, and land use.
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problem," Berthelote suggested, in that their potential alignment with cultural values that have a high priority in Native American and other minority traditions is not always well understood. In his view, Native American students may place a particularly high value on community and respect for the planet, in comparison with members of other groups.1 Service-learning is a critical way to help students from underrepresented groups who bring varied cultural experiences to their undergraduate studies to see study of the geosciences as an opportunity for community empowerment and for contributing to the protection of the Earth, he suggested.
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Service was recently made an explicit part of the college's formal vision statement, Berthelote added, because it has become a key element of the student experience: Salish Kootenai College aspires to be the pre-eminent educational center of excellence for American Indian students, grounded in the cultures of the Sélis, Ksanka, and QÍispé people of the Flathead Nation. The college will empower students to improve the lives of their families and com munities through research, leadership, and service.
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A diverse faculty, like that at her own institution, Savannah State University, can be extremely helpful in figuring out effective strategies for reaching these students, she added. Geoscience programs could significantly improve their marketing, Ebanks added.
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John Gierke of Michigan Technological University and the Peace Corps Master's International Program,4 Amy Cohen of George Washington University, and Eric Riggs of Texas A&M University offered their thoughts about the connections between servicelearning and employment. They drew on their experiences in research and in service with such organizations as Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service, the American Geosciences Institute, and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.5 3This participant referred participants to David Orr's 2004 book, Earth in Mind, for a de tailed discussion of this point.
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There is considerable anecdotal evidence that service-learning experiences help students gain employment, in Gierke's view. Employers tend to value skills that have been developed in a real-world context, he added, and there is some indication that among employees at federal agencies, people with these experiences tend to progress faster than others.
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She noted that surveys of community partners may not be very informative, since their staffs are usually very grateful for all assistance they receive and tend to rate the experiences positively regardless of the outcomes. It can be challenging to find objective sources of data to use in the evaluation of service-learning projects, but indications of a project's impact might include informal feedback or actions taken by a local government entity following a service-learning project.
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He also noted that involving graduate students and preservice teachers in undergraduate service-learning projects increases the possibilities for spreading the word: Participants who tell others about their own activities may inspire potential students. Weaving service-learning into the undergraduate experience would be easier, he added, if institutions modified institutional procedures to facilitate these experiences and awarded credit for service-learning.
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They also develop self-confidence and self-efficacy and may begin to view themselves as professionals. The dedication and effort required for service-learning projects are recognized by many employers, and students also gain access to resources and networks through their involvement with organizations outside the college or university.
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Using data to demonstrate benefits are invaluable in making the case for allocating resources or expanding a program, and it is most useful to have information about both learning goals for students and project outcomes. The assessment tools used for most academic courses will provide useful information about many outcomes, participants noted.
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and also suggested possible ways of assessing the kinds of objectives that are specific to service-learning: • Site visits for quality control, such as checking progress and pro ficiency with skills or tools • Surveys of community partners • Progress checkpoints for documentation of incremental progress; • Project preparation obligations, such as reading assignments • Peer review of products before they are released to partners, with special attention to alignment of product with community partner needs • Review of assignments from partner information sources (fact sheets, Websites) or other relevant sources, such as local news or scholarly literature • Assignments that explore data collected from geoscience data bases (e.g., local watershed, climate, or other data)
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3. You will identify central community concerns that tie into your geoscience topic by reviewing local news sources or social media.
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19. You will present a product you create for a community partner/audience.
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Mentors are not only a resource but also a conduit for expanding outreach. The experience of serving as a mentor is also valuable for graduate students, participants commented, though they also need support in finding time for these efforts.
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