As Kansas State University puts forward its strategic plan with emphasis on applied learning, how can our faculty prepare to engage with community and create stronger, efficient, mutually-beneficial relationships that enhance the student experience and fulfill a community need? One way is through service-learning.
In spring 2023, the Staley School of Leadership welcomed Lori Kniffin, former K-State instructor, to campus for a guest lecture on engaged learning experiences. Here, we asked Lori to reflect on her personal experiences a little more in depth, and share more examples of service-learning.
This is the first blog in a series about service-learning, its origins, and how to incorporate service-learning into classrooms and programs. Read more posts from this series: What is service-learning?
What is service-learning?
In junior high and high school, I volunteered many hours through student organizations and my church (as lots of students do). I cleaned parks, served food, visited with the elderly and did many other activities that I can’t recall today. I logged many hours and made a difference in my community. Volunteering is a vital aspect of civic life; yet, it is often separate from one’s academic life.
The first time I connected service to my academic life was in my undergraduate education at K-State through service-learning. “Service-learning can be defined as both a pedagogy and change strategy that engages students, community members, and instructors/staff in co-creating relationships that integrate academic material, community-engaged activities, and critical reflection to advance public purposes and to achieve clearly articulated academic learning, civic learning, and personal growth goals” (Kniffin et al., in press). These Venn diagrams can be helpful in breaking down the major components of service-learning and categories of learning goals.