A Service-Learning Approach to Teaching Gerontology

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Approach To Teaching

An Active Learning Approach to Teaching Social Determinants of Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 266-273
Author(s):  
Jeanita W. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
The Impact

This active learning exercise is designed to deconstruct the impact of social determinants through the assumption of randomly selected personas. As an active learning exercise, it provides opportunities for discussion, problem solving, writing, and synthesis, while incorporating multiple learning style preferences. Part 1 involves assessing the individual social determinants at work. Part 2 involves exploring ways said determinants can enhance community health through collaboration. Assumption of personas unlike one’s own facilitates an open discussion of social position and ranges of factors influential to health without potentially evoking a sense of defensiveness associated with personal privilege (or the lack thereof).

Environmental service-learning approach in higher education – a descriptive case study on student-led life cycle assessments of university cafeteria meals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Johannisson ◽  
Michael Hiete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Descriptive Case Study

Purpose This study aims to share experiences of an easy to adapt service-learning approach in a graduate course on life cycle assessment (LCA). Specifically, it reports on how students helped the university’s cafeteria to assess meals by conducting an LCA for 25 meals and identifying environmental hotspots. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive case study of a graduate course at Ulm University is presented. The course included lectures and problem-based exercises, both theoretical and software assisted. A course evaluation was conducted during the course and one year after completion to poll improvement potentials, as well as its impacts on students’ everyday life. Findings It was found that although it was the first LCA for all students, the resulting LCA information of 25 different meals were homogeneous, comparable to the scientific literature and beneficial to the cafeteria’s sustainable development strategy. The concept of service-learning had a higher impact on students’ motivation than a good grade and active-learning is explicitly requested by students. The course design sensitized students to the real-life problems of LCA and made their consumption patterns more elaborate and ecological. Furthermore, this digitization of higher education could be carried out with only minor changes in the present COVID-19 pandemic situation. Originality/value As the subject of service-learning in natural sciences is still expandable, this study presents an easy to adapt case study on how to integrate such an approach into university curricula dominated by traditional learning. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this case study presents the first published LCA university course explicitly describing and evaluating a service-learning approach. The topic touches the everyday lives of students, allows comparisons between different student groups, is easily scalable to different group sizes and credits, and supports learning both how to study in small groups and cooperation between groups to ensure comparability of LCA results.

Developing Interpersonal Skills of Evaluators: A Service-Learning Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-451
Author(s):  
Lora H. Warner
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Interpersonal Skills ◽  
Interpersonal Competence ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Group Student ◽  
Insight Into

The challenge and opportunity for the field of evaluation is to prepare evaluators with sophisticated interpersonal competence alongside technical research skills. This article shows that service-learning, a “real-world” pedagogical model, holds promise as a way to educate students in evaluation while developing their interpersonal skills. While other community-based approaches offer experiential applications of evaluation methods, service-learning adds the important element of reflection to deepen student learning. A course that employed the “client-based” service-learning approach, individual-to-group student assignments, practice with interpersonal skills, and ongoing reflection activities is presented as a pedagogical approach to expand the range of interpersonal skills that can be developed among students. Student surveys showed that the course conveyed many benefits beyond technical knowledge of evaluation: use and awareness of important interpersonal skills, growing insight into their community and its people, growth of professional self-confidence, and kindling an interest in the field of evaluation.

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