Do you have an outstanding student that deserves to be recognized for their work in service, research, and advocacy?  If so, consider making a nomination. Contact engagement@uconn.edu with the student’s name by Friday, February 6^th.

Newman Civic Fellows: Accepting Nominations through March 4th

The Newman Civic Fellows Award honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Through service, research, and advocacy, Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues, and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change. Colleges and Universities are asked to nominate exceptional students to be considered for this prestigious award. Learn more about the award and process here.

Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, is on record saying that as many as half of U.S. colleges and universities will go out of business in the next 15 years. His case for arguing this stems from extensive research on technology-driven “disruptive innovations” across many industries. In recent years, he has looked closely at the disruption caused by online courses in the education world, and his predictions have caused quite a stir.  Read more below…

http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/179564/real-disruptive-innovation-education.aspx

Consistent with the Academic Vision, the Office of Service Learning (OSL) is designating service learning courses.  Designated courses will be searchable in Peoplesoft and will be supported by the Offices of Public Engagement and Service Learning.

Service Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. – Carnegie Foundation

There are two ways to get your information to the Office of Service Learning.  You can either Apply for Service Learning Designation OR complete the information requested below…quick and easy!  The ultimate goal is to have all SL courses designated for data collection and quality purposes.  **Applications for the SL Designation are due Friday, December 5, 2014 at noon for spring and fall 2015.

How do you know if you are teaching Service Learning?

• Do you have a course that is engaged with the community?
• Are the students reflecting on the community engagement and the course content through discussion, written, or other artistic form (music, drawing, digital media, etc.)?
• Is the project with the community mutually beneficial to both the community and the university?
• Are the course content and the community engagement project aligned?

If you answer yes to any of these questions or if you have questions, contact Julia Yakovich at the Office of Service Learning at julia.yakovich@uconn.edu.

Have you thought about including service learning in your teaching?

Service learning actively engages students in the community.  As a form of experiential learning, it provides direct experience and hands-on learning to develop skills useful in future careers, family life, and community involvement.  It can help develop critical thinking through involvement in situations conducive to creative, effective problem-solving, and it can enhance students’ social responsibility by expanding their compassion, civic awareness, and desire to be engaged in the community.

Service learning projects are developed by connecting student learning objectives and community need. As such, the resulting partnership is mutually beneficial for all parties. The project activities and deliverables can vary widely as service learning can take on many forms.

Links:

• Contact the Office of Service-Learning (http://sl.engagement.uconn.edu/) for more information or for help getting started on developing your service learning course or project
• To learn more about the faculty benefits of service learning, visit Faculty Overview (http://sl.engagement.uconn.edu/news/overview-for-faculty)
• Visit National Campus Compact (http://www.compact.org/) for models of service learning across disciplines and institutions.
• Spring 2015 SL Course Designation Applications are due by Wednesday, Oct. 1 at noon.  To submit a course, please click HERE.

The Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program for 2016 is offered through the Office of Public Engagement (OPE). This enhanced fellowship opportunity is designed to intentionally and consistently align with OPE’s philosophy of Relevant, Reciprocal, Responsible community engagement. The fellowship will begin with immersion training in mid-January followed by monthly two-hour workshops during the spring and fall semesters. Faculty who are accepted must commit to teaching a new or existing modified course with service learning as a pedagogy in the fall of 2016. Faculty will receive continued support from the Manager of Service Learning and the Service Learning Committee throughout the fall in addition to a monetary stipend or contribution to their department. Faculty Fellows are expected to mentor their colleagues in service learning as appropriate.

The Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program is open to all faculty on all campuses; whether you have taught with service learning as a pedagogy for years or have never done so. Courses may be undergraduate or graduate, domestic or global.

The Office of Public Engagement and its Service Learning staff support academic and program-focused service learning at the University. OPE is a resource for students, faculty, staff and community partners interested in the pedagogy of Service Learning which “is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.” – Carnegie Foundation Definition of Service Learning

Please contact Julia Yakovich for assistance prior to submitting your application at julia.yakovich@uconn.edu.

Timeline for Fellow Application  

Deadline for submission: Thursday, Oct. 1st

Notification from OPE: Thursday, Oct. 8th

Faculty response to OPE: Thursday, Oct. 15th

Faculty Fellowship Outline of Pedagogical Activities from January to December 2015

January 2016 Intensive Training

January training will focus on building an SL course through a consideration of SL course components: organization, objectives, assignments, assessments, and the community partner relationship.

Faculty will bring with them: syllabus of the course they want to modify or a description of a new course with a list of readings, goals and objectives.

Homework will be posted on HuskyCT before the training. Faculty will be expected to have read all homework on the web before the first day of training.  It will include the UConn Service Learning Guidebook, critical articles, history of Service Learning at UConn, and sample syllabi in their discipline.

Faculty Fellow Required Training Schedule

Thursday, January 14 & Friday, January 15 of 2016*               

*snow day will be Monday, January 18, 2016

Overview of Workshops

Spring Semester 2016

Spring semester workshops will assist faculty in preparing for their fall course, in addition to deepening faculty understanding of Service Learning pedagogy. Each workshop will include training module, followed by time to discuss critical article or chapter.

February: OSL Policies and Procedures, IRB, Risk in addition to ‘Writing and Service Learning’.

March: Technology and Service Learning.

April: Campus Compact-sponsored presentation of keynote speaker on Service Learning. Current and former faculty fellows process the talk together, discuss ideas and how they connect to courses and research over lunch.

May: Day-long service learning experience in either Willimantic or Hartford focused on a theme. This experience will give faculty the opportunity to have a mini hands-on experience with SL while also talking to partners about how to have successful partnerships.  

Fall 2016 Semester 

Fall workshops will provide additional training, as well as providing a forum in which faculty can process course teaching, brainstorm, and receive feedback and support.

September: Using Media to get your message out.

October: Community Partner Management and Critical Reflection.

November: Assessment w/ Community Partners. Critical Reflection continued.

December: Writing up the results. A discussion with faculty who have published articles about their SL teaching or research.

Apply for the program here.  

Please note: If you would like to explore possible proposals or goals for service learning before submitting this application, please contact Julia Yakovich at julia.yakovich@uconn.edu or at 860.486.4531.

The Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program for Academic Year 2014-2015 has been redesigned by the Office of Public Engagement and the Institute for Teaching and Learning. This enhanced fellowship opportunity is designed to intentionally and consistently align with OPE’s philosophy of Relevant, Responsible, Reciprocal community engagement. The fellowship will begin with immersion training in mid-January followed by monthly two-hour workshops during the spring semester. Faculty who are accepted must commit to teaching a new or existing modified course with a service learning component in the fall of 2015. Faculty will receive continued support from the Office of Service Learning (OSL) and ITL throughout the fall, in addition to a monetary stipend or contribution to their department. Faculty Fellows are expected to mentor their colleagues in service learning as appropriate.

The Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program is open to all faculty on all campuses. Courses may be undergraduate or graduate, domestic or global.

The Office of Service Learning, as part of the Office of Public Engagement, supports academic and program-focused service learning at the University. The OSL is a resource for students, faculty, staff and community partners interested in the pedagogy of Service Learning which “is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.” – Carnegie Foundation Definition of Service Learning

Required Fellow Orientation

Thursday and Friday, January 15 and 16 with a snow day on Monday, January 19 of 2015

Timeline for Fellow Application  

Deadline for submission: Monday, September 29^th

Notification from OSL: Friday, October 10^th

Faculty response to OSL:  Friday, Oct. 17^th

Application will be available, Tuesday, September 2.   

Christine Cress, PhD, professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Department at Portland State University, will visit UConn Storrs on Wednesday, September 17.  This event will focus on the institutionalization of service learning resonating with UConn’s newly adopted Academic Vision.  Dr. Cress will discuss how UConn and other institutions of higher education can meet stated academic goals through the pedagogy of service learning.

“Dr. Cress is a nationally renowned scholar for community-based learning across academic disciplines.  She has co-authored and published the best selling textbook, Learning through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning Across the Disciplines (2nd edition, 2013). Her most recent book, Democratic Dilemmas of Teaching Service-Learning: Curricular Strategies for Success (2011), focuses on teachable moments and pedagogical strategies in the midst of democratic value and belief conflicts.”

Please join us on Wednesday, September 17th. This is an open event to other CT Campus Compact colleges and universities.

Please register below.

‘Vision’ to Reality: Institutionalizing Service Learning

9:30 to 11:00 – Institutionalizing Service Learning from Epistemological and Ontological Perspectives: Past, Present & Future

This presentation will include a small panel response in addition to a Question & Answer session.

Location: UConn Storrs Campus, Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center 

Please note that the presentation will be streamed live for UConn.  Please click here to access it.  

The following courses have been approved by the Service Learning Committee based upon these criteria that make up a service learning course.

As of spring of 2014 Service Learning courses are designated in Peoplesoft. We ask all faculty who teach service learning to complete this submission process in order to get your course designated.  Having courses designated will allow the University and the Office of Service Learning have accurate service learning course information for reporting and quality control purposes.