“I came to learn more about service-learning and some ways that I can incorporate it into my classroom” said Hutchins professor Mercy Romero. CCE faculty fellows Dr. Missy Garvin and Dr. Damien Wilson hosted a workshop called “Deepening your Service-Learning Class” in which participants talked about their experiences while working with service-learning.
“I came to this workshop hoping I can gain from it and learn some ways I can teach my students more about service-learning, I want my students to think globally rather than only focus on their medical education” said Professor Ellen Christiansen from Dominican University. This workshop was a great opportunity for faculty members to discuss ways they can all improve in their respective classes and also for them to talk about what has worked or failed for them. As a student at the workshop, I thought it was interesting to hear everyone’s perspectives as well as seeing how many faculty care about service-learning even though the faculty members there were all from different departments.
their ideas during the service-learning workshop.
Related: Deepening Service-Learning with Missy Garvin
Service-learning is something that not too many people are too familiar with and faculty are trying to think of ways to better incorporate it into their teaching. When Professor Romero was asked what she learned after the workshop, she said “I’m thinking about what is possible and it’s exciting, I definitely got a more manageable sense of service-learning after this workshop, and it puts me out of my comfort zone in an exciting way.” She was one of many other faculty there who were able to exchange ideas and learn from each other. “I actually gathered a lot from hearing what other people are doing and how they’re doing it in their own classrooms” she said.
The workshop was intended for faculty who wanted to learn more about improving their service-learning. The event was a success as many faculty were able to work together and discuss their different ideas regarding service-learning. “I was grateful for the opportunity to hear about my colleague's experiences and goals with respect to integrating service-learning into courses. I was also inspired to think about the possible depth in co-generating curriculum, learning outcomes, and assessments with community collaborators” one faculty member said.