Service Learning Details & Potential Projects

Service Learning has often been described as the “easiest” HIP to incorporate into your classes. The idea is to tie some sort of community service project to the material that you cover in your courses. While this can be “community” in the broader sense, it also includes service that takes place on one of our campuses.

The coordinator for this HIP is Stacy Dowd. For more info, contact her at [email protected]

TBR’s minimum definition for Service Learning is: 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. Curriculum includes structured field-based “experiential learning” alongside community partners, which reinforces course learning outcomes. 

TBR does require some sort of reflection assignment to be completed by the students in HIPs certified courses to assess student perceptions on how the HIP enhances their learning experience. The reflection can be woven into an assignment during the semester or as part of a post-test at the end of the semester. The ARC coordinator for this HIP will reach out to faculty members gather assessment info before the course is certified again. If faculty members plan to make changes to the course, they should make the coordinators aware of this to ensure that the course still meets the HIPs minimum definition.

If you are interested in certifying your courses for the Service Learning HIP, submit your application through Curriculog following the guidelines found here. In your application, be sure to give a detailed explanation of how the material, assignments, and/or projects meet the SL minimum definition. The assignments/projects completed by the students must earn points/credit for the course.

Service Learning Repository of Ideas:

• Incorporating a community service project that focuses on a topic or outcome related to the course in biology courses. This can include blood drives, food banks, community cleanups, etc.
• A classwide project in which students organize and oversee a donation for a specified group.
• Having history students volunteer at local historical sites/museums for 10+ hours over the course of the semester. Students must get approval from the site director and confirm with the instructor. Students must keep a log of their volunteer experience and turn that into a reflection paper at the end of the semester.
• Working with students to craft individual service projects based on their interests, ensuring that the student’s project ties back to course topics.