Thinking and Action: Preparing Students to Engage Complexity within Themselves and in the World

This essay explores the dynamic tension between the human need to cultivate an autonomous identity and the desire to be part of a larger reality, suggesting that authentic morality emerges from a person’s struggle with the ever-shifting overlap between these two drives. Creating an intersection between thinking and action, service-learning pedagogy draws us into a creative confrontation with these drives, preparing students to engage complexity within themselves and in the world

Churros

We are here in the middle of a country. At night I anchor myself to my husband as if we were surrounded by water instead of a flat, dry plane of land. I hook my foot around his ankle and breathe in dust and the smell of other people\u27s kitchens. Frying foods fuel my dreams. ~excerpt from pros

Tea Party

It was 1966 and I was seven years old. We lived in Berkeley, California. I was dressed up for a birthday party. I had on a white dress with frills around the sleeves and the hem. My white socks were ringed at the top with a thin strip of lace. I had folded them down so that the lace neatly encircled my ankle, right above my black patent-leather mary janes. I even had on my best underwear that had fringes of lace all across the bottom. My parents were driving me to the party. They said that we would leave the house a little bit early because they had to stop somewhere on the way. They were not dressed up like I was. They both wore jeans and sandals. It didn\u27t matter to me, I was the only one going to the party. ~ article excerpt

Service-Learning at Dominican: Education in Action

What is Service-Learning at Dominican? Service-Learning (SL) puts education into action by engaging with the community and experiencing the relevance of coursework first-hand. SL expands the classroom into the local community, providing the opportunity to apply classroom content to work with local community organizations and schools, learning about the lives of others, developing awareness, enhancing one’s understanding of how we can contribute to social justice issues that ultimately impact us all. Through SL, students develop practical, transferable skills, explore career and personal interests, and expand their networks and sense of self while connecting with other students, faculty, and community mentors

Education in Action: Service-Learning Celebrating 10 Years

The mission of the Service-Learning (SL) Program is to centralize resources and support for faculty, students, partner organizations and the diverse communities they serve to advance education and social justice through shared learning and collaborative action. The SL Program seeks to manifest the Dominican ideals and mission to educate ethical leaders and socially responsible global citizens through the creation of intentional, collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships and relevant teaching/learning practices. Service-Learning integrates meaningful community engagement with academic curriculum, enriching learning through experience and intentional reflection on the interface between theory and practice

Reducing Solid Waste Quantities Headed For the Landfill in Futiga

Most of the garbage in American Samoa heads to the landfill in Futiga on the island of Tutuila. Reports indicate that the landfill is expected to reach critical capacity in 2015. Some have started to look into advanced technology to deal with the problem, which could lead to millions of dollars of government spending. Our study focuses on how to reduce solid waste through composting, a natural way to recycle organic or biodegradable waste. Composting is a great option to look into since about fifty percent of waste sent to the landfill is biodegradable and because it is easily done with little or no cost and is beneficial to the environment. This study is divided into two parts. First, research will be done through the internet, interviews will be conducted with experts, and a survey will be done to determine the composting methods done on island, awareness of the current landfill situation, awareness on composting and if it is conducted at home, and if those surveyed agree that composting would be beneficial for proper solid waste management in American Samoa. Second, a simple method of composting will be created to share with the public so that everyone may have the opportunity to begin his or her own compost pile. Preliminary data shows that 62% of the people know about the landfill capacity problem, 68% know what composting is, and 33% of households conduct their own composting. Approximately 76% of the people surveyed practice the 3Rs: reuse, reduce, and recycle. This study shows that composting is a practical means for reducing waste in American Samoa

Service-Learning Faculty Handbook [Version 3]

Dominican University’s mission provides a strong foundation for service-learning, a pedagogy that creates intentional links between academic education and community experience where each strengthens the other. Service-learning engages students, faculty, staff, and community partners in collaborative and responsive action, dialogue, and reflection to address community-identified needs, meet learning goals, expand our perspectives, and increase civic participation. In this way service-learning creates reciprocal benefits for all involved: 1. The University is able to live out its mission and enhance its role as a vital and active partner in the community; 2. Faculty are supported in connecting innovative teaching, research/scholarship, and community action; 3.The Marin County community benefits from the University resources (student power, library, educational opportunities, research networks) while contributing to the education of students; 4. Students gain self-awareness, practical skills, career-related experience, insight into the relevance of academic knowledge, a deeper understanding of their own personal impact, and an enriched capacity to become effective community builders

Service-Learning Program Community Partner Handbook

Dominican’s Service-Learning Designated Courses require that students work with their community partner for approximately 20-25 hours during the semester. The service hours must occur weekly and continuously throughout the semester, and the time spent constructively and productively towards the needs and goals of the community. Ideally, a community partner has existing programs and infrastructure that can provide our SL students with opportunities to gain consistent (weekly) and extensive (semester-long) experiences participating and interacting with community members. In turn, SL faculty intentionally guide their students to reflect on and analyze their weekly community experiences to make connections with course content