Service–Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Where is the Reflection?

Service–Learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy that involves experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Reflection is a critical component because it assists students to develop critical thinking and social awareness as they reflect upon their experiential learning with community partners. Although there is a proliferation of literature about service–learning, upon closer examination, it is apparent that some authors do not place emphasis on reflection when reporting on service–learning projects. This begs the question, “Where is the reflection?” The purpose of this article is to provide an overview and describe misrepresentations and exemplars of service–learning. After providing an overview of service–learning, examples of how service–learning is misrepresented in the literature are discussed. Exemplars of service–learning are also cited. Calling attention to how service–learning is reported in the literature will increase awareness about the need to critically evaluate articles for evidence of reflection

2017-18 Student Success and Service-Learning Report

Institutional data across multiple academic years were used to assess the impact of undergraduate service-learning class participation on three critical student success metrics: Inclusive excellence, Degree completion, and Quality of learning. Results indicate that traditionally underrepresented student groups participated in VCU service-learning classes at expected rates given their proportion in the overall student population. Thirty-seven percent of undergraduate service-learning students were from underrepresented minority groups and 30% were Pell grant recipients. The average three-year retention rate across four matriculating cohorts of first-time, full-time undergraduate students was 84% for service-learning students compared to 70% for non-service-learning students. Seventy-two percent of undergraduate service-learning students graduated in five years or less compared to 62% for non-service-learning students. Finally, on the 2017 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) VCU seniors who had passed at least one service-learning class during their undergraduate career reported significantly higher levels of faculty-student interaction and integrative learning than did VCU seniors who took no service-learning classes

Malaysia and China students’ feedback on the implementation of critical thinking pedagogy: a case study

Having a knowledgeable and highly skilled human capital is an important factor for Malaysia to transform its economy towards achieving a developed nation and high-income status by the year 2020. Hence, the Malaysian government strives to improve the enrolment of local and international post-graduate students by providing an effective learning process to ensure their quality. This research aimed at describing the impact of critical thinking pedagogy using case-based learning in curriculum studies course among postgraduate students. It was a case study with qualitative approach. Interview technique was used in this study whereby five students who enrolled in curriculum studies course were selected as the respondents. The study sample underwent learning through critical thinking pedagogy using SCSCBL interactive application. Overall, the findings showed that the teaching approach of using the case-based learning can promote critical thinking skills among pre-service and in-service teachers. This study has provided positive implications on the postgraduates’ soft skill development as preparation for their future career

From A Service-Learning to A Social-Change Model

Tutor education courses that prepare students to serve as peer writing consultants often include service learning; a typical servicelearning tutor education course involves sending students to tutor in local schools, usually in underserved neighborhoods. Existing writing center scholarship on service learning tends to overlook the limitations of this model. This article advances a radically different approach for tutor education where the course acts as an incubator for social change on campus. Informed by the principles advanced by the critical service learning movement, the course described here invites students to design and implement campus-based community building projects. Ultimately, this article demonstrates that a course focused on community building, rather than tutoring theory and strategies, can effectively prepare students to serve as peer writing consultants while imparting a heightened awareness of social inequities and a deep investment in the campus community.University Writing Cente

Critical Service-Learning Initiatives and Community Engagements

IMPACT. 1: A unique professional development partnership among the Columbus Education Association, Columbus City Schools, NEA, and Ohio State. -- 2. Through an Ohio State graduate course, we have trained over 80 CCS K-12 teachers across content areas to create and implement unique service-learning initiatives in classrooms and communities. -- 3. Over 6,000 students have participated in service learning experiences, many of whom have presented at national conferences, spoke to local audiences, developed grant writing skills, and engaged in student philanthropy.OSU PARTNERS: College of Education and Human Ecology; Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Columbus City Schools; Columbus Education Association; National Education Association; NEA FoundationCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Saint Stephen's Community House; Grange Insurance Audubon Center; Nationwide Children's Hospital; Neighborhood House; Greater Linden Development Corporation; See Kids Dream/Penny Harvest; Columbus Zoo; Church of the Good Shepherd; United Methodist Church; Northside Community CenterPRIMARY CONTACT: Tamara Butler ([email protected])This project engages local and national stakeholders in discussions on critical servicelearning and community engagement initiatives. It promotes sustainable ways for public schools, universities, and communities to collaborate in centering student learning and pedagogical practices. The project sponsored a national service learning conference, advisory board meetings, research roundtables, and local philanthropy programs. Together, these events highlight the value of addressing student achievement and community needs across K-16 contexts

Service Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Strategies to Facilitate Meaningful Reflection

Service learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy involving experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Students develop critical thinking and social awareness by using the crucial activity of reflecting upon their experiential learning with community partners. The purpose of this paper is to demystify the process of reflection by identifying best practices to enhance reflection and offering suggestions for grading. By understanding “the what” and “the how” of reflection, educators can implement service learning experiences designed to include the essential component of reflection. Strategies for facilitating meaningful reflection are described including descriptions of what students should reflect upon and how to initiate reflection through writing, reading, doing, and telling. Grading rubrics are suggested to facilitate evaluation of student reflection. When properly implemented, service learning encourages students to be good citizens of the world. By using best practices associated with reflection, students can be challenged to think critically about the world and how their service can achieve community goals

Underinvestment in on-the Job Training?

[Excerpt] A growing number of commentators are pointing to employer sponsored training (OJT)as a critical ingredient in a nation\u27s competitiveness. American employers appear to devote less time and resources to the training of entry level blue collar, clerical and service employees than employers in Germany and Japan (Limprecht and Hayes 1982, Mincer and Higuchi 1988, Koike 1984, Noll et al 1984, Wiederhold-Fritz 1985). In the United States, only 33 percent of workers with 1 to 5 years of tenure report having received skill improvement training from their current employer (Hollenbeck and Wilkie 1985). Analyzing 1982 NLS-Youth data, Parsons (1985) reports that only 34 to 40 percent of the young workers in clerical, operative, service and laborer jobs reported that it was very true that the skills [I am] learning would be valuable in getting a better job. The payoffs to getting jobs which offer training appear to be very high, however. In Parson\u27s study, having a high learning job rather than a no learning job in 1979 increased a male youth\u27s 1982 wage rate by 13.7 percent. While the 1980 job had no such effect, the 1981 job raised wages by 7.2 percent when it was a high learning job rather than a no learning job

Smart City Development with Urban Transfer Learning

Nowadays, the smart city development levels of different cities are still unbalanced. For a large number of cities which just started development, the governments will face a critical cold-start problem: 'how to develop a new smart city service with limited data?'. To address this problem, transfer learning can be leveraged to accelerate the smart city development, which we term the urban transfer learning paradigm. This article investigates the common process of urban transfer learning, aiming to provide city planners and relevant practitioners with guidelines on how to apply this novel learning paradigm. Our guidelines include common transfer strategies to take, general steps to follow, and case studies in public safety, transportation management, etc. We also summarize a few research opportunities and expect this article can attract more researchers to study urban transfer learning