Course Design

Service learning course design

Effective and high-quality service learning requires more than the proverbial “add service and stir” approach to designing courses and programs. As a dimension of university-community engagement, service learning can be defined as a “course or competency-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students:

Participate in mutually identified service activities that benefit the community
Reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility” (Bringle and Clayton, 2012; adapted from Bringle and Hatcher, 1995, see references)

Instructors interested in using service learning as a dimension of their teaching tool kit can use this experiential pedagogy most effectively when they intentionally draw on the principles of good practice in service learning (Howard, 2001) course design. Additionally, a selection of civic learning and democratic engagement frameworks and tools will be helpful in designing and assessing courses that integrate civic learning and democratic engagement.

Elements of service learning course design

Building relationships with communities

Collaboration with communities lies at the heart of effective service learning practice.

IU Indianapolis service learning taxonomy

After conducting an extensive literature review on service learning research and best practices, the center identified six essential attributes of service learning courses.

Service engagement and integration

The scope of projects will vary based on the learning and service objectives established for the course.

Syllabus design

Set up your course syllabus to aid students in understanding how the service project will be more than just an add-on to the course.

Nine principles of effective service learning (Howard, 2001)

Academic credit is for learning, not for service.
Do not compromise academic rigor.
Establish learning objectives.
Establish criteria for the selection of service placements.
Provide educationally sound learning strategies to harvest community learning and to realize course learning objectives.
Prepare students for learning from the community.
Minimize the distinction between the students’ community learning role and the classroom learning role.
Rethink the faculty instructional role.
Be prepared for variation in, and some loss of control with, student learning outcomes.