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Augsburg College (Minneapolis,
MN)
Engaging
Minneapolis
Summary
Augsburg College recently passed new General Education requirements, which
now include an Engaging Minneapolis component. This component
has created opportunities for faculty and community partners together
to develop service-learning components for their Engaging Minneapolis
courses.
The Practice
The Engaging Minneapolis courses include partnerships between
various community organizations and several academic departments including
English, Political Science, Religion, Computer Science, Theater, Psychology,
Economics, Norwegian, Music, Sociology, and Chemistry.
Each May, six instructors pair up with community partners for a one-day
retreat to develop the service-learning component of their Engaging
Minneapolis courses. The director of the Office of Service-Learning,
and a co-service-learning consultant and community member, lead the retreat.
Both have an extensive knowledge of service-learning and in-depth understanding
of the community’s resources and needs. Before the retreat, Mary
Laurel True recruits interested faculty members, and matches them with
community partners who are interested in hosting service-learning experiences.
Retreat participants receive a packet of supporting materials that includes
a copy of “Community Service-Learning at Augsburg College: A Handbook
for Instructors” by Victoria M. Littlefield, Ph.D., a psychology
professor at Augsburg.
These retreats occur off-campus and, by day’s end, participants
form a working community as each pair plans the service-learning component
that will be integrated into the course. By spending a day together in
planning, faculty and community partners discover mutual interests and
means of collaboration. In addition to working out the details of service-learning
projects, community partners help faculty members sharpen the urban focus
of their courses, and contribute to course content and logistics.
Effectiveness
Each year, six new courses are added to the program. Both faculty and
community participants reported the retreat to be very helpful. Hearing
from veteran faculty members and community partners helps interested faculty
members to see how service-learning can fit into courses, and eases anxieties
about the required work load, academic rigor, and facilitative teaching.
To enhance future retreats, participant packets will also include instructions
for faculty on how to incorporate service-learning into a first-year course
with notes on the particular needs of first-year students, with a list
of course-design questions developed by Edward Zlotkowski, senior faculty
fellow at National Campus Compact; sample syllabi from Engaging Minneapolis
courses; and a narrative description and syllabus from Joe Cady-Underhill,
political science professor at Augsburg, describing his experience integrating
service-learning into his first-year course.
Resources
Augsburg College Logistical Handout: “Community Based Organization
Survey,” 2001.
Augsburg College Logistical Handout: “Student Pre-Evaluation.”
Augsburg College Logistical Handout: “Post-Course Survey for Service-Learning
Faculty.”
Bringle, R.G. and Hatcher, J.A., “The State of the Engaged Campus:
What Have We Learned About Building and Sustaining University-Community
Partnerships,” American Association of Higher Education Bulletin,
October 1998.
Bussert, J., Hesser, G., and True, M.L., “Reflection Tool: Augsburg
Seminars with Community Partnerships.”
Cairn, R., Partner Power and Service-Learning: Service-Learning Manual
for Community-Based Organizations. Minnesota: ServeMinnesota!, 2003.
Campus Compact, “Implementation: Fundamentals of Service-Learning
Course Construction.”
Eyler, J. Giles, D.E., Jr., Stenson, C. and Gray, C., At a Glance:
What We Know About The Effects of Service-Learning on Students, Faculty,
Institutions, and Communities, 1993-1999. Learn and Serve America
National Clearinghouse, 2001.
Hatcher, J. and Bringle, “Reflection in Service Learning: Making
Meaning of Experience.” Educational Horizons, 77(4), 1999.
Holland, B. and Gelmon, S., “The State of the Engaged Campus: What
Have We Learned About Building and Sustaining Partnerships.” American
Association of Higher Education Bulletin, October, 1998.
Littlefield, V.M., “Community Service-Learning at Augsburg College:
A Handbook for Instructors.” Minneapolis: Center for Faculty Development,
Augsburg College, 1997.
Rhoads, R. and Howard, J.P.F., Academic Service-Learning: A Pedagogy
of Action and Reflection. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1998.
Campus Compact
Contact Information
Mary Laurel True
Director
Office of Service-Learning, Augsburg College Center for
Service, Work and Learning
Augsburg College
2211 Riverside Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Phone: 612-330-1775
truem@augsburg.edu
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