The Many Flavors of Service Learning: Three examples from Geography at UCONN
John-Andrew Jolly-Ballantine, Anji Seth and Carol Atkinson-Palumbo, Geography Department
Monday, March 31, 2014
11:15 am – 1:10 pm
John W. Rowe Center for Undergraduate Education (ROWE), Room 321
There are several ways in which service learning exercise can be use to support the objectives of a class, create links to the community, and provide students with an enriching and interactive experience. The experiences of three service learning faculty fellows from Geography illustrate several ways in which service learning can be applied in different classes.
Students in Dr. Anji Seth’s (GEOG 4300/5390 Advanced Physical Geography) class designed and implemented a community survey on knowledge of climate change science and then presented their results, along with climate science information at a community forum in Tolland.
Dr. Andy Jolly-Ballantine used service learning to have a group of students from Introduction to Environmental Studies perform research and hands-on work to find solutions to several problems at the WAIM Community Garden in Willimantic.
Dr. Carol Atkinson-Palombo’s class (GEOG/URBN3200, Urban Geography) is in the process of working with community partners to map population trends in Hartford neighborhoods and evaluate the impacts on local tax base; research and map changes in housing vacancies across Hartford neighborhoods over time; assess the potential in a variety of neighborhoods in Hartford for historic preservation to revitalize communities; and evaluate the potential that Union Station in Hartford has as a major transit center. Findings will be shared with community partners at iforums.. While these are just three approaches to creating service learning activities for classes, the speakers will present information on the diverse challenges and successes of these projects that will help those currently using, or who are considering using, service learning in their own courses. Click here to register
The seminars are available to faculty, graduate students, and professional staff. Reservations are required and are accepted on a first-come-first serve basis. If you have signed up and are not able to attend, your colleagues would appreciate it if you let us know, as we often have waiting lists. Feedback from you is also important. It will help us focus as well as plan a more diverse program.
For more information, contact: Stacey Valliere at stacey.valliere@uconn.edu
A boxed lunch will be provided. If you have special dietary needs (vegetarian, gluten free, or both) please e-mail Stacey Valliere.