Christine Cress, PhD, professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Department at Portland State University, will visit UConn Storrs on Wednesday, September 17.  This event will focus on the institutionalization of service learning resonating with UConn’s newly adopted Academic Vision.  Dr. Cress will discuss how UConn and other institutions of higher education can meet stated academic goals through the pedagogy of service learning.

“Dr. Cress is a nationally renowned scholar for community-based learning across academic disciplines.  She has co-authored and published the best selling textbook, Learning through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning Across the Disciplines (2nd edition, 2013). Her most recent book, Democratic Dilemmas of Teaching Service-Learning: Curricular Strategies for Success (2011), focuses on teachable moments and pedagogical strategies in the midst of democratic value and belief conflicts.”

Please join us on Wednesday, September 17th. This is an open event to other CT Campus Compact colleges and universities.

Please register below.

‘Vision’ to Reality: Institutionalizing Service Learning

9:30 to 11:00 – Institutionalizing Service Learning from Epistemological and Ontological Perspectives: Past, Present & Future

This presentation will include a small panel response in addition to a Question & Answer session.

Location: UConn Storrs Campus, Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center 

Please note that the presentation will be streamed live for UConn.  Please click here to access it.  

Please join the Public Engagement Forum for what is sure to be an energetic discussion to learn about what our institutional neighbors are doing in Willimantic, Hartford, and Bridgeport.

Eastern Connecticut State University, Kimberly Silcox

Trinity College, Carol Clark and Carlos Espinosa

Sacred Heart University, Matthew Kaye, Ph.D.

UConn Greater Hartford Campus

1800 Asylum Avenue – West Hartford, CT

Library Building, Room 308

Friday, April 11, 2014 ˑ  2:00 to 3:30 pm

Refreshments will be served

Questions or comments can be emailed to

julia.yakovich@uconn.edu.

The following courses have been approved by the Service Learning Committee based upon these criteria that make up a service learning course.

As of spring of 2014 Service Learning courses are designated in Peoplesoft. We ask all faculty who teach service learning to complete this submission process in order to get your course designated.  Having courses designated will allow the University and the Office of Service Learning have accurate service learning course information for reporting and quality control purposes.

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.

The Office of Service Learning may be located in Storrs, but it is a resource for all UConn campuses.

Office Hours on all days will be from 9:00 am to 11:30 am and from 1:15 pm to 4:30 pm.  Please contact the Office of Service Learning ahead of time for an appointment.  Appointments will get preference, but drop ins are always welcome.

Service Learning Faculty Discussions will take place from 12:00 to 1:00 pm or from 12:30 to 1:30 (please check your campus below).

Topics of discussion to include Service Learning pedagogical techniques, navigating community partner relationships, evaluation, and the new SL Course Designation.  Feel free to bring your lunch!

Avery Point – Wednesday, Feb. 19

Torrington – Wednesday, Feb. 26

Waterbury – Wednesday, March 5 (Office hours in Library, Room 123J and Faculty Discussion in Room 230) *Faculty Discussion from 12:30 to 1:30 pm  

Greater Hartford – Wednesday, March 12 (Office hours in the Undergraduate Building, Adjunct Faculty Office, 301A and Faculty Discussion in the Business Suite Conference Room 201) *Faculty Discussion from 12:30 to 1:30 pm

Stamford – Wednesday, March 26 (Director’s Conference Room)

Avery Point – Tuesday, April 1 (Academic Building, Room 306 for general hours and Room 318 for Faculty Lunchtime Discussion) – Please note that this has been changed from April 3

Torrington – Thursday, April 10 (Room 131 – Conference Room)

Waterbury – Thursday, April 17 (Office hours in Library, Room 123J and Faculty Discussion in Room 230) *Faculty Discussion from 12:30 to 1:30 pm

Stamford – Tuesday, April 22 (Director’s Conference Room)

Greater Hartford – Thursday, April 24 (Office hours in the Undergraduate Building, Adjunct Faculty Office, 301A and Faculty Discussion in the Business Suite Conference Room, 201) *Faculty Discussion from 12:30 to 1:30 pm (Canceled)

Gary Levvis, Service Learning Faculty Fellow 2009-2010 and adjunct faculty member, taught his Philosophy and Social Ethics course with an optional service learning component.  Three students rose to the challenge and created a food forest on land adjacent to the UConn Torrington Campus.  Read more here.

Over the course of the fall semester, general education students met with and interviewed service-workers on the UConn Campus.  The students were enrolled in MUSI 1002 Sing and Shout! a service learning course that combines history with song, and found inspiration in these service-workers’ stories. To pay homage to employees’ contributions to making UCONN more efficient, effective and enjoyable, students have written and composed ballads in the broadside tradition. See the student projects Here

Carol Atkinson-Palombo, Department of Geography
Service Learning Faculty Fellow (2013-2014)

A new UConn report looked at more than 120,000 Massachusetts home sales and found wind turbines have little impact on prices. Carol Atkinson-Palombo is co-author of the paper, which tracked the data spanning a 14-year period. Full Article Here.