Civic Engagement and Service Learning

Civic Engagement & Service Learning

Strategies for incorporating both theory and community-based civic engagement into courses.

The California State University Chancellor's Office defines civic engagement as "mutually beneficial exchage of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity."

Relevant Books

Battostoni, Richard M., Civic Engagement Across the Curricullum: A Resource Book for Service-Learning Faculty in All Disciplines, Campus Compact, 2002.
Jacoby, Barbara, Civic Engagement In Higher Education: Concepts and Practices, Jossey-Bass, 2009.
Berger Kaye, Cathryn, M.A., The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, and Social Action, Free Spirit Publishing, 2010.
O'Grady, Carolyn R., Integrating Service Learning and Multicultural Education in Colleges and Universities, Routledge, 2000.

Resources at WWU

Center for Service-Learning - Western Washington University

For faculty - why to consider teaching a service-learning
International Service-Learning - information about international service-learning trips and why they are important

Innovative Teaching Showcase

Interviews @ WWU

Service-Learning is Engaged Teaching, Karen Stout, WWU
Service-Learning: The Student Experience, Marissa Bunker (student), Karen Stout (faculty) and Alice Clark (community partner)

Designing Service Learning

101 Ideas for Combining Service and Learning - Ideas for integrating service learning listed by discipline.
Designing Community-based Courses - UC Berkeley. A guide for instructors to develop community partnerships and create engaged public scholarship courses.
Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility - Caryn McTighe Musil, The Civic Learning Spiral. Encourages colleges and universities to be more explicit, purposeful, and consistant in creating environments that enhance student competencies in personal and social responsibility.
Preaching to the Apathetic and Uninterested: Teaching Civic Engagement to Freshman and Non-Majors - Angelique Davis and Brian Mello, Journal for Civic Commitment, Vol. 18, March 2012.
Using Focus Groups in Service-Learning: Implications for Practice and Research, Angela E. Schmiede, Vanderbilt University, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning

Syllabi and Curricular Examples

Campus Compact - Searchable database of syllabi by discipline with examples of lesson plans and syllabi that integrate community-based learning
Teaching the Levees: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Community Problem Solving - Teaching Tolerance, Columbia University Teacher's College. Instructional resource supporting democratic dialogue and civic engagement about the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Provides opportunities for interdisciplinary instruction for community problem solving.

Discipline-Specific Resources

The SENCER Model Series - Science Eduation for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities. This series provides curricular approaches to improving science learning and supporting student engagement with complex issues.
101 Ideas for Combining Service and Learning - Ideas for integrating service learning listed by discipline.
Social Justice Math - Resource for educators interested in integrating issues of social and economic justice into math classes and curriculum.

Assessing Service Learning

New and Alternative Assessments, Digital Bandages, and Civics: An Overview of Emerging Themes and Promising Directions - Felicia M. Sullivan, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, Working paper #77, March 2013.

Articles on the Nature and Purpose of Civic Engagement & Service Learning in Education

Activism and Service-Learning: Reframing Volunteerism As Acts of Dissent - Donna M. Bickford and Nedra Reynolds, Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2002.
Core Competencies in Civic Engagement - Leila Brammer et al., The Center for Engaged Democracy Core Competencies Committee.
A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future - The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012.
Educating for Citizenship - Caryn McTighe Musil, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Peer Review 4, Spring 2003.
Maximizing Civic Learning and Social Responsibility - Arthur Chickering, New England Resource Center for Higher Education.
Sentipentsante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation, Saltmarsh, John, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
Special Issue: Civic Engagement and Psychosocial Well-Being - Barry Checkoway, Liberal Education, Vol. 97, No. 2.
Preparing Professionals as Moral Agents - William Sullivan, Carnegie Perspectives.
Teaching Civic Engagement - Jed Metzger, Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement.

See also the curricular examples from the Innovative Teaching Showcase, Center for Instructional Innovation, WWU:

2012 Showcase (theme: Teaching Civic Engagement)

2002 Showcase (theme: Academic Service Learning)

Mentioned relevant books may be available through the CIIA's Lending Library or Wilson Library.