Serving to Learning and Learning to Serve: Creating a Dynamic Learning Environment through Service Learning

Both students and faculty report that service learning has a marked positive impact on learning outcomes such as complexity of understanding, problem analysis, critical thinking and cognitive development. However, these collaborations do pose challenges for faculty, students and community members alike. Our session focuses on two collaborations that illustrate the dynamic relationships that can develop when students and the community learn from one another: our first-year Social Action And Justice (SAAJ) curriculum, and senior capstone Service Leadership program. We present the design, implementation and assessment of the projects and provide strategies for overcoming the challenges.Most importantly, we feature students who have participated and will highlight the learning outcomes from the programs.