By Kelsie Smithson
When sophomore nursing major Gina Perronie made the decision to enroll in PSYC 363, an honors life-span developmental psychology class, she had no idea that she was registering for an additional commitment outside of the classroom. After registering for the course during the fall 2009 semester, Perronie learned that the class required a service learning component to be fulfilled throughout the semester.
“When I first found out about the service learning component of the course, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic,” said Perronie. “I figured it would take up more of my time and I didn’t expect to get much out of it.” However, after spending 10 weeks as a volunteer with the Society for the Prevention of Aggressiveness and Violence among Adolescents, Perronie now considers service learning to be a life changing experience.
This transition in attitude is common among students who enroll in courses that include a service learning component. When a student is not used to dedicating time to interacting with community members, the task can be daunting. Simply put, service learning is combining actual study with community service. According to Kim Shaver, service learning coordinator for the Office for Civic Engagement, Leadership and Service, the difference between having a course that requires service learning and a course that requires community service is that the service learning course will be centered on putting theory into practice.
“With service learning, the goal is to take the direct services provided and then question, ‘Now what?'” said Shaver. “It isn’t enough to simply provide assistance to these organizations. The idea is to decide how things can be changed for the better.”
The basis of the service learning activity is to bring your experiences back to the classroom so that other students can gain from them. Lora Haynes, director of internships and service learning for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, describes service learning as a give and take between classmates.
“Students become experts on one specific site and report back to the group on that site,” said Haynes. “We would all learn about different sites. We would all give of our time and our skills, but also come back with training and experience with the nonprofits.”
While the psychology department may be considered the pioneer of service learning at the University of Louisville, there are opportunities available in courses that fall within the requirements of other schools and departments as well. These requirements may be advertised in the official course description or may be introduced after a student has already registered for a course.
In providing this opportunity within all types of courses at the university, students are exposed to experiences that may directly relate back to what they plan on focusing on in their future. For many, it is a way of previewing an organization or field of interest without making a full commitment to a job or internship.
“Service learning helps in providing experiences for the future,” said Shaver. “A student can learn about his or her own gifts, strengths or weaknesses, while also helping out in the community.”
Alongside the benefit of gaining exposure to a field that a student may be interested in, courses with service learning components also relate to the requirements of the Ideas 2 Action learning initiative at U of L. This initiative seeks to ensure that all students will have had at least one form of major-based experience before graduating. The idea is that students will come to apply what they are learning in the classroom to actual organizations and agencies so that they may become more effective critical thinkers.
“College shouldn’t be just about encyclopedic knowledge,” said Haynes. “It should also be about developing yourself as a person. Knowing who you are matters. You can address your personal passion while making a change and making a difference in the world.”
