What is Service Learning?
Community Partners assist service-learning staff in identifying community needs and developing useful, mutually beneficial projects. Community Partners also work with students to help them understand community and agency challenges, complete assigned tasks, and reflect on their experience. Service-learning classes are offered in the five focus areas described below. A lead partner from each initiative provides ongoing support to service-learning staff by identifying new community needs and potential partners, and by serving on the program’s advisory board.
A few sample courses are described under each initiative. Between 10-15 service-learning courses are offered each semester. The service-learning staff continually work with partners to plan and implement new course offerings and projects.
Arts and Culture
.jpg) Mission: To increase arts and culture opportunities in West Central Minnesota and enhance UMM students’ involvement in arts and culture.
Lead Community Partner:Julia Conroy , Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance
Additional partners have included: Stevens County Historical Society, Sodexo, Salvation Army, MAES, Chokio-Alberta Elementary School, and local farmers
SAMPLE COURSES:
ArtS 1050 and 2050: Advanced Ceramics
Spring 2008 Kevin Flicker
Students will create cups and bowls that will be used at a fundraising soup dinner with the proceeds going to Someplace Safe and the Food Shelf.
ArtS 2302: Beginning Painting II
Spring 2007
Michael Eble
Students created individual paintings that celebrates our community's history and assets to be housed at the Salvation Army.
Interdisciplinary Studies 2993: Art and Disability
Spring 2007 Tammy Berberi
Two UMM students will work with a professor to plan and implement a series of three workshops for people with developmental disabilities at Divine House. The residents' work will be displayed at the Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance.
Elder Partnerships
Mission: To increase intergenerational activities for elders in West Central Minnesota and enhance UMM students’ understanding of elders’ contributions to our community.
Lead Community Partner: Lisa Denzer, Legacy Living
Additional partners include: West Wind Village, Grandview Apartments, the Morris Senior Center, Skyview Court, and individual elders.
SAMPLE COURSES:
Eng 2121: Intro to Creative Writing- Ongoing Course
Argie Manolis
Students will plan and implement weekly activites for elders living at West Wind Village and Legacy Living, many of whom suffer from Alzheimer's disease or related dementia, while crafting and revising original short stories and poems. Students will learn about the art of paying attention to the details of everyday life and the beauty in everyday speech by writing found poems from the words of the elders. The found poems will give students practice in creating titles and line breaks for poems and in determining ways to use everyday life experiences as inspiration for their own creative work. The found poems and students reflections are collected into books and given to elders and their loved ones.
SOC 1101: Intro to Sociology- Ongoing Course
Jennifer Rothchild
This course is designed to introduce students to the field of sociology, exploration of societies and how they operate. By actively thinking about the issues facing societies today, students will learn to examine life situations and the influence of societies and groups on people's lives, careers, hopes, fears and personalities. Students will work with West Wind Village and Morris Area Child Care to facilitate intergenerational activities.
Psychology 3403: Developmental Psychology III: Adulthood, Aging & Death - Ongoing Course
Jacqueline Greenwood
Students and elders will participate in a community education course about aging in the community and plan events that meet the needs of elders in our community and enhance intergenerational interactions.
Sustainable Living
 Mission: To continue implementing projects and conducting action research related to creating a sustainable community.
Lead Community Partner: Dorothy Rosemeier
West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership
Additional partners include:
Pride of the Prairie, West Central Research and Outreach Center, Land Stewardship Project, Pomme de Terre Food Coop, PRCA, City of Benson
SAMPLE COURSES:
Soc 1101 Introduction to Sociology – Ongoing Course
Jennifer Rothchild
Students choose from a variety of projects, including two projects related to this initiative. Some students assisted with planning, advertising and staffing a local foods meal, expo and farmer’s market. Others assisted with research for a Morris Area School District committee focusing on nutritional school lunch options, including regional foods.
ArtS 1500 and 2500: Photography
Therese Buchmiller
Students will photograph local farmers on their farms. Photos will be available to farmers for use in promotional pieces and will be made into products available for sale through the PRCA.
CSci 4453 Variable Topics in Computing Systems: Database Systems – Spring 2004
Rob Faux
Students created four databases for the Land Stewardship Project (LSP), an agency dedicated to supporting small farms. The databases will assist farmers in connecting with area consumers and provide LSP staff with new ways to collect data to improve their programs.
Youth Partnerships
Mission: To increase educational and recreational opportunties for youth in West Central Minnesota.
Lead Community Partner: Cheryl Kuhn, Morris Area Community Education
Additional partners include: St. Mary’s Elementary School, the Morris Area School District, Chokio-Alberta School District and Heartland Girls Ranch in Benson.
SAMPLE COURSES:
Political Science: 1201: American Government and Politics- Ongoing Course
Paula O'Loughlin
Students collaborate with Morris Area Community Education on a series of voter education and registrations drives on campus and in the community. Additionally, a group of ten students will also assist with the Kids Voting Program, teaching a curriculum to elementary school students and assisting with Voting Booth for Kids on election day.
3
Ed 1020: English in the American University
Spring 2008 Nancy Pederson
ESL students will participate in an intercultural exchange with Morris Area Elementary School fifth graders.
Eng 1131: Introduction to Literature
Fall 2007
Brook Miller
UMM students will assist fifth grade students with writing skills and work with them on reading and writing poetry. UMM and elementary students will plan a final project and reading. UMM students will write a series of assignments about the ways in which the experience of teaching elementary school students impacted their understanding of literary analysis.
Phil 2101: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
Fall 2007 Lory Lemke
UMM students will teach MAES students the basics of logic by creating and implementing a series of lessons plans that meet Minnesota state standards.
Theater 2111: Creative Dramatics With Children - Ongoing Course
Ray Schultz
Students will learn dramatics techniques which they will incorporate into lesson plans and theatrical activities geared toward elementary school children. The class will put these ideas into action by working with local elementary school children both on site and on campus.
Social Responsibility
Mission: To work toward a truly safe and welcoming community in which all people can be successful.
Lead Community Partner: Someplace Safe
Additional Partners have included: UMM Violence Prevention Program, Salvation Army, Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, Morris Area School District
SAMPLE COURSES:
Education 1020: English in the American University - Ongoing Course
Nancy Pederson
Students read about a variety of American social issues and assist with several short-term service projects, including the Local Foods Expo and Meal on campus and making and and serving a meal at the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Spanish 1002 and 3002: Beginning Spanish and Spanish Composition and Conversation - Ongoing Courses
Stacey Aronson, Jacqueline Alvarez
Students work on a variety of projects including ESL tutoring, document translation for area businesses and non-profits, and teaching Spanish in area elementary schools.
Sociology 3141: Sociology of Deviance - Ongoing Course
Jennifer Rothchild
Students assist with event planning and outreach materials for the Violence Prevention Program on campus, Someplace Safe, an agency that educates about and advocates for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, or to assist a local non-profit working on important social issues.
Sociology 1101: Introduction to Sociology - Ongoing Course
Jennifer Rothchild
Students may choose from one of the following projects: writing and implementing intergenerational lesson plans for children and elders through MACCC and West Wind Village; tutoring K-6 students through the TREC program; assisting with domestic violence/sexual assault prevention and education efforts through Someplace Safe; creating educational and/or outreach materials for Habitat for Humanity and Stevens Community Humane Society.
What Should Community Partners Know About Service-Learning?
Service-learning is a reciprocal undertaking. Students work on projects that meet needs identified by agency staff or other community members, and community partners help faculty train students and help students reflect on their work. Service-learning staff work with partners and faculty to finalize schedules, coordinate and lead training activities, and develop reflection activities.
Service-learning requires a great deal of planning. Service-learning staff generally begin planning for fall courses (occurring between August and December) in April and for spring courses (occurring between January and May) in October. Projects are most successful when community partners participate in the planning, implementation, and assessment from beginning to end. Completing a project planning worksheet and regular meetings with service-learning staff will be a part of the commitment—but the outcome is worth the time investment!
Students do service-learning as part of a course. This means they generally spend between 10 and 30 hours on a project over a fifteen week period. Time constraints can be challenging, but students’ work is generally high quality as they are doing the work as part of a course and reflecting on its value throughout the fifteen weeks.
How Can I Get Involved?
Contact service-learning staff to discuss community or agency needs and interests. Staff will work with faculty to determine whether the needs can be addressed through a course. If not, staff will refer potential partners to other UMM resources that might be a better fit for particular projects. Contact Information can be found here.
|
