MEMORANDUM

TO:

Dr. Heidi Harris

FROM:

Paige Bradshaw

SUBJECT:

Student Service Learning

DATE:

February 22, 2015

Summary

Service Learning is an opportunity for students to use the knowledge they are

obtaining in class in a practical hands on way that helps empower the student as well as
the community. My objective with this project is to present a plan of action to the
Community Connection Center that will potentially aid in their ability to get more students
and professors involved in service learning. I plan on covering the problems they might
run into and the solutions they could potentially use to overcome these obstacles. My
hope is to use my research, and my interviews with the Community Connection Center
and others, to show the heights that UALR could reach with a service learning
opportunity in place that highly rewards students and professors for their participation.
My focus has been further narrowed down to making this a report
that is solely directed towards the Community Connections Center. I had
originally wondered if I should place my focus on writing to someone higher up in
administration, but after talking with a few professors on campus, I believe that
their insight and my research will help the Community Connection Center see the
ways in which they could improve on their marketing skills to students and
professors. Also, after talking to Dr. Wichinsky, I feel that the Community
Connection Center will be open and willing to hear more about the research I
have found in regards to course credit opportunities for service learning and
ways that community outreach centers have made their presence more known
on campus.

My Report Will Address the Following Issues:

The purpose behind service learning or volunteer opportunities on
campus
Reasons why students might be hesitant to participate in service
learning
Ways that the Community Connection Center could make their
presence more known on campus
Problems that might arise in trying to work with so many different
people (i.e. professors, students, organizations, administration, etc.) and how to
combat those issues
The rewards of service learning
The incentive of course credit for service learning as a way to
enhance overall interest in service learning
Ways in which service learning does not only enhance the
students life, but the community they serve as well

At this point in my project I have read through the initial articles that I presented

as resources in the Researching to Reach an Audience assignment, and I have taken

many notes to use in my final project. Some of the articles turned out to not provide me
with as much information as I had hoped. Therefore, I have had to do a little more
digging for resources, which has slightly hindered my progress. I have interviewed Dr.
Wichinsky with the Community Connection Center as well as Dr. Philpotts, the Chair of
the English Department. I have an appointment set up next week to interview a
professor who already actively participates in service learning, and another interview
with a community outreach centers director pending. Currently, I still need to look into a
website on course credit opportunities that Dr. Wichinsky provided to me, and I also
need to look into the websites that my fellow classmates provided to me during our
discussions about our projects.

Seeing as how I am still gathering information for my project, I have yet to start a

draft. On the initial schedule that I provided in the Proposal assignment I stated that I
would not start drafting until this coming week. I am certainly sticking to that schedule. I
wanted to provide myself with enough time to run into, and overcome, any problems, like
I did with the articles I had initially chosen, before I started drafting.

Research Consulted:
Articles:
1. College Students Helping America
a. Citation: Dote, Lillian, et al. "College Students Helping America."
Corporation For National And Community Service (2006): ERIC. Web. 1 Feb.
2015
2. Factors Associated with College Student Intent to Engage in Community Service
a. Citation: Hellman, Chan M., Steve Hoppes, and Geraldine C.
Ellison. "Factors Associated With College Student Intent To Engage In
Community Service." The Journal Of Psychology: Interdisciplinary And Applied
140.1 (2006): 29-39. PsycINFO. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
3. Doing Welly by Doing Good For Credit
a. Citation: Perry, Joellen. "Doing Well By Doing Good--For Credit.
(Cover Story)." U.S. News & World Report 129.10 (2000): 96. Middle Search
Plus. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
4. Lansing Community College Students for Volunteer Services
a. Citation: Dutter, Denise A., and MI. Lansing Community Coll.
"Lansing Community College Students For Volunteer Services. Final Report For
Kellogg Project Number P0009741." (1996): ERIC. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.
5. Fulfilling Our Mission: Service-Learning at Miami-Dade Community College

a. Citation: Eduardo J., Padron, and FL. Miami-Dade Community

Coll. "Fulfilling Our Mission: Service-Learning At Miami-Dade Community
College." (2000): ERIC. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
6. Service-Learning Programs: What Are Universities Selling To Students?

a. Citation: St. Clair, Lynda, and Mary Tschirhart. "Service-Learning

Programs: What Are Universities Selling To Students?." Journal Of Nonprofit &
Public Sector Marketing 18.1 (2007): 37-55. Business Source Complete. Web. 16
Feb. 2015.
7. A Model Of Dewey's Moral Imagination For Service Learning:Theoretical
Explorations And Implications For Practice In Higher Education
a. Citation: Zhuran, You, and A. G. Rud. "A Model Of Dewey's Moral
Imagination For Service Learning:Theoretical Explorations And Implications For
Practice In Higher Education." Education & Culture 26.2 (2010): 36-51.
Education Research Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Interviews:

I recently got to visit with Dr. Wichinsky, the director of the Community

Connection Center. In our visit I interviewed her about what the CCC is currently doing
and what she hopes the CCC will accomplish on campus in the future. Dr. Wichinsky
seemed very excited about my project and openly talked about her concerns and hopes
for the CCC. The following is a portion of questions that I asked Dr. Wichinsky:
How long has the CCC existed?
What does the CCC currently do to promote itself and service
learning opportunities?
Does the CCC only hope to work with certain departments or are
they trying to reach all departments on campus?

 What problems do they see in getting more students and

professors involved in service learning?
Has the idea of course credit been presented as an incentive for

service learning?
Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Philpotts, the Chair of the

English Department, to ask him about the Community Connection Center and service
learning over all. This was an informative interview because I was able to gain the
perspective of someone who is the head of a department. I gained knowledge about
how to narrow down my approach through my interview with him. For instance, we
discussed why service learning may not work in every single classroom due to the
relevance it would have in that classroom setting. I also learned from Dr. Philpotts how
the requirement of service learning, if presented in the wrong way, could place more
stress on the professors. The following are some of the questions that I presented to Dr.
Philpotts:
How do you think something like service learning would work in
the English Department?
Is service learning something that the English Department already
participates in? If so, is there an incentive in place such as course credit that
gets more students involved in service learning?
Do you think service learning should be mandatory or voluntary?
Which would benefit the professors and the students more, and which would get
more students involved? Essentially, should there be a certain time requirement
for service learning hours, or would it be better for the service learning
opportunity to be voluntary and the reward to be something along the lines of
bonus points or course credit for extra time spent outside of class?
Do you think it would be better for the English Department to set
up their own service learning programs and have their own community
connections, or do you think it would benefit the English Department to rely more

on a resource such as the Community Connection Center for being responsible

for anything service learning or community connections related?

Work Remaining
Articles to Read:
1. Learning Through Service
a. Citation: "LEARNING Through SERVICE." Business North
Carolina (2013): 71. Regional Business News. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
2. Academic Activities And Community Service Learning: The Case Of The
University Year For Action
a. Citation: Trask, Anne E., and Others And. Academic Activities
And Community Service Learning: The Case Of The University Year For Action.
n.p.: 1975. ERIC. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
3. Getting Started: The First Year Of Service Learning At Community College Of
Vermont
a. Citation: Matkowski, Bette. "Getting Started: The First Year Of
Service Learning At Community College Of Vermont." (1997): ERIC. Web. 16
Feb. 2015.
4. Give em Some Credit
a. Citation: Clayton, Mark. "Give 'em some credit." Christian
Science Monitor 19 Dec. 2000: 11. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Feb.
2015.

Websites to Visit:
1. www.nationalservice.gov
2. http://elgin.edu/students.aspx?id=620

3. http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2010/09/16/busine
ss-writing-the-wiifm-principle.aspx
4. http://www.sychallenge.org

Interviews:

I still currently need to interview a professor who has already implemented

service learning into their classroom. That interview is already set up for this coming
Tuesday. I also need to try and interview a community outreach director. I am still
working on setting up a definite time for that interview.

Changes to the Initial Proposal

The biggest changes I have made to the project thus far have been in the areas

of research. I have had to eliminate some of my sources due to their lack of information,
which meant that I had to do more research to find more reliable sources. I have also
shifted my focus a little bit on who I am interviewing. My initial plan was to interview
someone in the non-traditional student office. However, I felt that interviewing a
department chair and a professor would comply more with my project than the nontraditional student office. I feel that my interview with Dr. Philpotts specifically helped me
realize some of the challenges that professors may face when it comes to service
learning. I feel that this is important to know because the people that will be promoting
service learning the most to the students will be the professors.

Updated Outline:
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Title Page
Table of Contents
Informative Abstract
Introduction

a. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock should

promote student volunteerism because our surrounding communities
need more volunteers and students could potentially benefit from the
experience.
b.

There is a lack of awareness on campus about the

Community Connection Center and a students volunteer options. There

is also hesitation amongst the teaching staff that service learning
opportunities might be implemented in the wrong way.
c. The more student volunteers, the better the
Community Connections Center and UALR will look in the eyes of the
community, to state officials, and in the world of higher education.
V.
Why a college like UALR and the Community Connections Center
should do more to encourage student volunteerism
a. Networking opportunities for the college and for the
students with future employees
b. Promotion of UALR as a place to go for higher
education that is also actively involved in the community
c. More volunteers equals a growth in the Community
Connections Center and a promotion in the repertoire of UALR
d. The students ability to use the skills they are
learning in class in a practical manner through hands on experience
VI.
The reasons why a student might not participate more actively in
community outreach
a. Not enough awareness on campus about volunteer
opportunities
b. Not a requirement or even highly suggested in their
department
c. Too much of a work and school load to volunteer
d. They do not feel equipped or supported enough to
successfully volunteer
VII.
What the Community Connections Center and UALR could do to
get more students and professors involved with community outreach

a. Work with department chairs to promote student

volunteerism through incentives such as homework or extra credit,
networking, resume building, and potentially course credit
b. A one day campus wide volunteer opportunity
c. Workshops, leadership seminars, support to
student volunteers and professors
d. Better marketing strategies
e. Listening to the concerns of professors and working
closely with them to resolve any problems and encourage them in their
service learning pursuits
VIII.
Conclusion
IX.
References/Work Cited Page
X.
Appendices

Working Bibliography
Clayton, Mark. "Give 'em some credit." Christian Science Monitor 19 Dec. 2000: 11. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Dote, Lillian, et al. "College Students Helping America." Corporation For National And
Community Service (2006): ERIC. Web. 1 Feb. 2015
Dutter, Denise A., and MI. Lansing Community Coll. "Lansing Community College Students
For Volunteer Services. Final Report For Kellogg Project Number P0009741." (1996):
ERIC. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.
Eduardo J., Padron, and FL. Miami-Dade Community Coll. "Fulfilling Our Mission:
Service-Learning At Miami-Dade Community College." (2000): ERIC. Web. 16 Feb.
2015.
Hellman, Chan M., Steve Hoppes, and Geraldine C. Ellison. "Factors Associated With College
Student Intent To Engage In Community Service." The Journal Of Psychology:
Interdisciplinary And Applied 140.1 (2006): 29-39. PsycINFO. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
"LEARNING Through SERVICE." Business North Carolina (2013): 71. Regional Business

News. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Matkowski, Bette. "Getting Started: The First Year Of Service Learning At Community College
Of Vermont." (1997): ERIC. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Perry, Joellen. "Doing Well By Doing Good--For Credit. (Cover Story)." U.S. News & World
Report 129.10 (2000): 96. Middle Search Plus. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
St. Clair, Lynda, and Mary Tschirhart. "Service-Learning Programs: What Are Universities
Selling To Students?." Journal Of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing 18.1 (2007):
37-55. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Trask, Anne E., and Others And. Academic Activities And Community Service Learning: The
Case Of The University Year For Action. n.p.: 1975. ERIC. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Zhuran, You, and A. G. Rud. "A Model Of Dewey's Moral Imagination For Service
Learning:Theoretical Explorations And Implications For Practice In Higher Education."
Education & Culture 26.2 (2010): 36-51. Education Research Complete. Web. 16 Feb.
2015.