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Service Learning Symposium May 8
Story posted May 02, 2008
Eleven academic courses completed community-based projects this semester, working with more than 20 local organizations and community partners. Students applied their coursework to real-world situations around town and provided useful information and services for the agencies, while testing new skills and concepts.
Their work will be showcased in the Community Service Resource Center's Service Learning Symposium, Thursday, May 8, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m., in Main Lounge, Moulton Union.
On display will be videos, posters, slide shows, photographs, guidebooks, design prototypes, Web sites and interview results from projects that students have completed in the community.
Students and faculty will be on hand to share what they learned. Sample projects include:
- Creation of an online curriculum resource for local middle school students and history teachers, focusing on primary source documents and environmental history of the Androscoggin River (Environmental Studies 203: Environment and Culture in North American History)
- Design proposals provided to Brunswick Housing Authority that emphasize affordability and energy efficiency while enhancing community and the need for privacy at a new site location (Visual Art 275: Architectural Design II)
- A children's guide and booklet that describes a newly created museum exhibition to help families and children learn more about Chinese art (Asian Studies 323: Topics in Chinese Painting)
- Lessons and activities conducted by Bowdoin students in local elementary and high school classrooms, sharing knowledge and enthusiasm for French language (French 204: Intermediate French II)
- Interviews with local agencies, employers and homeless individuals, with the goal of better understanding and addressing issues of affordable housing in the Midcoast area (Interdisciplinary Studies 240: Maine Social Research)
- A video highlighting students' ten-week relationship with a community elder and lessons learned about the aging experience in this community (Sociology 235: Aging and Society)
Service Learning is an approach to teaching that integrates academic course objectives with community engagement. Faculty members collaborate with community partners to set up projects that benefit the partner while enhancing student learning. Students have the opportunity to apply their coursework to a real community need or problem. In turn, the knowledge gained from the community experience can further inform classroom learning.