"Committed to the enduring concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, College of Saint Mary is a Catholic college dedicated to the education of women in an environment that calls forth potential and fosters leadership." (Mission Statement) One of the ways CSM manifests its mission for academic excellence and student development is through curricular service-learning. CSM faculty in all divisions offer service-learning courses that help students both achieve their learning goals and contribute to the greater Omaha community.

Curricular service-learning is a pedagogy that integrates community service into academic courses to meet specific learning goals for students. Faculty, in partnership with representatives of community organizations, design service learning projects based on two main objectives: advancing the students' understanding of specific course content and related civic learning objectives, and responding to community-identified needs and assets. Strong reflective and analytical components are built into the course to help students consider relationships between their service, the course's curriculum, and its impact on their values, vocations, and professional goals.

-This definition is slightly modified from the definition offered by the Midwest Consortium for Service Learning in Higher Education, of which CSM is a member. See MCSLHE Website.

What is happening in service-learning at CSM?

2007 Faculty Immersion Seminars

��Community Health

�� Immigrant and Refugee Children

Fall 2007 Service-Learning Newsletter

Criteria for Considering a Project/Trip as a Service-Learning Project/Trip

The primary activities of the project/trip are service as well as learning about why service is needed.
The facilitator of the project/trip prepares the students prior to the service activities. This includes discussion of readings about the issues students are studying through the project/trip, information about culture and language, student reflection on their perceptions of the people with whom they will work, etc.
The facilitator of the project/trip helps students analyze and reflect upon their learning regularly throughout the project/trip and at the end of it. Students may write journals, meet to discuss their learning as a group every day, write papers that connect the experiences to readings, lectures or discussion prior to the trip, and make plans for how they will continue their commitment to the people and issues encountered through the project/trip.
The facilitator has consulted with the Service-Learning Program Director on the project/trip, which may be eligible for grant funding.

Benefits of Service-Learning

The Benefits of Service-Learning to the Learner

Service-learning is an effective pedagogy because it . . .

requires student engagement in the learning process
allows students to practice within a complex social setting
includes regular and systematic reflection
develops critical thinking and communication skills
builds skills and knowledge regarding cultural competence
encourages responsible citizenship and community-building
develops students' leadership skills
changes the roles of teacher and learner in creative ways

The Benefits of Service-Learning to the Community

Service-learning is valuable to community partners because they . . .

educate students and faculty about the community's assets and needs
receive assistance on projects they identify as priorities
collaborate with CSM on common goals and projects
contribute to developing students who have a lifelong commitment to social responsibility

Assistance Available

Jennifer Reed-Bouley, Ph.D., Coordinator of Service-Learning, is available for consultation with faculty, staff and students at jreed-bouley@csm.edu or 399-2632.

The Purposes of the Service-Learning Program are the following:

Provide faculty development opportunities and resources for CSM faculty who use service-learning as a teaching strategy.
Support faculty and departments as they develop and enhance service-learning courses.
Facilitate communication about service-learning among faculty, students, administration, and community organizations.

Useful Forms

A Student Guide for Selecting Community Service-Learning Placements

Service-Learning Agreement Form

Evaluation of Student by Community Partner Supervisor

Release of all Claims

Omaha-Area Community Organizations

For a Directory and Information about Omaha-area Community Organizations that Seek Volunteers, see United Way of The Midlands

Student Quotations about Service-Learning

"This is one project that I can honestly say changed how I view life."

-Liz C.

"I am finishing this project feeling like I accomplished something very special. The director . . . told us that these girls do not get read to all that often. So it was good to be able to do something for them that they don't get all the time."

-Amanda B.

"I learned that children should be read to on a regular basis because it can not only be an educational experience, but also it can connect you with a child in an unbelievable way."
-Tiffany F.

"I also learned how good it feels to be a part of something that is making such an impact on other people's lives."

-Alyssa B.

"I am glad I got to experience this because I learned that everyone despite their living situation wants to be accepted by others and most importantly respected. When I saw people like this before I thought to myself, "Why don't they want to find a job and get out of there?" It is not as easy as it looks because of their arrangements and support systems."

-Jamie S.

Faculty Quotations about Service-Learning's Relationship to College of Saint Mary's Mission

"I believe that service-learning touches on all aspects of the mission. When providing compassionate service to those in need, students are engaging in lifelong learning about different cultures, communities, and human conditions. In doing so, students develop respect for the dignity of others who may have different perspectives and experiences than their own. These interactions can affect the mind by challenging preconceptions and reducing biases and can affect the spirit by showing how a life can be improved in so many ways by just a few actions of one person."

-Rebecca Hoss, Ph.D.

"Service-learning encourages 'compassionate service to others' in its most direct form: participation in projects at agencies that deal with the most vulnerable members of our community. It provides experiences that cannot be offered in a classroom setting." �

-Sally Bisson, J.D.

"One important aspect of service-learning is that service-learning can provide students with direct experience working with diverse populations. Through their work, students will become more aware of their own attitudes toward different populations, and will develop a greater respect and compassion for others. Service-learning expands the students' world beyond the classroom and provides a context in which to apply their classroom knowledge to the real world. Another important aspect of service-learning is that each student will have their own unique experiences to share and discuss with the class. Students can benefit and learn from their own experience, but also from the varied experiences of their classmates."

-Molly Wernli, M.S.

"It's a way of making a commitment to underserved populations and 'compassionate service to others' is what CSM is all about."

-Sharon Redding, M.S.

"Service learning projects help students to develop an intimate understanding of the role service can play in their lives. Service learning projects not only provide 'service, assistance or encouragement' to those who can directly benefit but more importantly engage students in broadening their knowledge of others who differ from themselves, reflecting upon their own beliefs, attitudes and preconceptions and hopefully building an lifelong openness towards service which exemplifies the mission of CSM."

-Melanie Felton, Ph.D.

"Service-learning is an integral part of growing student understanding for those less fortunate than themselves. Service-learning serves as an avenue for our students to make a difference in the world. I teach my students through their projects that we are only one person in this world, but that we mean the world to one person."

-Dee Acklie, Ph.D.

"The essential piece of the service-learning process is the step of reflection. The faculty role should certainly concentrate on the planning, but also spend time on the reflection to make the experience valuable to the student's learning."

-Peggy Hawkins, M.S.N.

Resources and Links

Information on Crafting and Teaching a Service-Learning Course

Council of Independent Colleges, "Engaging Communities and Campuses:
Effective Practices Exchange"

Contains information on faculty knowledge and skills, academic culture, institutional infrastructure, and partner relationships.

Campus Compact

Contains faculty resources and sample syllabi for service-learning in various disciplines

Sample Service-Learning Reflection Activities:

Service-Learning Course Development Worksheet:

Principles of Community-Campus Partnership Development:

Organizations and Institutions Supporting Service-Learning:

The Wingspread Declaration on the Civic Responsibilities of Higher Education: