Service Learning
In the past five years, over 1,000 MCLA students have completed 13,476 service learning hours for 26 professors, in over 75 exciting courses. These students have helped identify and solve pressing community needs, learned to work side by side with community leaders and enriched their academic learning.
MCLA subscribes to the following principles of Service Learning:
- Students learn and develop through active participation in service experiences that meet community identified needs.
- Integrates the student's service activity into their academic curriculum and provides structured time for the student to reflect on his/her experience.
- Provides students the opportunity to utilize newly acquired knowledge and skills in real life situations.
- Enhances what is taught in the school by extending learning beyond the classroom and helps foster a caring for others.
Fenstermacher, 1990.
Service Learning Advisory Committee
Service Learning Operations Group
This is a smaller group that meets more frequently and attends to the mechanics and details of service learning on the MCLA campus. The Operations Committee trains new faculty, sends faculty to regional service learning conferences, provides curriculum support to faculty, provides grants for course development and connects service learning students to possible community projects.
Service Learning Resources
- Service Learning 101 - Meet with Faculty Service Learning Coordinators and/or the Coordinator of the Center for Service and Citizenship, as well as any member of the Service Learning Operations Team, to gain an introduction and overview of service learning.
- Course Development - Receive assistance defining specific academic service learning possibilities for your class and incorporating service learning into your syllabus
- Community Partner database- a comprehensive listing of local community organizations. Please visit Berkshirenonprofits.com for an additional volunteer and community organization listing.
- Workshops, conferences, manuals - Faculty are encouraged, and often financially supported, to attend service learning workshops, conferences and luncheons on and off campus. A comprehensive 70 page guidebook is available, as well as other handouts that faculty can use in planning, implementing and evaluating service learning coursework.
- Grants - Often there are grants that faculty can access in support of their service learning interests. Additionally, there are community service scholarships students can access to support their service learning. Connect with any of the service learning contacts below to receive more information.
Below is a sample list of some of the more common service learning classes and projects. You can download a complete list here.
- SOWK 355 Service Learning and Social Work
- SOWK 241 Introduction to Social Work
- SOCI 341 Social Stratification
- CCCL 100 Computing and Communication
- CCAP 300 Capstone Seminar
- ENVI 101 Introduction to Environmental Studies
- ENVI 320 Methods in Environmental Research
- ENGL 396 Public Relations
- CSCI 101 Computer Science
- AMGT 430 Arts Management
MCLA Service Learning Contacts
Sumi Colligan, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Sociology
(413) 662-5472
s.colligan@mcla.edu
Joseph Rogge
Visiting Lecturer
Department of Computer Science
j.rogge@mcla.edu
Spencer Moser
Coordinator
Center for Service and Citizenship
(413) 662-5251
spencer.moser@mcla.edu
For more information click here to visit the Center For Service
