AROUND CAMPUS
694 551 11,686 241,614
Integrated AS -L courses Community partners Student experiences Community-service hours
Academic Service-Learning celebrates tenth anniversary
Whether in classrooms or labs, UW-Superior students receive expert instruction from dedicated faculty members. Yet, it’s often when those lessons are taken off campus that learning comes into focus. Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) is community-based learning embedded within a credit-bearing course, enhancing students' understanding of the course's learning objectives and of their sense of civic responsibility. AS-L allows students to apply what they are learning in class in the community and learn while serving, benefiting both student and service recipient. “Academic Service-Learning provides students with hands- on learning and the opportunity to personally experience the course content in a real context,” said Katelyn Baumann, coordinator of Academic Service-Learning. “AS-L makes the course learning outcomes even more meaningful because students are engaging with the course content in a real- world setting with real application.” While the concept is widespread in higher education, UW-Superior’s model is unique in that it is included in a substantial number of courses and in the institution’s mission statement. UWS has invested in a full-time AS-L coordinator to assist faculty with integrating AS-L into their courses and to intentionally make mutually beneficial matches between community organizations and student learning opportunities.
sessions to determine the community’s significant assets and greatest needs. The information was used by the mayor’s office to drive budget priorities,
With community partners such as Boys and Girls Club of the Northland, Center Against Sexual & Domestic Abuse (CASDA), the Superior School District and the City of Superior, UW-Superior students have a wealth of real-world resources available to put classroom learning into action. To date, UWS has integrated AS-L into 694 courses, involving 551 community partners and 11,686 student experiences, resulting in 241,614 community service hours. “Academic Service-Learning is one form of community engagement, which played a part in UW-Superior being the only campus in the region to receive the prestigious national Carnegie Community Engagement designation,” said Jenice Meyer, community engagement and strategic partnerships senior officer. “We have made huge strides over the last ten years with AS-L and are grateful the UW-Superior Foundation has committed to community engagement, a UW-Superior priority, in the Together We Are Superior campaign.” A major resource for students and the community has been UW-Superior's Center for Community Engaged Learning, which was recently renamed the Link Center this fall to better reflect the resources available to students and the community. A primary goal for the Link Center is to empower UW-Superior students to become active citizens that tackle critical challenges by participating in hands-on, practical learning experiences while reciprocally meeting the region’s most pressing needs and priorities. In 2018, the center and the Mayor of Superior conducted a series of listening
Academic Service-Learning is something we are very intentional about. It is one of the things we excel at and are known for. – Chancellor Renée Wachter
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for branding and building community pride, and was also used by UW-Superior to align campus resources and provide community partners with campus expertise to better address the area’s needs. “Our re-named center captures an essential role our team plays for UW-Superior – we truly serve as the link between the campus and the community,” said Meyer. “The Link Center is easier for our partners to remember when referring us to a colleague in the area or a UW-Superior employee to convey for a potential campus partnership. It should aid in clearly explaining how students being linked to the community is a distinguishing feature of a UW-Superior education.” One course to incorporate classroom and real-world experience is Psychology 305: Applied Behavior Analysis taught by Eleni Pinnow, associate professor of psychology. This course for the psychology program requires each student to serve 20 hours at one chosen community site throughout the semester. Partners have included Humane Society of Douglas County and the UW-Superior Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness in Superior (GEARS) program.
In the course, students learn about a two-pronged approach to behavior analysis and modification. First, basic learning principles and phenomena are discussed and then these principles are applied to modify socially significant behaviors. Students apply these concepts to help make the cats and dogs more adoptable or to help middle school students with homework, time management or social skills. After completing the course, students have shared how they enjoyed seeing concepts translate into real work applications and being able to apply psychological theories to real life rather than just learning lectures. Students have also remarked how the experience strengthened their commitment to helping the community. “Over the past ten years, the vast array of community partnerships between UW-Superior and organizations across the region have allowed students from many fields of study to experience the positive benefits of AS-L by engaging with course content and applying what they are learning to benefit the community,” said Baumann.
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