Service-learning

Teaching Service – NUS Communities and Engagement Pillar: Reflections on a Journey in Progress

cdtlsd Paper Presentations , , , , ,

ZHENG Liren1, ONG Mui Hong2, Alex E. Y. LEE1, Esther GOH Chor Leng1, KANG Chul Hee3, SIM Qin Ying4, Anne CHONG Suet Lin5, Kenneth CHONG6, KOH Hui Li7, Pamela YEH8, Raiza RIFAAIE9, and CHENG Yuan Wen1

1*Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
2NUS Provost’s Office
3Yonsei University
4Communities and Engagement Pillar, NUS Provost’s Office
5Course Lead, GEN2061
6Course Lead, GEN2060
7Course Lead, GEN2062
8Course Lead, GEN2070
9Course Lead, GEN2050

*z.liren@nus.edu.sg

 

We acknowledge the support, guidance, and oversight from Professor Peter Ho,
Vice-Provost (Undergraduate Education & Technology-Enhanced Learning), NUS

 

Zheng, L., Ong, M. H., Lee, A. E. Y., Goh, E. C. L., Kang, C. H., Sim, Q. Y., Chong, A. S. L., Chong, K., Koh, H. L., Yeh, P., Rifaaie, R., & Cheng, Y. W. (2023). Teaching service – NUS Communities and Engagement pillar: Reflections on a journey in progress [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. Zheng, L., Ong, M. H., Lee, A. E. Y., Goh, E. C. L., Kang, C. H., Sim, Q. Y., Chong, A. S. L., Chong, K., Koh, H. L., Yeh, P., Rifaaie, R., & Cheng, Y. W. (2023). Teaching service – NUS Communities and Engagement pillar: Reflections on a journey in progress [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/teaching-service-nus-communities-and-engagement-pillar-reflections-on-a-journey-in-progress/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, general education, communities, volunteering, social services

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

In 2021, the National University of Singapore (NUS) embarked on a journey to re-think General Education (GE) for all undergraduates and prepare them for a fast-changing world. One of the new initiatives was to include a Communities and Engagement (C&E) Pillar. C&E aims to deepen a sense of social responsibility and social action among students through service learning.

 

To achieve these outcomes, NUS utilises service-learning as a form of teaching and learning in C&E. Service-learning has been found to be associated with positive outcomes in development of empathy, civic consciousness, social skills, and academic achievement. Well-designed service-learning increases the likelihood that students will engage with the communities they encounter, engage in dialogue and problem-solving, and become part of the solution to a variety of social issues.

 

Research suggests that university leadership is key to a successful service-learning programme, and this support contributes to better outcomes for both the students and the community. To that end, NUS has invested considerable leadership, manpower, and financial resources into a structured service-learning programme that ensures positive learning outcomes for students while also meeting real community needs identified by relevant agency partners.

 

NUS C&E Type A courses offer a structured programme with equal focus on both classroom learning and service work. The classroom learning is anchored by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ (FASS) Department of Social Work (SW), while the service work component is helmed by the NUS Provost’s Office (PVO). These courses require students to undergo e-learning lectures and tutorials in preparation for service-learning prior to being deployed to their respective agencies for service-work. When nearing the completion of service-work, students return for a final tutorial to consolidate their learning and reflections, in addition to academic assignments. Operational matters such as liaison with social service agencies, placement of students, managing issues and challenges on the ground are led by staff from PVO.

 

This model differs from volunteering through students’ own initiatives. It requires strong leadership from the university, tight collaboration between SW and PVO, with SW contributing its professional knowledge of community engagement and PVO its operational expertise.

 

This paper presents the development and initial evaluation results of the two pilot trials (Pilot 1a, N = 208, Pilot 1b, N = 561) of the C&E Pillar Type A service-work courses.

 

The stages of development of the C&E pillar will be discussed, including preparation for pilots 1a and 1b. The presentation will outline the strategies that NUS has taken to create and manage the service partnerships with ministries, agencies, and their community partners to create five courses spanning the three key sectors of support for disadvantaged school children, families in rental neighbourhoods, and senior citizens. Efforts to develop engaging lessons for students to prepare them with the necessary knowledge and skills for service-learning will also be discussed.

 

Student surveys were conducted before, during, and after their service-work was completed to understand their experiences of service-learning. These surveys focused on evaluating students’ motivations for volunteering as well as their satisfaction levels for their service-learning experience. In addition, students were also invited to focus group discussions for further in-depth discussion on their learning and experience. In addition, a survey with agency supervisors is being conducted to understand their experience of the various aspects of working with NUS. Supervisors will also be invited to a focus group discussion for the research team to collect further data to evaluate our collaborations.

 

While data collection is still ongoing, preliminary findings revealed students’ gains in their exposure to real world issues through service learning and especially the opportunities to observe the challenges faced by service beneficiaries, allowed students to be grounded in their thinking about social issues and how they could contribute to alleviating them.

 

Going forward, NUS will be deploying a large volunteer force into the social service sector in unprecedented numbers. This requires tight coordination to synergise processes between NUS and the various external stakeholders. Supporting the large number of students deployed and managing their expectations while out in the field would also require considerable effort from faculty and teaching staff from NUS. These challenges require constant deliberation and calibration to achieve the desired outcomes for NUS students and for Singapore.

 

REFERENCES

Communities and Engagement Pillar. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/general-education/communities-and-engagement-pillar

Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Service-Learning on Students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164–81. https://doi.org/10.5193/JEE34.2.164

Gordon, C. S., Pink, M. A., Rosing, H., & Mizzi, S. (2022). A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy. Educational Research Review, 37, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100490

Holmes, K., Paull, M., Haski-Leventhal, D., MacCallum, J., Omari, M., Walker, G., Scott, R., Young, S., & Maher, A. (2021). A continuum of University student volunteer programme models. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 43(3), 281–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2020.1804658

Jacoby, B. (2015). Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers, and lessons learned (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS. (n.d.). Service Learning and Greater Flexibility for Incoming Undergraduates at NUS. Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://news.nus.edu.sg/service-learning-and-greater-flexibility-for-incoming-undergraduates-at-nus/

 

Unpacking Students’ Development of Empathy And Skills in the Informal Curriculum of a Residential College in Singapore

cdtlsd Poster , , , , , ,

Lavanya BALACHANDRAN*, Sue CHANG-KOH, and LIM Xin Yi
College of Alice & Peter Tan (CAPT)

*lavanyab@nus.edu.sg

 

Balachandran, L., Chang-Koh, S., & Lim, X. Y. (2023). Unpacking students’ development of empathy and skills in the informal curriculum of a residential college in Singapore [Poster presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/unpacking-students-development-of-empathy-and-skills-in-the-informal-curriculum-of-a-residential-college-in-singapore/ 
 

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, community engagement, student-led, empathy, skills, learning outcomes

 

CATEGORY

Poster Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

Service-learning has been identified as an effective pedagogy for students across various age cohorts (Steinke & Fitch, 2007) with many benefits such as cognitive development and personal growth (Everhart, 2016), including empathy development (Gordon et al., 2022). This is because service-learning programmes provide the platform to engage with various communities and real-world issues where students gain ‘ground-up’ knowledge and acquire skills (Prentice & Robinson, 2010).

 

In Singapore, service-learning pedagogies have been incorporated into the curriculum of public schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) (Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS, 2021; Tan, 2009). Additionally, some IHLs have also incorporated them into living and learning programmes (LLPs), which are residence-based programmes that focus on specific academic themes, through formal and informal curricula (Inkelas, 2008; Mukhopadhyay & Tambyah, 2019).

 

This poster presentation draws from a qualitative research study conducted in a Singapore undergraduate residential college (henceforth referred to as the college) that has community engagement (CE) and active citizenship as its core ethos. In particular, it examines the impact of student-led CE programmes in the informal curriculum focusing on how empathy and skills—two out of the four intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the CE programme in the college—are perceived to be developed, enhanced and sustained for students.

 

This study is based on in-depth interviews with 19 students over their two-year residency in the college. The interviews were conducted in three phases, spanning the residency period to track the students’ aspirations, expectations, and perceptions of their CE experiences. Thematic coding was conducted using NVivo to analyse the interview data.

 

Findings from this research suggest that:

(a) CE programmes effectively facilitate the development of empathy in students when grounded in curated, intentional learning experiences. Meeting and engaging with the various communities experientially catalyse affective empathy development, especially when augmented by other learning modalities, including pre-engagement and post-reflection activities.

(b) the type of student involvement results in differentiated pathways in skills acquisition. Leaders and non-leader participants have different tasks and expectations of their engagements. Hence, their varied experiences in these CE programmes result in the acquisition of different skills.

 

This research sheds light on how the adaptation of service-learning in the informal curriculum of a residential college, particularly when reconfigured into student-led programmes, significantly impacts on student learning. It also highlights the importance of focusing on experiential learning and providing opportunities for role variety in these programmes, as they enhance the development of empathy and skills in students. This study also provides suggestions to expand on these findings to explore how students should leverage different CE opportunities and explore various participatory roles to maximise their learning outcomes.

 

 

REFERENCES 

Gordon, C. S., Pink, M. A., Rosing, H., & Mizzi, S. (2022). A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy. Educational Research Review, p,37, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100490

Everhart, R. S. (2016). Teaching tools to improve the development of empathy in service-learning students. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 20(2), 129-54. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/1281

Inkelas, K. K. (2008). Innovative directions for living-learning programs research and practice. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 35(1), 8–13.

Mukhopadhyay, K., & Tambyah, S. K. (2019). Where freshmen aspirations meet reality: Factors Influencing the learning outcomes of a living-and-learning program in an Asian university. Higher Education Research and Development, 38(5), 1015–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1598337

Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS. (2021, February 26). NUS News. https://news.nus.edu.sg/service-learning-and-greater-flexibility-for-incoming-undergraduates-at-nus/

Prentice, M., & Robinson, G. (2010). Improving student learning outcomes with service learning. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535904.pdf

Steinke, P., & Fitch, P. (2007). Assessing service-learning. Research & Practice in Assessment, 2, 24–29. https://www.rpajournal.com/assessing-service-learning/

Tan, K. P. (2009). Service learning outside the U.S.: Initial experiences in Singapore’s higher education. PS: Political Science & Politics, 42(3), 549–57. https://doi.org/10.1017/s104909650909088x

 

The Challenges and Possibilities of Service-Learning as a Catalyst for Social Impact in Southeast Asia

NUS CDTL Paper Presentations , , , , ,

Julius BAUTISTA
NUS College
bautista@nus.edu.sg  

 

Bautista, J. (2023). The challenges and possibilities of service-learning as a catalyst for social impact in Southeast Asia [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/the-challenges-and-possibilities-of-service-learning-as-a-catalyst-for-social-impact-in-southeast-asia/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, community engagement, experiential learning, overseas classroom, Southeast Asia 

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

In this paper presentation, I will discuss the challenges and possibilities of implementing Service-learning (S-L) programmes as a way of catalysing student-driven social impact in the Southeast Asian region. S-L refers to credit-bearing educational endeavours that enable students and their faculty mentors to engage and collaborate with community partners towards addressing mutually identified social needs and problems. As part of a socially-oriented pedagogy, educators harness the experience of community engagement in a way that enables their students to achieve a deeper understanding and contextualisation of curricular content (Bingle & Hatcher, 1996; Saeed & Ahmed 2021, p. 323). As a mode of experiential learning, the distinctive feature of S-L is that the dual goals of achieving specified curricular objectives and the cultivation of social impact are equally prioritised.   

 

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) has emphasised the benefits of S-L in  enhancing student aptitudes in civic and social consciousness (Battistoni, 2013), tolerance for intersectional diversity (Lemieux & Allen, 2007), relational empathy (Woo, 2019; Rondini, 2015), and responsible global leadership (Yorio & Ye, 2012; Pless et al., 2012). Nevertheless, relatively few studies have ventured into disambiguating the conceptual and institutional features of S-L vis a vis other modes of engaged pedagogy, such as volunteerism, field education and experiential learning. Furthermore, there has hardly been any scholarly research and benchmarking on how S-L, from a technical and methodological standpoint, can be effectively institutionalised in higher educational contexts (Mitchell, 2007). These gaps in the literature are indicative of some important conceptual, operational, and practical challenges that remain unresolved. As such, there may still be a reluctance among university faculty to fully implement S-L, particularly because it involves liability and compliance requirements that are time-consuming and often require extracurricular preparatory and in-class measures to implement (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Mitchell, 2007).    

 

In the presentation, I will share snapshots of practice in our efforts to offer S-L programmes as part of the NUS College Impact Experience (IEx) Programme. The ideas presented here emerge from discussions between IEx educators and students, who formed the Service Impact Learning Community (SILC) as an inclusive platform to propagate S-L as a way of confronting pressing cultural, socio-economic and environmental issues in the Asian region. As the lead facilitator of the SILC, I will channel our discussion on the following questions in particular:    

  1. What are the challenges and practice conundrums in the curricular implementation of S-L in higher education contexts? How can a deepening of our knowledge about S–L help configure existing NUS programmes that involve field trips and other forms of cross-cultural experiential projects?   
  2. How can ‘service impact’ or ‘asset-based community development’ be aligned towards the professional and personal growth of students?  
  3. What pedagogical methods and assessment regimes have not/worked in other institutes of higher learning (IHLs), and how can these be adopted or refined to suit the NUS General Education curriculum? 
  4. How do we collaborate productively with community partners, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry in running S-L courses? What are the challenges of calibrating and coinciding the agendas of communities, students, and educators so as to meet social needs specific to the Asian region?    
  5. How do we maintain the distinction between S-L on the one hand, and advocacy, activism, and commodity endorsement on the other? What compliance and liability issues need to be considered? 

 

Under the NUS “Communities and Engagement” pillar, S-L is a crucial component of the graduation requirements for all students from cohort AY2021/22 onwards. It is important for NUS educators to work together in addressing the conceptual and practical challenges that may preclude the efficient implementation of a community engagement component in our curricula. The NUS community of students and educators would benefit from a sustained discussion of how S-L, from a conceptual and methodological standpoint, can be institutionalised in this regard.   

 

REFERENCES

Battistoni, R. M. (2013). Civic learning through service learning. In P. H. Clayton, R. G. Bringle, & J. A. Hatcher (Eds.), Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment : Students and Faculty (pp. 111–32). Stylus Publications. 

Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service-learning in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1996.11780257  

Lemieux, C. M., & Allen, P. D. (2007). Service learning in social work education: The state of knowledge, pedagogical practicalities, and practice conundrums. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(2), 309-26. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2007.200500548  

Mitchell, T. D. (2007). Critical service-learning as social justice education: A case study of the 

Citizen Scholars Program. Equity and Excellence in Education, 40(2), 101-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680701228797  

Pless, N. M., Maak, T., & Stahl, G. K. (2011). Developing responsible global leaders through international service-learning programs: The Ulysses experience. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(2), 237–60. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.10.2.zqr237  

Saeed, M., & Ahmed. I (2021). An analytical review on rethinking service-learning as critical transformative paradigm in higher education. Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS), 2(2), 318-34. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/2.2.23   

Rondini, A. C. (2015). Observations of critical consciousness development in the context of service learning. Teaching Sociology, 43(2), 137–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15573028   

Woo, J. J. (2019). Service learning and public policy education. In J. J. Woo (Ed.), Educating for empathy: Service Learning in Public Policy Education (pp. 3-14). World Scientific.  

Yorio, P. L., & Ye, F. (2012). A meta-analysis on the effects of service-learning on the social, personal, and cognitive outcomes of learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(1), 9–27. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.0072  

 

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