Service-Learning at BYU-Idaho: Two Models

"Integrated” Model

The first and most widely practiced model is Integrated Service Learning. In this model a service-learning experience is integrated into regular course curriculum. This service-learning option is characterized by the following:

  • A faculty member integrates a service-learning component to an existing course or adds it to a new course he/she is designing.
  • The service requirement is 12-15 hours during the semester.
  • The service experience is with an agency (Community Partner) which the faculty member has chosen, either through the help of the Service-Learning Team or through his/her own connections.
  • Reflection experiences are conducted by the faculty member, both in and out of class.
  • The faculty member monitors the service experiences of his/her students.
  • The evaluation of the student’s service-learning experience is included in the course grading criteria and is done by the faculty member with feedback from the agency supervisor.

Summary: The Integrated Model is faculty-centered; a faculty member takes ownership of the whole process of integrating the service-learning component in the curriculum, identifying a Community Partner, conducting the reflection experiences, and evaluating the participating students. The Service-Learning Team can assist with all of these steps but does not do them.


"One-Credit, Supplemental" Model:
(General Studies, 290D: Service-Learning Practicum, 1.0 credit)

This option is a one-credit, service-learning practicum that can be paired with any two- or three-credit lecture course, i.e. sociology, physics, English, etc. It gives a few students in a course the opportunity to be involved in service-learning rather than have the whole class participate. The Service-Learning Faculty Coordinator (Doug Ladle) of service-learning is the instructor of the class and invites faculty members to participate with any of their interested students. The service requirement is 30-40 hours during the semester, usually done over 3-4 hours of weekly service for 9-10 weeks. The student is also required to attend three reflection sessions and complete four, one-page reflection papers as part of their evaluation criteria. The course is a joint effort between the Faculty Coordinator and a faculty member.

Duties of the Faculty Coordinator:

  • Meets with interested faculty members and explains the course procedures.
  • Establishes a list of approved agencies (Community Partners) which offer a variety of service opportunities in several disciplines.
  • Does the administrative paperwork to enroll interested students (Service-Learning Student Application) into the course after they learn about the course and complete the application form.
  • Ascertains that the student completed all necessary agreements.
  • Informs enrolled students about the reflection sessions offered at various times and locations during the semester. They must attend two of these scheduled reflection sessions.
  • Gives the student a pass/fail grade after receiving the evaluation form from the agency supervisor and participating faculty.

    Duties of the participating Faculty Member:

    • Announces the service-learning practicum to his/her students during the first week of the semester. Interested students are referred to the Service-Learning Faculty Coordinator.
    • Monitors the service experience of his/her students during the semester through periodic phone calls to the agency supervisor.
    • Conducts at least one “one-on-one reflection session” with each of his/her participating students to help them make connections between their service experience and the course content.
    • After receiving the student evaluations from the agency supervisor and making his/her own additions to the evaluation form, he/she forwards the student evaluations to the Faculty Coordinator for grading.

    Summary: The “One-Credit Supplemental” option is a joint effort between the Service-Learning Faculty Coordinator and a faculty member to give interested students a service-learning opportunity. The Service-Learning Faculty Coordinator does much of the front-end work of identifying Community Partners and establishing a variety of service-learning opportunities for students. Most of the reflection sessions are conducted by the Faculty Coordinator. The faculty member recruits interested students for the course, has them fill out the Service-Learning Student Application, conducts one reflection session with his or her students, monitors the service-learning experience of the students, and helps with the evaluation at the end of the semester.