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Service Learning Within Waterville

Imagine a class focused on service learning, where a small group of students spends  at least 2 hours of their academic week off their isolated campus and in the town, doing community engagement work alongside locals, and fostering relationship outside of their academic realm. 

What Does This Look Like

and why does it matter?

  • The addition of a Service-Learning course at Colby College as a supplement of the distribution requirements, so student can experience a true liberal arts education. 
  • Colby would offer small graded, full semester classes that would go into Waterville and work in the community. The exact type of work would depend on the strengths of the student and the needs of the community.
  • By making this an option, not an additional requirement, we expand the type of learning available and we get students to see beyond the hill. 
  • The hope is that we get students to develop a stronger sense of community connection with Waterville and shift their perception towards seeing themselves as both Waterville citizens and Colby students.
Students getting locals on campus by teaching them to fly fish.
Students getting locals on campus by teaching them to fly fish.
Big or small every kid still loves to draw.
Big or small every kid still loves to draw.
Student putting on a show at the senior center.
Student putting on a show at the senior center.

Possible Courses

  • Students working with Waterville Muskie Center would spend time with community members, listen to them and record the stories that are shared during these visits. At the end of the semester, students would turn in a compiled manuscript with the records of their visits as well as an essay documenting their own experience with service learning and how they have been impacted by the experience. For students this would serve as their literature requirement.
  • Working with Maine Lakes Resource Center and Kennebec Valley Trout Unlimited, students would earn their natural -science credit in a course focused on fly-fishing and research in ecological conservation. This class could then go on to present their findings at the Colby Liberal Arts Symposium.
  • As a means of fulfilling their arts credit, students would work alongside South End residents to create a Franco-American heritage mural. Possible partners in this project could be the South End Neighborhood Association, Waterville Creates!, and Colby’s Center for the Arts and Humanities.  

What is Service Learning

and does it work?

  • Service learning is an experiential, educational approach that combines learning with civic engagement that meets the needs of a community while providing a unique learning experience. 
  • Through service learning courses, students work with community members to achieve successes for their shared community  and gain  a deeper understanding and skills for themselves, as well as a greater appreciation for their neighbors.
  • Various colleges and universities around the country have implemented service learning and civicly engaged course with great success. 
  • A successful application service learning includes: student engagement that addresses societal needs identified by a community; intentional integration of learning objectives co-created with community partner(s); and student preparation and ongoing critical reflection.

 

Possible Project Partners in Waterville

Waterville Creates!
Colby\'s Committee on Civic and Community Engagement
Muskie Center
South End Teen Center
Colby Volunteer Center
South End Neighborhood Association
Kennebec Valley Trout Unlimited
CCAK

 

 

Is This Even Possible?

Service Learning and Civic Engagement courses have been successfully integrated into the curriculum of several colleges and universities around the country. 

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For the last decade, Tulane has a undergraduate graduation requirement that involves aspects of service learning. Apart of the requirement involves an introductory service learning class, which must be taken in the first five semesters at Tulane. This requirement was create by the school\’s Center for Public Service which was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 

\"\"Service learning occurs in Vanderbilt\’s curriculum is a lot of different ways. They offer one-time group service project, disciplinary capstone project, as well as courses where  students have the option to become involved in the community-based projects. This model is similar to one I propose at Colby.

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College of Charleston offers dozens of courses that involve service learning component.  As College of Charleston is a much larger school than Colby (enrollment is over 10,000) they are able to offer more course that involve service learning components. I believe that this model is replicable on a smaller scale, at a place like Colby.

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 Community-Based Learning (which falls along the same lines as service learning) is one of the core values of Gettysburg\’s Center for Public Service. Their model connects classroom-based work with meaningful community involvement and exchange and students mutually benefit from their experience by meeting course objectives and addressing community-identified goals.  Gettysburg is a small liberal arts school, just like Colby. If a model like this can at Gettysburg, then I have no doubt it could thrive at Colby. 

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Moving forward, Colby is making a stronger commitment to civic engagement, and its academic programs need to reflect this commitment. This addition of service learning courses is not only do-able, it is necessary in order to maintain this commitment.  

Project Timeline

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