Start Date
5-6-2013 2:00 PM
End Date
5-6-2013 3:10 PM
Description
Service learning is a teaching pedagogy wherein a student participates in a thoughtfully organised community based programme, with an academic orientation. This technique helps to enhance classroom teaching- learning experience, as the student strives to meet the need of the community. Service learning experience can be enriched by building effective partnerships with community based organisations. SL serves as a platform to support locally established initiatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations without displacing existing workers. For the institution that offers SL and the staff coordinating the programme, it is a meaningful exercise to thoughtfully consider potential partners who could assist in enriching the learning experience of the student participants by serving as a bridge between the institution and the community. The Department of Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology has started planning for the introduction of SL component into the curriculum from 2006 with the following objectives: • Use service learning as a teaching method to enrich learning • Increase the capacity and skills of students • Widen research experiences • Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to practical use It took one year to initiate, develop and establish partnerships with host organisations/ agencies (both governmental and non-governmental) viz., • Government Museum, Chennai; • Student Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN); • Trust for Environmental Education (TREE Foundation); • CARE Earth Trust and • Blue Cross With the launch of the SL Program in 2007, partnerships have been strengthened and opened avenues for more opportunities and the outcomes galore. In this presentation we would like to share our experiences of how we identified potential partners, developed contacts and built relationships with partners. This collaborative venture has been a rewarding experience for the staff coordinators, student participants, and the partnering organisation. Sustenance being the key for effective partnership, we have taken care to see that the partnerships we have established is an on-going commitment both on the part of the institution and the service agency so that the student participants and the community enjoy the benefits and experience a transformation.
Recommended Citation
Selvakumar, B., & Ravikumar, M. (2013, June). Service-learning partnerships: 'A Springboard' for enhanced experiential learning and transformation. Paper presented at the 4th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning: Service-Learning as a Bridge from Local to Global: Connected world, Connected future, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
Included in
Service-learning partnerships : 'A Springboard' for enhanced experiential learning and transformation
Service learning is a teaching pedagogy wherein a student participates in a thoughtfully organised community based programme, with an academic orientation. This technique helps to enhance classroom teaching- learning experience, as the student strives to meet the need of the community. Service learning experience can be enriched by building effective partnerships with community based organisations. SL serves as a platform to support locally established initiatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations without displacing existing workers. For the institution that offers SL and the staff coordinating the programme, it is a meaningful exercise to thoughtfully consider potential partners who could assist in enriching the learning experience of the student participants by serving as a bridge between the institution and the community. The Department of Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology has started planning for the introduction of SL component into the curriculum from 2006 with the following objectives: • Use service learning as a teaching method to enrich learning • Increase the capacity and skills of students • Widen research experiences • Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to practical use It took one year to initiate, develop and establish partnerships with host organisations/ agencies (both governmental and non-governmental) viz., • Government Museum, Chennai; • Student Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN); • Trust for Environmental Education (TREE Foundation); • CARE Earth Trust and • Blue Cross With the launch of the SL Program in 2007, partnerships have been strengthened and opened avenues for more opportunities and the outcomes galore. In this presentation we would like to share our experiences of how we identified potential partners, developed contacts and built relationships with partners. This collaborative venture has been a rewarding experience for the staff coordinators, student participants, and the partnering organisation. Sustenance being the key for effective partnership, we have taken care to see that the partnerships we have established is an on-going commitment both on the part of the institution and the service agency so that the student participants and the community enjoy the benefits and experience a transformation.