Office of Service Learning - Loyola University New Orleans

Common Faculty Concerns

1. Academic Rigor: Is this another "feel good" excuse to water down academic standards?

This is an important and legitimate concern of all who are concerned with quality higher education, and it is the focus of much of the past and current research on Service Learning. Unless real academic learning results, Service Learning has no place in the college. Academic credit should never be given for service, only for learning. If applied properly, this pedagogy is actually more rigorous than the traditional teaching strategies. Students are not only required to master the standard text and lecture material but they must also integrate their service experience into that context. This is a high level skill requiring effective reflection techniques designed to accomplish academic as well as social and personal outcomes. It is important to emphasize that incorporating Service Learning does not change what we teach but how we teach it. With this change comes a new set of challenges both for the teacher and the student.

2. Competence in application strategy: Will I be able to apply the strategy successfully?

Trying anything new is a risk, and it challenges our competencies. Most practitioners report a steep learning curve with confidence developing fairly rapidly once the strategy is allowed to work. Relinquishing full control of the classroom is hard for many of us to do, but once we move from being the "sage on the stage to the guide on the side" we find that students can and will play an active role in their learning if given the right structure. The path to effective Service Learning is not always marked; we often find ourselves marking the road by walking. Fortunately the Service Learning Office is here to help; you are not alone. There is considerable information on the subject, click here to access our links. You may also want to view items in the library or in the Office of Service Learning.

3. Time constraints

Yours: How can I fit something new into an already cramped curriculum?

Service Learning is not an add-on to your current course requirements. It does not change or add to what we teach; it only changes HOW we teach it. Some of the traditional classroom content-accumulation activity is replaced with more dynamic information-processing activity. Some "seat time" is replaced with action and meaningful involvement of students in experiential learning.

Students: Most of our students work in addition to their school attendance. How can they fit community service into their already busy schedule?

Service Learning faculty report that most students are willing and able to perform service in the community. In fact, research reveals that 67% of participating students said the workload in their Service Learning course was manageable. Because of the variety of placements, there are opportunities and needs for students 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As faculty, we must be flexible in hour requirements, recognizing the demands placed on our students.

5. Liability: What if something happens to one of my students or their actions result in damages to someone else?

There is inherent risk in any out-of-classroom activity. All Service Learning students should be fully informed about their placement and knowingly consent to undertaking any risk associated with that placement. In most cases, the agency or site that provides the Service Learning experience will be responsible for the acts of students assigned to it and also assumes responsibility for the student. However, due care and judgment must always be exercised to assure that we do not place students in situations fraught with danger or unreasonable risk. We must also use any information or knowledge we, as faculty, have which might disqualify a student from engaging in certain activities to protect either the student or the public.

Common Faculty Concerns

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