Interdisciplinary Models of Service-Learning in Higher Education

Source: Kara Connors and Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, September 2005.

Introduction

The combination of service-learning and interdisciplinary learning is gaining momentum in higher education. A growing body of evidence identifies promising and lasting outcomes associated with their integration. Collaborative problem solving and appreciation for diverse ways of thinking, for example, contribute to the development of broad and comprehensive approaches to complex problems that cut across disciplines and can benefit students, communities and campuses. This fact sheet highlights successful interdisciplinary models of service-learning in higher education and relevant resources.

What does interdisciplinary learning mean?

Interdisciplinary learning is a methodology that includes learners from different disciplines that work closely together contributing their knowledge, skill set and experience to support and enhance the contributions and attributes of each discipline. Interdisciplinary learning initiatives are proliferating throughout higher education at an unprecedented rate (DeZure 1999; Creamer 2005). They can be found in general education, replacing and augmenting distribution requirements; in emerging disciplines, such as cultural and gender studies, environmental studies, and neuroscience; in new pedagogies, such as collaborative learning, discovery and problem-based learning; in the use of technology, such as distance learning and web-based instruction; and in new curricular designs, such as learning communities, capstone courses, and service-learning. In interdisciplinary service-learning, students from different fields, disciplines or professions share service and learning objectives.

What trends support interdisciplinary service-learning?

Academic institutions have traditionally emphasized and rewarded discipline-specific teaching and research instead of collaboration across disciplines (Boyer 1990). A number of converging trends have led to a growing acceptance of interdisciplinary learning in general and interdisciplinary service-learning in particular. The issues facing communities today are changing rapidly and in some ways are more complex than in the past. These issues demand approaches to problem-solving that draw on the skills and perspectives of diverse disciplines and professions. The endurance of poverty, joblessness and homelessness in a demanding social and economic environment place greater stress on social service infrastructures designed to support individuals and families. Changes in workforce expectations have also placed greater demands on employees and professionals with skills in team approaches to problem-solving. For example, the nation's K-12 education system is increasingly expecting teachers to work with an expanding and diverse group of colleagues, including social workers, counselors, mental health professionals, parent activists and policymakers. These broader societal and systemic influences require individuals with collaborative problem solving, shared goals, flexible decision making, appreciation of disciplinary roles and skill sets, and effective communication skills.

What are the benefits of interdisciplinary service-learning?

Integrating service-learning and interdisciplinary learning can provide far reaching benefits to students, communities and campuses.

Student impact: College and university students report the development of key skills and attributes resulting from their participation in interdisciplinary service-learning, including gaining the ability to think beyond traditional academic disciplines and being more adept at integrating and applying what they are learning. Interdisciplinary service-learning introduced in the early years of study can help to foster the contribution of positive attitudes about working in communities and in teams.

Community impact: Community partners report greater understanding of resources available across the campus that can be marshaled to support and address community identified problems when more than one discipline is involved in a service-learning partnership. They also report that interdisciplinary student involvement allows a wider range and higher quality of services to be provided. Community partners report developing their own knowledge and leadership skills when working with an interdisciplinary team of service-learners.

Faculty impact: Faculty report greater time demands and attention in establishing interdisciplinary service-learning programs. However, this can be balanced by the new relationships formed with faculty from other disciplines and new areas of interdisciplinary scholarship that emerge.

Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Models

The interdisciplinary service-learning models described below were identified through a review of publications and websites, and through a request posted to the service-learning in higher education email discussion list managed by the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. This list is intended to provide a wide range of examples, including curricular, co-curricular and student-led models.

Portland State University (PSU) has been recognized nationally for implementing a campus-wide engagement strategy that includes interdisciplinary service-learning activities. In senior capstone courses, interdisciplinary teams of students apply what they have learned in their previous courses to community-identified concerns. Each 6-credit, community-based learning course is designed by a PSU faculty member to provide students with the opportunity to apply, in an team context, what they have learned in their major and in their other courses to a real challenge emanating from the metropolitan community. Interdisciplinary teams of students address these real challenges and produce a summation product under the instruction of a PSU faculty member. Each capstone's purpose is to further enhance student learning while cultivating crucial life abilities that are important both academically and professionally: establishing connections within the larger community, developing strategies for analyzing and addressing problems, and working with others trained in fields different from one's own.
For more information: http://www.pdx.edu/cae/cbl-capstone-resources

Evergreen State College has developed "the five foci" of Evergreen's pedagogy and curriculum: interdisciplinary study, personal engagement in learning, linking theory and practice, collaborative work, and teaching across significant differences. These foci are advanced through community-based learning. For example, the College supports ongoing interdisciplinary service-learning partnerships with local organizations focusing on fair trade, locally and globally, and on understanding and strengthening connections between Puget Sound-based efforts and groups throughout the Pacific Rim.
For more information: http://www.evergreen.edu/dtf/communitylearning/home.htm

Ohio State University. The Scholarship and Service Teams in the University Neighborhood project at Ohio State University form community partnerships to enhance student learning and civic development across 18 colleges while improving the success of community partners in achieving identified goals. Funded by a Learn and Serve America: Higher Education grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the project emphasizes the following elements: a focus on community goals, intentional design by interdisciplinary/community teams, and regular and long-term support for the community.

Fifteen teams (five per year for each of three years) comprised of faculty from more than one discipline, community/resident representatives, and students define projects that address community goals and include a variety of approaches, including service-learning courses, student/faculty/community research, and volunteer service activities. The work of teams and community/course partnerships is bolstered by a summer institute that provides training and technical assistance on best practices. Teams remain intact for the duration of the project and until the identified community goal is accomplished.

An example of a team project is Pulling Our Own Strings: Puppets, Diversity, and Service-Learning in Partnership. The project is a collaboration of faculty in psychology, theatre, and English with a middle school and represents an ongoing collaboration between OSU Marion and the Marion Schools. The project responds to growing numbers of new immigrants and minority and class issues result in pressures that exacerbate conflicts over "difference." Middle school students learn to write scripts, make puppets, and put on shows that address appreciation for diversity and training in conflict resolution. OSU students in psychology assess middle school students' stereotypes, prejudices and inter-group attitudes. Issues identified in the assessment are used by students in theatre to help the middle school students create diverse puppets, scripts, rehearsals, and performances. The middle school students will mount puppet shows for peers and elementary school students, helping students to find positive ways to deal with conflict and to embrace differences. The project is being recorded and reported by OSU students in English.
For more information: http://service-learning.osu.edu/aboutus.php

Kennesaw State University. The Maya Heritage Community Project , an interdisciplinary service-learning project, is a joint effort among Kennesaw State University (KSU) faculty members and students in history, human services, nursing, education, criminal justice, communications, international studies, and foreign language to serve the Mayan immigrant community in Northeast Georgia. There are approximately 2500 Mayans living and working in the area. They bring with them a rich historical and ethnic culture as well as many social, economic, legal and emotional needs. The goals of the project are:

• To conduct an assessment of the Mayan immigrant population by students and faculty
• To offer training sessions to the Mayan immigrant population by faculty and community experts such as educators, lawyers, etc.
• To offer service-learning opportunities for the students at KSU
• To create a network of appropriate community services for the Latino Immigrant population in the northeast Georgia area
• To educate students about the Mayan culture

Students, faculty and community partners have a number of different roles in the project. Students are involved in service-learning projects. Faculty conduct research, supervise students, conduct training programs, write grants and educate the public. Maya community members conduct workshops and festivals for the students and faculty, meet with the Maya Heritage Project members to analyze the program and conduct a national conference for Mayan immigrants. Community agency partners offer training, services, service-learning sites, and attend project meetings
For more information: Contact Alan LeBaron, Professor of History, alebaron@kennesaw.edu or Anne Hicks-Coolick, Associate Professor of Human Services, ahicksco@kennesaw.edu

Elmhurst College. The Glen Hill Project is an interdisciplinary service-learning project that involves Elmhurst College students and faculty from the Departments of Education, Music, Foreign Languages and Kinesiology. The project, a partnership between Elmhurst College and Glen Hill School , is designed to alleviate bullying, expand musical experiences, and increase literacy and English skills among at-risk students in Glen Hill School, and engage Elmhurst students and faculty in "melding Service and Intellect" in the "real world."
For more information: Contact Michael P. Savage. Director of Service Learning Program, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois, micks@elmhurst.edu

Purdue University. Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is an interdisciplinary service-learning program that was initiated at Purdue University in the fall of 1995 (Coyle 2005). EPICS is a unique program in which teams of undergraduates are designing, building, and deploying real systems to solve engineering-based problems for local community service and education organizations. The teams are: multidisciplinary - drawing students from across engineering and around the university; vertically-integrated - maintaining a mix of freshman through seniors each semester; and long-term - each student participates in a project for up to seven semesters. The continuity, technical depth, and disciplinary breadth of these teams enable delivery of projects of significant benefit to the community.

The goals of the EPICS program include: providing students with multi-year, team-based, design and development experience; teaching students, by direct experience, how to interact with each other and with customers to specify, design, develop and deploy systems that solve real problems. Non-engineering students, including those in liberal arts fields, also participate in EPICS.

In the 2003-2004 academic year, over 400 Purdue students from 20 different departments participated on 25 multidisciplinary teams. Over 2000 Purdue students have participated in EPICS to date. Each team has a multi-year partnership with a community service or education organization. Projects are in four broad areas: human services, access and abilities, education and outreach, and the environment. Purdue EPICS teams have delivered over 150 projects to their community partners.

Each team of 8 to 18 students includes freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Teams are advised by Purdue faculty, staff, and engineers from local industry, along with graduate teaching assistants. Students earn 1 or 2 academic credits each semester and may register for up to four years. Projects may last several years, so tasks of significant size and impact can be tackled.

EPICS students gain long-term define-design-build-test-deploy-support experience, communication skills, experience on multidisciplinary teams, and leadership and project management skills. They gain an awareness of professional ethics, the role of the customer in engineering design, and the role that engineering can play in the community. Community organizations gain access to technology and expertise that would normally be prohibitively expensive, giving them the potential to improve their quality of service or to provide new services.
For more information: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EPICS/

University of Nebraska at Omaha. The university's interdisciplinary service-learning project involved faculty members from four academic departments (Spanish, Social Work, Communication, and Construction Engineering Technology) and 80 students who completed 4 major projects to advance the work of a single community agency providing an array of services to facilitate clients movement from homelessness to home ownership (Sather 2005). Students enrolled in a Survey of Spanish Literature course translated agency marketing and case management documents from English to Spanish to serve the growing Spanish speaking population served by the agency. The social work students enrolled in a Generalist Practice II course assisted in the development of grant to create a mural on the agency building to more clearly identify the services offered by the agency in a visual form that would be more culturally relevant to neighborhood residents and created a case management system to provide an intake and service delivery record that would be less cumbersome to staff and clients. The students engaged in a Construction Engineering Technology course on Personnel and Supervisory Methods planned and managed the rehabilitation of 2 homes owned by the agency for use as future rental properties. The rehabilitation efforts, known as Seven Days of Service, occurred over the University Spring Break and involved more than 200 student volunteers. Journalism students taking a course on Principles of Public Relations created a public relations campaign for the agency as well as the Seven Days of Service project while also serving as representatives of the Spring Break project to the substantial number of media outlets which provided coverage of the event.
For more information: Contact Paul Sather, psather@mail.unomaha.edu or visit http://www.unomaha.edu/servicelearning/

Pennsylvania State University. Community-Built Sustainable Housing is a service-learning course that provides an interdisciplinary and hands-on experience in the application of a sustainable building technology and community-built construction methods to address housing shortages in disadvantaged communities. The course is taught by a faculty team from architecture, architectural engineering, landscape architecture, and community design.

This 3-part course examines how sustainable building methods including strawbale construction can be utilized to improve the poor living conditions common on American Indian reservations.

During part 1, students examine the physical and cultural environment in which a strawbale structure will be designed and constructed. During part 2, students s pend two weeks on location in Montana assisting with the construction of a strawbale structure. During part 3, students document and reflect upon this experience and make constructive recommendations for future research on housing programs for American Indian tribes in the Northern Plains.

The course objectives include the following:

• Students will examine the known properties of strawbales as a building material in terms of their mechanical properties, architectural applications, and site planning implications.
• Students will work collaboratively with multiple disciplines to develop architectural, engineering, and site design concepts for a strawbale building project and then participate in the construction of the building on an American Indian reservation.
• Students will gain hands-on experience in interdisciplinary team problem solving, the application of participatory design concepts and the construction of a building on an Indian reservation

For more information: http://www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/pdf/297.497_outline.pdf or http://www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/

State University of New York at Stony Brook. SUNY-Stony Brook's interdisciplinary minor in community service learning is open to all undergraduates who wish to add a service learning dimension to their academic experience. The program is designed to use the special educational and research opportunities available at Stony Brook to create citizens with the depth of commitment to community service that the 21st century demands. Acquisition of skills and knowledge is combined with a fostering of appreciation by students of their role as citizens both in the University and in the surrounding communities. The learning arena is extended into the community by addressing local social issues. After completion of academic course work, student interns are partnered and assigned to work in specific communities to address community concerns. Completion of the minor requires 23 credits. Required courses include: The Nature of Community, Methods for Social Action Research, Directed Research in Community Service, Community Service-Learning Internship and Senior Seminar in Community Service Learning.
For more information: Carrie-Ann Miller, camiller@notes.cc.sunysb.edu.

Indiana University. The Calnali Health Education Outreach International Service Learning Project began in October 1998. A group of first and second year medical students from the Indiana University School of Medicine, a nurse and a pediatrician traveled to Calnali , Mexico in January 1999 to conduct a community assessment; provide direct medical care to the children of the town and surrounding villages; and evaluate the health care education program in a local Calnali school. A faculty member form the school of dentistry traveled with the group that time, in order to assess if dental students could be incorporated into this effort.

In six years, the project has evolved to include an interdisciplinary team comprised of medical, nurse practitioner, and dental students along with faculty advisors from each school. Pediatric, pediatric dentistry and optometry residents have also joined the group. More than 100 students and faculty have participated since 1998. Previously, the majority of the five-day stay in Calnali was devoted to clinical care, but since 2001 the week has been divided equally between clinical time and workshops taught by project members in order to foster a long-term impact on the community. The medical team has concentrated on preventive health education with limited direct clinical services. Topics have included alcoholism, hygiene, teen pregnancy, and smoking. The team has presented this health education information to various groups in the community and surrounding villages with the help of the local students. The dental team has primarily provided preventive services including fluoride applications, sealants, restorative, and limited periodontal work using field equipment. They have also collected useful data on water quality, numbers of patients served and for what reasons and most recently performed a small needs assessment and conducted a study on caries prevalence and risk factors. They have also partnered with an organization in Mexico City dedicated to health education to help provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Project goals include the following:

• To provide a valuable cultural and linguistic competence curriculum to medical, dental, and nursing students, residents and faculty that will prepare them for both the project in Calnali and for daily encounters with the growing Latino population seeking medical care in Indianapolis.
• To provide a quality health education curriculum to the community with the help of local Calnali health care students and providers, concentrating on public health issues which affect the pediatric and adult populations in the town and surrounding villages.
• To provide clinical experience to the professional students of the outreach program and also to the local health care students through direct medical care to the population of Calnali and surrounding villages.
• To empower local community groups and students to continue education regarding health promotion and disease prevention.
• To partner with providers and organizations in Mexico to better provide culturally and linguistically effective education and services to the residents of Calnali.
• To eventually fund a health provider from the area to provide constant health care for acute problems, to manage chronic problems, to provide treatment plans that are affordable, and to provide support for ongoing health education and disease prevention projects.

For more information: Sarah M. Stelzner, sstelzne@iupui.edu

University of New Mexico. The university's Rural Health Interdisciplinary Program (RHIP) interdisciplinary service-learning program began in 1991 with funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration's Quentin N. Burdick Interdisciplinary Program. The program's goals are:

• To assist health professional students to develop positive attitudes and skills for interdisciplinary practice
• To encourage health professional students to choose healthcare practice in rural and underserved communities

RHIP works with approximately 100 undergraduate and graduate students every year from the following health professional degree programs: dental hygiene, public health, medical laboratory sciences, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, respiratory therapy, social work, and speech/language pathology.

Students spend three months in the spring in interdisciplinary teams (typically 8-12 students plus two faculty members) using problem-based learning (PBL) to develop interdisciplinary skills, competence and confidence. Students write and facilitate most of their own PBL cases. Subsequently, during two months in the summer, the student teams live and work in rural New Mexican communities. They complete clinical rotations and spend about 4 hours per week as an interdisciplinary team doing some type of community-based service learning health project. These projects have included health fairs, health screenings, youth mentoring, and/or health education.

A full-time Program Manager and a.5 FTE Program Director provide staff support for the program. An Interdisciplinary Faculty Steering Committee meets weekly and maintains ongoing relationships with Community Coordinators in every rural community where students are placed.
For more information: Betsy VanLeit, Assistant Professor and Director, Rural Health Interdisciplinary Program, 505-272-3441 or bvanleit@salud.unm.edu

Eastern Carolina University. The university's Interdisciplinary Rural Health Project began in 1993 and has evolved over time to include students in health education, medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, and social work who engage in interdisciplinary service-learning in a community health/migrant health clinic in rural North Carolina. Researchers evaluated the effort in 1998 and noted that the educational strategies and curriculum evolved significantly with community input (Lilley et al., 1998). A follow-up study showed that the program enhanced student learning, strengthened the infrastructure and commitment of the university for decentralized education, and led to the development of team-based care paths and changes in the attitudes of providers regarding interdisciplinary collaboration (Holmes, 1999, Hager, 2002).
For more information: http://www.ecu.edu/oihse/IRHTP.htm

The Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation Program, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service and The Pew Charitable Trusts was a national demonstration project that supported interdisciplinary service-learning in 17 health professionals schools from 1994-1998 (Seifer 1997; Gelmon 1998). While not a requirement, many of the participating universities found that service-learning provided a natural framework for developing interdisciplinary experiences for students (Connors 1996). Links to published case studies on these interdisciplinary programs are listed in the reference section of this fact sheet. Below is a description of one of these programs.
For more information: http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pastprojects.html

George Washington University & George Mason University. The Interdisciplinary Student Community-Oriented Prevention Enhancement Service (ISCOPES) is an interdisciplinary service-learning program resulting from a collaborative effort between George Washington University (GWU) in Washington , DC and George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax , VA. (Horak 1998). The program began in April 1995 under a grant from the Health Professions School in Service to the Nation Program. The project initially involved first and second year medical, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students but has evolved to also include health services management and policy students, physical therapy students and graduate public health students.  Interdisciplinary student teams work with a wide range of community-based organizations in the Washington , DC area to identify health needs and assets and to design and implement health education and health promotion activities.  Populations served by these organizations include preschool children; immigrants; senior citizens; homeless men, women ,and children;  school-based children, the underinsured, uninsured, and underserved.

Each team of students is supervised by a university preceptor and a community preceptor. Student activities range from conducting asthma management classes, performing needs assessments for Head Start participants, and developing and implementing health promotion activities for seniors.  Curriculum modules include community-oriented primary care, interdisciplinary teams, functioning as a team, continuous quality improvement and cultural competency.  Students are required to spend a minimum of six hours per month on the program. This allows two hours for team meetings, two hours for studying the curriculum, and two hours for working on a team project.

Learning objectives of the ISCOPES program include:

• Appreciate and describe the roles of different members of the interdisciplinary team, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physicians, community health workers, nurses, public health specialists, physical therapists, and administrators
• Describe literature-based models of interdisciplinary team practice and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each model as it relates to care in the community-based setting
• Identify characteristics of collaborative practice as outlined in the literature
• Identify barriers, both real and perceived, to collaborative practice
• Utilize tools for assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of team processes.

For more information: http://www.gwumc.gwu.edu/sphhs/institutescenters/iscopes.cfm and http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/servicelearningres.html#Interdisciplinary

References, citations and other resources

The Maryland Student Service Alliance has designed "Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Webs" as a resource for making cross-curricular connections in service-learning projects. Although designed for K-12 service-learning, they are also applicable to higher education service-learning. Examples addressing the elements of service learning are provided for community issues that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary service-learning partnerships, including literacy, environment, poverty, crime, bias, hunger/homelessness, pregnancy, and substance abuse. A blank form is also provided.

Related Resources Available through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Library

Expanding Partnerships: Involving Colleges and Universities in Interprofessional Collaboration and Service Integration.
Hal A. Lawson, Katharine Hooper-Brair 1994. The authors spent three years visiting innovative school-linked service programs. The programs offer interprofessional collaboration between educational, health, and social service organizations.

Serving Children, Youth, and Families through Interprofessional Collaboration and Service Integration: a Framework for Action.
Katharine Hooper-Brair, Hal A. Lawson 1994. The monograph serves children, youth, and families by stating how interprofessional collaboration between health, education, and social service workers and students effectively serves community needs.

Rural Interprofessional Service-Learning: the Minnesota Experience
Daniel G. Mareck, Donald L. Uden, Tom A. Larsen, Melanie F. Shepard, Roger J. Reinert 2004 This article provides a descriptive summary of the initial 61 service-learning projects completed by students from various health professions who participated in the Minnesota Rural Health School (MRHS)

An Introductory Packet On Working Together: From School-Based Collaborative Teams To School-Community-Higher Education Connect 2004
This packet outlines models of collaborative school-based teams and interprofessional education programs, as well as family-school-community partnerships.

© 2005 Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.
Photocopying for nonprofit educational purposes is permitted.