Educational and Service Outcomes of a Service Integration Effort

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of infusing a service-learning component into an undergraduate course entitled "Survey of Human Disease." Comparisons were made between the service-learning students and those not involved in service-learning to determine the effect of service-learning on students' perceptions of institutionalized older adults' perspectives on disease and aging. As well, students within the service-learning group were compared based in the type of feedback received on weekly journal entries. Finally, the question of reciprocity between student visitors and older adults was considered by evaluating students' and older adults' responses to items on an exit survey. (author)