Service-Learning, Community Based Research and Service-Based Internships

Listen to what some faculty have to say about how service-learning has made a difference in their classes:

Service-learning may be incorporated into a course in a variety of different ways. See below for a few examples and be sure to check out the ASU Service-Learning Courses that are offered in your major.

Your professor would like you to learn about issues which affect poverty in the local area. Throughout the semester, you work with local agencies which provide services to low-income families, such as cooking and serving meals at the local shelter for homeless persons, participating in a food recovery program, and/or building a home for a family who has never been able to afford one. Upon completion of your service project, you could develop a program for "Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week" (November) and educate other students about what you learned.
A local environmental organization would like some assistance with cleaning up the local waterways. As a student in an environmental studies, biology, or chemistry class, you could participate in this clean up project to gain a better understanding of the effect that trash/pollution has on the environment, wildlife, and people. During "Earth Week" (April), you could develop a project to create awareness about this issue.
For a Freshman Seminar course that is "linked" with an English 1000 course as part of a Freshman Learning Community...Once each month, a local non-profit agency sponsors a dance/social for people with mental and physical disabilities. A group of students from your class could participate in this activity to serve the client's needs while simultaneously improving your written communication skills by writing a news article about your experience that would teach others about how to interact with people who have disabilities.

What ASU Students Are Saying About Their Service-Learning Experiences...

"Seeing concepts learned in class actively play out before your eyes gives greater insight into the subject than just talking or reading about it." -Student in "Adolescent Development" course taught by Dr. Cheryl Lee.
"It all starts with your community and we must take baby steps in changing the world and every little bit counts. Watauga County is very different outside of the university and I don't think some students realize that for they assume a college town could not have families in poverty. Yet there is a great need for help right her in our own community." -Student in "Psychology of Parenting" course taught by Dr. Cinda Payne